Balkan Blue

Major General Sir Roy Redgrave is a member of the famous acting family, but his career followed an entirely different path. Sir Roy pursued a career in the British armed forces and his autobiography makes fascinating reading. He was born and brought up in Romania, a country which had fought with the Allies in World War I but was forced into the Axis on the eve of World War II. The post-war period eventually found Sir Roy serving as British Commandant in Berlin, where his duties included serving as a jailer for Rudolf Hess and often tense negotiations with the Russians. The capstone of his career was as Commander British Forces Hong Kong, where he also faced difficult relations with the Chinese as well as directed British operations in Malaya, Borneo and elsewhere in the region.