From War Hero to MP to Common Criminal via a little Book
I own a (better) copy of this book. Not sure where or when I bought it, but there the thing was, sitting on the shelf, quietly awaiting attention, which it received, just prior to being packed into one of many boxes filled in advance of last week’s move. A sweet volume it is. Printed in Holland on soft, tightly laid paper, the Falcon Press’s Sonnets of William Shakespeare, to my mind at least, has it all. It’s well constructed, contains a pleasing cover design, a classic legible typeface, nice looking page layout - plenty of white space, wide margins; even has stylish touches of red ink here and there, plus gilt lettering on the spine, and ragged fore-edges – the presentation does justice to the content. (You can buy a copy of your own here).
So, I Googled The Falcon Press. Not a great deal of info came up, but what did was quite fascinating. Active during the late 1940s and early 1950s the press was owned by one Peter Baker (20 April 1921 – 14 November 1966). According to Wikipedia he served in the RAF during World War ll in Europe and Africa, won the Military Cross, and was twice captured and caught by the enemy whilst working with the Dutch resistance in Holland. Baker set up the Falcon Press after the war, ran for parliament in 1950 and won a seat. At 28 he was named "The baby of the House"
Evidently he didn’t pay enough attention to his businesses. The Falcon Press fell into the financial soup in the early 50s. Baker forged signatures on letters purporting to guarantee debts. This crime was discovered, he was convicted of ‘uttering, forgery and fraud’ and sentenced to seven years in prison. On December 16, 1954 he was expelled from parliament, the last MP in the twentieth century to be so dishonoured…or dishonoured so…
All this from simply picking up a little book on the shelf…without even having read the thing.
January 5th, 2010 at 2:10 PM
Peter Baker wasn't in the RAF. He was a Captain in British Military Intelligence, IS9 (WEA). He served in N.Africa, and then behind the lines with Partisans in Italy, France and Holland. His MC was awarded for rescuing 137 allied air crew and soldiers, in France. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Ordinine Militaire di Savoia. With no business training he then started Falcon Publishing and many other Companies on his own and became an MP with a strong sense of destiny. He readily took the blame for the sinking of his ship.
January 6th, 2010 at 11:56 PM
Clearly a fascinating man. One worthy of study.