The Monocled Mutineer : The First World War's Best Kept Secret: The Etaples Mutiny

Percy Toplis was WW1's most guarded secret, the ringleader of the Etaples mutiny. In 1917 British, New Zealand and Australian troops stationed at the étaples Training Camp in northern France protested against the inhuman conditions. The mutineers commandeered the camp's weapons and marched into étaples, holding the town for three days, attacking military police and the commander of the training camp, General Thomson. Several of the mutineers were executed, but Toplis remained at large for three years. The Army immediately covered up the mutiny, thousands of the participants would die shortly afterwards in the Passchendaele offensive, the survivors remained silent for over fifty years while all records of the étaples Board of Enquiry were destroyed. Only when John Fairley and William Allison tracked down survivors of the mutiny, and relatives and friends of Percy Toplis, that this story came to public attention. The Monocled Mutineer became a national sensation when it was made into an acclaimed, and controversial, BBC drama in 1986, starring Paul McGann. The Monocled Mutineer asks: was Percy Toplis an anti-establishment hero, what made the monocled mutineer the most wanted man in Britain?

In 1917, British, New Zealander and Australian troops stationed at the Étaples Training Camp in northern France protested against the inhuman conditions. The mutineers commandeered the camp's weapons and marched into Étaples, holding the town for three days, attacking military police and the commander of the training camp, General Thompson.Several of the mutineers were executed, but Toplis remained at large for three years. The Army immediately covered up the Mutiny; thousands of the participants would die shortly afterwards in the Passchendaele offensive. The survivors remained silent for over fifty years while all records of the Étaples Board of Enquiry were destroyed (the official files on the Mutiny were closed until 2017).With original photographs and interviews with survivors of the Mutiny, as well as the friends and family of Percy Toplis, The Monocled Mutineer unveils the events of the Étaples Mutiny and the response of the government. Percy Toplis became one of Britain's most wanted men and was, eventually, killed by a policeman in 1920. Yet, as The Monocled Mutineer outlines, there are still a host of unanswered questions about Toplis and his role, if any, in the Mutiny.

In 1917, British, New Zealander and Australian troops stationed at the Étaples Training Camp in northern France protested against the inhuman conditions. The mutineers commandeered the camp's weapons and marched into Étaples, holding the town for three days, attacking military police and the commander of the training camp, General Thompson. Several of the mutineers were executed, but Toplis remained at large for three years. The Army immediately covered up the Mutiny; thousands of the participants would die shortly afterwards in the Passchendaele offensive. The survivors remained silent for over fifty years while all records of the Étaples Board of Enquiry were destroyed (the official files on the Mutiny were closed until 2017). With original photographs and interviews with survivors of the Mutiny, as well as the friends and family of Percy Toplis, The Monocled Mutineer unveils the events of the Étaples Mutiny and the response of the government. Percy Toplis became one of Britain's most wanted men and was, eventually, killed by a policeman in 1920. Yet, as The Monocled Mutineer outlines, there are still a host of unanswered questions about Toplis and his role, if any, in the Mutiny. In 1917, as British troops were preparing for the Battle of Passchendaele, a mutiny broke out among the 100,000 soldiers at the Etaples training camp in Northern France. This mutiny was one of the most guarded secrets of WW1. Private Percy Toplis, a survivor of the Battle of Loos, had deserted from the Army Medical Corps before re-enlisting and he was accused as the ringleader of the mutiny. By this time he was back in England where he was living in disguise and was the most wanted man in England (suspected of murder and fraud) before being killed by a policeman in 1920. Drawing on extensive interviews with survivors of the mutiny as well as with friends and relatives of Percy Toplis, this updated edition includes a new introduction and epilogue that expand on newly discovered information about the events of the mutiny and the government's response to it. --Provided by publisher