Guy Walters

Guy Edward Barham Walters (born 8 August 1971) is a British author, historian, and journalist. He is the author and editor of nine books on the Second World War, including war thrillers, and a historical analysis of the Berlin Olympic Games.[1]

Guy Walters
Walters, September 2021
Born (1971-08-08) 8 August 1971
Kensington, London, England.
EducationCheam School
Eton College
Alma materWestfield College, London
Newcastle University
SpouseAnnabel Venning
Children2

Early life and education

Walters was born in Kensington, London, on 8 August 1971.[2] He was educated at Cheam School, Eton College, Westfield College, University of London (now part of Queen Mary, University of London).

Career

From 1992 to 2000, he worked at The Times. His first book, The Traitor, was published in 2002, and concerns the British Free Corps, a British unit of the Waffen-SS. The Leader (2003) is an Alternative History set in a Britain ruled by Oswald Mosley as a Fascist dictator. The Occupation (2004) takes place during the German occupation of the Channel Islands. The Colditz Legacy (2005) is set in Colditz Castle during the war and the 1970s.

With James Owen, he edited The Voice of War in 2004, a collection of Second World War memoirs. In 2006 he published Berlin Games, a history of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which was shortlisted for the 2006 William Hill Sports Book of the Year and the 2007 Outstanding Book of the Year by the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.

In 2009, Walters published Hunting Evil, a history of how the Nazi war criminals escaped after the war, and how they were brought to justice. "Frustrated at the enormous amount of junk history around, Guy sees it as his personal mission to wage war on ignorance and misconceptions about the past."[3] He was scathing about the Hitler conspiracy book and film Grey Wolf describing it as "2,000 per cent rubbish" when the book was published. Walters added: "It's an absolute disgrace. There's no substance to it at all. It appeals to the deluded fantasies of conspiracy theorists and has no place whatsoever in historical research."[4]

Walters has raised questions regarding the veracity of Denis Avey's claims to have smuggled himself into Auschwitz.[5] He has also questioned the level of acclaim given to Mary Seacole, saying "She was a very worthy woman, it would be churlish not to hold her up as a good role model. The problem is that, because of her colour and because of political need, her achievements are massively oversold."[6]

In June 2013, he was appointed to the position of lecturer in modern British history at the New College of the Humanities in London.[7]

In July and October 2020, he criticised restrictions and closures at British archives related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, arguing that these were an enhanced continuation of reduced access enacted prior to the pandemic.[8][9]

Personal life

Walters lives in Wiltshire with his wife the writer Annabel Venning and their two children.[10]

Selected publications

Fiction
  • The Traitor (2002), ISBN 0-7553-0056-4
  • The Leader (2003), ISBN 0-7553-0057-2
  • The Occupation (2004), ISBN 0-7553-2064-6
  • The Colditz Legacy (2005), ISBN 0-7553-2715-2
  • Diary of a Hapless Househusband (2007) (as Sam Holden), ISBN 978-0-099-50936-3
  • Growing Pains of a Hapless Househusband (2008) (as Sam Holden), ISBN 978-0-09-951807-5

Non-fiction

References
  1. "Guy Walters - Guides - Historical Trips UK". historicaltrips.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. "Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006". Find My Past. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. "Guy Walters – Telegraph Blogs". Blogs.telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  4. "Nazi dictator Hitler 'escaped Berlin bunker and died at 95 in Brazil', new book claims". Irish Mirror. 24 January 2014.
  5. "The curious case of the "break into Auschwitz"". Newstatesman.com. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  6. Rawlinson, Kevin (29 January 2013). "Coalition set to clash over removal of 'greatest black Briton' Mary Seacole from National Curriculum". The Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  7. "Four new academics will join the History Faculty at New College of the Humanities from Michaelmas 2013". PRWeb. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. Walters, Guy (24 October 2020). "The National Archives are making historians history". The Spectator. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  9. Walters, Guy (6 July 2020). "Guy Walters". Twitter. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  10. "Guy Walters from HarperCollins Publishers". Harpercollins. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
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