Helen Fry

This article is about the historian and biographer. For other uses, see Helen Frye (disambiguation).

Dr Helen Fry (born 1967) is an English historian, author and biographer who specialises in the history of the Second World War, with a particular focus on espionage and the Intelligence services of the Allies.

She has written and edited over 25 books covering the social history of the Second World War, including topics covering women in Intelligence, the 10,000 German and Austrian Jewish refugees who fought for Britain, and wider coverage of espionage and spy networks.

Early life and education

Helen Fry was born in North Devon and graduated with a B.A. Hons and Ph.D. from the University of Exeter.

Career

During the 1990s, she was active on the international stage in the youth movement of The Council of Christians and Jews, and in promoting inter-faith relations. She has written over 25 books, with special expertise on the 10,000 German-speaking refugees who served in the British forces during the Second World War, especially the Royal Pioneer Corps.[1]

She is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Dept of Hebrew & Jewish Studies at University College London and Honorary member of The Association of Jewish Refugees. She teaches at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.[2] Reviewer Martin Rubin described her book Freud's War as taking readers into the "unusual corners of global conflicts" and described her book as a detailed portrait of different military experiences during World War II.[3]

Personal life

Fry is an ambassador for the National Centre for Military Intelligence and a trustee of both the Friends of the Intelligence Corps Museum and the Medmenham Collection. She has been awarded the Lifetime Contribution Award for Jewish Military History and Education by the Jewish Military Association.^[citation needed]

Selected publications

• The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens (Sutton, 2007).[2][4][5] Republished in paperback as Churchill's German Army (The History Press, 2010).
• Music & Men: The Life and Loves of Harriet Cohen (The History Press, 2009).[6][7]
• Freud's War (The History Press, 2009).[3][8][9]
• The M Room (self-published on Amazon, 2013).[10][11]
• The London Cage: The Secret History of Britain's WWII Interrogation Centre (Yale University Press, 2017)
• MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War II (Yale University Press, 2020)
• Spymaster: The Man who Saved MI6 (Yale University Press, 2021)
• Women in Intelligence (Yale University Press, 2023)
• X Troop Commando (Yale University Press, 2024)

References

1. Public Broadcasting Service, Transcript, Helen Fry (guest on program), Secrets of The Dead: Bugging Hitler’s Soldiers Archived 24 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 31 July 2014
2. Smith, David (2 September 2007), "The German heroes who helped Allies against Hitler", The Guardian. Review of Fry's book The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens.
3. Rubin, Martin (26 March 2010), "When the Sons Took Up Arms (Book Review: Freud's War)", Washington Times, ...Ms. Fry paints a detailed portrait of these very different military experiences.
4. A.C.T. (22 June 2008), "Review of The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens", Contemporary Review, archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
5. Withers, Matt (23 September 2007), "I Fled Nazi Tyranny to Fight Hitler", Wales on Sunday.
6. Richards, Denby (1 January 2009), "Review of Music & Men", Musical Opinion.
7. Morley, Christopher (3 July 2009), "Unfinished Symphony; Christopher Morley on the Delayed Premiere of a Work by Arnold Bax", Birmingham Post.
8. Williamson, Janet (August 2009), "Review of Freud's War", The Historical Novels Review, 49.
9. Wolfisz, Francine (4 June 2009), "Book reveals Sigmund Freud's dramatic escape to England", Enfield Independent.
10. Cobain, Ian (21 August 2013), "Helen Fry: 'Whatever the medium, a darn good story sells'. The author of The M Room, about the Germans and Austrians who eavesdropped on Britain's Nazi PoWs during the second world war, says authors have to consider unconventional publishing options in a fast-changing market", The Guardian.
11. Cacciottolo, Mario (17 January 2013), "The Nazi prisoners bugged by Germans", BBC News.