94 • CHILTON, SIR JOHN
German coast,Riddle of the Sands. The book contained detailed top-
ographical observations and, based on his own experiences while
sailing his yacht in German waters, gave an authentic flavor of an
agent conducting a clandestine survey. This was reprinted shortly be-
fore World War I and captured the public’s imagination, even if there
was no realistic possibility of Germany launching a raid or invasion.
In 1910 Childers resigned his post in the Commons to devote him-
self to Irish affairs, advocating dominion status for Ireland. In July
1914 he sailed his yachtAsgardwith a cargo of weapons to a port
just north of Dublin to arm the National Volunteers. Soon after the
outbreak of war, Childers joined a seaplane carrier HMSEngadine
as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer and an expert on recon-
naissance work. He participated in the Cuxhaven raid in November
1914 and was later posted to the Mediterranean, where he found him-
self employed by theSecret Intelligence Service’s Near East
branch, running agents up the Turkish coast and flying intelligence
missions. He trained officers for the Royal Naval Air Service
(RNAS), which brought him into contact with CaptainL. B. Wel-
don, the author ofHard Lying. By the end of the war, when the
RNAS had amalgamated with the Royal Air Force, Childers held the
rank of major and the Distinguished Service Cross.
When he returned to civilian life in March 1919, Childers settled
in Dublin and committed himself to the Irish republican cause. He
protested strongly about the British government’s use of the Black
and Tans and was appointed minister of propaganda in the self-
constituted Dail Eirrean, formed in May 1921. Childers accompanied
Eamon De Valera to London to negotiate with the British Cabinet,
but stubbornly resisted any compromise treaty that fell short of com-
plete independence for a republic. At this stage, as a hard-liner,
Childers joined the republican army’s mobile columns to oppose the
new Irish Free State government. In November 1922 his home in
County Wicklow was surrounded by Free State soldiers, and he was
court-martialed and executed by a firing squad at Beggar’s Bush bar-
racks. Moments before his death, he shook the hand of every member
of the firing party.CHILTON, SIR JOHN.A former permanent undersecretary at the
Northern Ireland Office, Sir John Chilton was appointedstaff coun-