Was the story based on fact?
Or, were certain military exercises practiced at this particular time, with the aim of being prepared for such a happening?
Fact is, I arrived in UK at a time in 1944, when the Luftwafe was on
the way to defeat, and due to a plentiful supply of aircrew,
our group were used for a great variety of duties.
Mid 1944 we were sent to Whitley Bay, Newcastle-on-Tyne for an extensive assault course, billeted out in seaside cottages. Then in groups of five or six, transferred to scattered billets in and around Beccles, Suffolk just south
of The Wash - the very area where the events in the novel were said to take place - all fully trained and equipped to act as back-up if required.
When I first read the book and saw the dates quoted I could
not help but wonder; was the reason for our exercise a
preparation for a rumoured or actual attempt to kidnap
Churchill?
Of course records of such as this would be filed in military archives probably marked "Top Secret"!!!

I've read a lot about WWII over the past 30 years and have not come across this event except in the movies. I'm confident that most everything held in "secret" over the years has been declassified. This would have been stunning news upon its release to the public and become well known to those of us who followed the war. Alas, I feel that it is a work of fiction.
-Michael Power

Don't know if it were true but it did make a great movie in 1976 The Eagle has Landed, But British deny it ever happened.

I don't blame the British, for denying it.So would I if the film was supposed to be factual. It was typical Hollywood rubbish. The next thing Hollywood will have you believe,is the Americans won the War!!!!