Episode 30: “Alms for Oblivion” by Peter Kemp

Hank and Bindu go to the jungles of Southeast Asia to complete the Peter Kemp Trilogy that they began all the way back in Episode 12.

Peter Kemp (1919-1993) was a British adventurer who served in the Spanish Civil War in both the Carlist milita and the elite Spanish Foreign Legion. He later served during WW2 in the British SOE as a commando leader in Axis-occupied Albania and Poland. Finally after VE and VJ day, Kemp was sent by MI6 to Vietnam and Bali to help protect civilians and support the UK's interests in post-war Southeast Asia. This last part of his military journey is covered in "Alms for Oblivion".

Bindu and Hank explore Kemp's long and storied career, and use this book to talk about the chaotic military and political situation in post-war Vietnam and Indonesia. Two countries filled with communists, colonialists, independence fighters, Japanese troops awaiting demobilization and many other power players stepping into the vacuum left by the Second World War.

Join us as we complete the Peter Kemp trilogy with this thrilling story of spies and guerrillas.

To hear more about Kemp’s time in Spain, check out our 12th Episode

And to hear more about his time in the Second World War, check out Episode 15