Getting Military Biographies Sanctioned

[Richard Dangle]

Hey Ppruners,

I wonder if anyone can help. I seem to recall from a journal article I once had published that there is a MOD department that clears/sanctions/checks published articles and books to ensure nothing classified is accidentally (or deliberately) revealed? Despite a reasonable amount of time with our friend Google I can't find a link to said department (if it even still exists??). Probably using the wrong search terms, numpty that I am

Any clues anybody?

[tucumseh]

Richard

e-mail [email protected]

DDC Secretariat
MoD
Main Building (1/C)
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2HB

[Old-Duffer]

You might want to consider whether the contents of your biography are such that you are prepared to be messed about by MOD. The delays in dealing with your biography might be quite lengthy and the assessors are not necessarily the best to give a judgement on what you have written. It is not unusual to be subjected to a long wait and remember, it's everso easy for MOD to say NO!

I write from experience - my books never go anywhere near the MOD. Publish and Be Damned is my motto

Old Duffer

[tucumseh]

The only minor issue I have had is a little excitement over a still from an MoD film I wanted to use. I think the chap was overjoyed to be given something to do, and he very efficiently gave me the wording ('Crown Copyright - Expired').

Apart from that, 4-6 weeks for the OK each time. Much depends on the subject. Some are likely to make MoD twitch more than others.

[Mogwi]

My publisher advised me to steer well clear of the MoD, which I did. Didn't hear a peep from anyone after publication. I had been retired for 15 years by the time I got around to writing it though.

Mog

[Kiltrash]

And a wonderfull read it is as well Mog.

[megan]

And a wonderfull read it is as well Mog

Hear, hear. Or is that here, here?

[MMHendrie1]

Mine went to the Air Historical Branch, who were helpful with some suggestions and required some fairly minor deletions. Clearance took two months.

[Richard Dangle]

Many thanks good folk...I love this about pprune...solid, quick steers from peeps who have been there done that got the T-shirt. Pprune - military wing - at its best imo

Old Duffer/Mogwi...I would be very much in your gang good sirs, but I'm way too a. boring and b. lazy to write a book (esp about me). This was a query for a mate... so I needed to do a little "due diligence"...don't want to drop a mate in the pooh, by steering them to my ***** it, do it attitude. Not my neck on the block. Now they can make an "informed choice", so to speak.

Job done. Again, TVM

/thread

[Yellow Sun]

I wonder what Chris Parry did? Having kept a war diary as a Lieutenant he waited until he had retired as a Rear Admiral before publishing it:

Down South - A Falklands War Diary by Chris Parry

YS 😎

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by MMHendrie1

Mine went to the Air Historical Branch, who were helpful with some suggestions and required some fairly minor deletions. Clearance took two months.

Like you I went to a Mr Clarke at AHB for an article and got clearance. Later I submitted the same article but with some additions. This time I was told to alter some details as they were still classified. Too late, the original article ha d been printed in a magazine, in a journal, and presented at a seminar where parts were used by various academics.

As Old-Duffer said, the people to whom your work is submitted probably have no knowledge of the subject matter nor time to even research it.

An even later submission, illustrating Soviet targets, using Google Earth imagery was rejected our of hand.

[Old-Duffer]

I had a rather different outcome from getting MOD clearance or ignoring the submission of my script – it was getting my advert accepted by a certain magazine dealing with post retirement matters.



My first book contained a Roll of Honour of those who did not survive and this was rejected by the magazine editor after being ‘got at’ by some professional widows, who accused me of ‘profiting from their grief’. My points that (a) any book of the sort had an RofH and (b) There was never a complaint when publishing articles beneficial to the ladies in question, fell on deaf ears and (c) I made contributions to service charities from any profits.



My second book contained a carefully researched list of citations for gallantry awards for the battle in and around Arnhem. The list included those citations which were ‘downgraded’ by those high up and at the back and also those citations (including one for a VC) which brought nothing. On this occasion, I my advert was refused because it might cause distress to survivors. I was able to point out that I had received a letter from a veteran, to say he had not realised that he had exchanged the loss of his left leg for a citation for the Military Cross and it was of some comfort to know he had been thought worthy of an award by his CO.



I decided not to bother after that and all 13 of my books are now carefully placed, as regards where I advertise.

Old Duffer

[chinook240]

Originally Posted by Yellow Sun

I wonder what Chris Parry did? Having kept a war diary as a Lieutenant he waited until he had retired as a Rear Admiral before publishing it:

Down South - A Falklands War Diary by Chris Parry

YS 😎

Have you tried to buy a paper copy of his book, cheapest I have found is nearly £75 on Amazon?

[Yellow Sun]

Originally Posted by chinook240

Have you tried to buy a paper copy of his book, cheapest I have found is nearly £75 on Amazon?

A bit more on Abebooks and Fleabay. I bought the paperback edition for about £3.00 a couple of years ago and gave it away to a friend when I had read it. It’s probably still doing the rounds of our Cold War lunch club. In fact if I can find it it might just pay for our first post lockdown gathering.

The idea of getting a fish head to buy lunch is quite appealing.

YS🍺😁

P.S. It’s an interesting book, but not that interesting.

[Mogwi]

Originally Posted by Kiltrash

And a wonderfull read it is as well Mog.

You are most kind, Sir! Available as an audio book wef Ist March as well.

mog

[Yellow Sun]

Originally Posted by chinook240

Have you tried to buy a paper copy of his book, cheapest I have found is nearly £75 on Amazon?

Chris Parry’s book “Down South” is now available on Kindle for 1.99

YS