Q&A WITH AUTHOR BOB RICHARDS

What inspired you to write a World War II thriller?

I grew up taking the ferry to and from school. It was during the final era of the old-time boats described in my novel. I’ve always loved boats. After that era passed, I started researching them for a book. I eventually concluded that nobody wanted to read a boring book about old ferryboats. Also, I grew up hearing endless stories from my parents about the War. So, I melded these two elements into a fictional story during that era involving my favorite subjects: ferries, submarines and WWII history.

In your novel, you combine important facts and fiction regarding Bermuda during WWII. Can you highlight some interesting facts about Bermuda during this critical time?

Most people think the US bases here were part of the Lend-Lease Act between US and UK. That’s not true, at least for the Naval seaplane base in my book. In 1938/39, US officials observed the deteriorating situation in Europe and asked the question, “What if Britain falls. How would it affect us?” One look at the map highlighted that it would be intolerable to have a Nazi controlled Bermuda. In 1939 before war was declared in Europe, the US began arrangements for a seaplane base in Bermuda. They identified Morgan’s Island as an ideal spot, but the US Neutrality Act forbade a military lease to be established with a foreign power that was at war. Morgan’s Island was privately owned, and the papers were signed by the Bermudian owner who was living in New York, but it would not be legal until Bermuda stamp duty was paid. So, the lawyer had to fly back to Bermuda to get the agreement stamped. He did so and three days later Britain declared was against Germany.

After the War started and Churchill made the Lend-Lease Act with Roosevelt, a much greater role for Bermuda was envisioned, involving a large base that would have essentially cut the island in half. This was vociferously opposed by locals who flew and made their case directly to Churchill in London. After some negotiation, it was agreed that two separate bases would be built, the seaplane base was already in operation, and a second base was to be built in the east end of the island, after reclaiming land from the ocean for the US Army Air Corp.

Winston Churchill passed through Bermuda to encourage local officials to cooperate and he addressed our local Parliament in strong terms. He flew back to Britain on one of the Catalina flying boats that Triangle of Treason describes being ferried to Europe via the island. He reportedly took the controls of that aircraft for several hours on the leg from Bermuda to the Azores.

The Air Corp base was built with its long airstrip, enabling Bermuda to be at least 20 years ahead of other island destinations after the War was over. This was important for island tourism. The infrastructure development and economic presence of American bases in Bermuda, starting in WWII and subsequently during the Cold War, catapulted Bermuda from a farming/fishing, backwater community to having a first world standard of living.

Can you tell us more about the mail censorship operation at the Princess Hotel during WWII? One of your characters has a role reading mail. Why was this so important for the British?

There were many Nazi supporters and sympathizers in the US. Remember, this war was theoretical for many Americans until Pearl Harbor. Furthermore, Hitler’s antisemitic rhetoric resonated with many people stateside.

Additionally, the censorship of mail wouldn’t have been legal in Britain, that’s why it had to done somewhere else. Bermuda was an obvious way station. Censors found not only seditious messages but money and jewels.

There were a lot of different planes that were utilized during WWII. Your character Harley flies a VS-32 Kingfisher. Tell us more about this plane and how was it utilized during the war.

Kingfishers were built as rugged patrol seaplanes. (I’ve described them in some detail in my book.) They were often used on cruisers and battleships as scout planes where they were launched by catapult and sent out to reconnoiter beyond the horizon. They were designed to land in the open ocean and be retrieved while the mother ship was still under way. They fulfilled somewhat unglamourous roles and therefore weren’t famous, like some other planes. However, because of their simplicity and ruggedness, it was easy for the US Navy to quickly deploy them to an isolated place like Bermuda that didn’t have much support infrastructure.

Captain Grant uses a German Enigma Machine to send military secrets to the Germans. Talk about these machines, how they work and why they were used during the war.

The way it worked was when Grant pressed the "A" key, each rotor would sequentially convert it into another letter. Then the encrypted letter would be further encrypted another three times in reverse sequence. On top of that, further scrambling would be performed by an electric plug board. After each letter was typed, the first rotor would click to the next position. After this rotor went through all its 26 positions, the next rotor would click in turn, thus, making 17,000 different combinations before the machine repeated itself. Each message was preceded by a three-letter code, which itself was unencrypted. This three-letter code would tell the receiver of the message what setting to use on his Enigma Machine to properly decrypt the message.

All German forces used the Enigma, but their navy’s encryption was the most robust and difficult to break. That’s why the capture of U-Boats were so critically important. Of course, the motion picture, U-571 starring Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton, is about such a capture.

Bermuda played a role in one real life capture. In 1944, the US Navy captured U-505 in the mid-Atlantic with its Enigma and all the code books intact. U-505 was towed to Bermuda and hidden from the world for the remainder of the war. U-505 is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL.

Harley falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Becky who is Bermudian. The island was segregated and many interracial couples endured difficulties. Were there many interracial couples in Bermuda and what challenges did they face?

During that particular period, “interracial couples” were rare. That is not to say that interracial liaisons were rare – they were not. As described in my novel, such liaisons were mostly related to occupations: domestic workers being preyed upon by male household members and more transactional in nature as in the “Grenadian Hotel.” Bermuda was indeed a place of R&R for sailors. But “interracial couples” became more frequent when Black professionals studying abroad returned home with white wives in the post war era.

You feature several real-life locations in your novel including Cobbs Hill Methodist Church, The Masonic Lodge, The Royal Navy Dockyard, to name a few. Why was it important to include these landmarks?

Authenticity! There is nothing in this story that couldn’t really have happened. Today, you can visit Bermuda and trace Hooks and Becky Jones, Swordfish and Captain Grant’s footsteps.

Though there are no foxes on Bermuda, talks about the elite’s “fake” foxhunt.

Again, this is authentic. I have a magazine dated in 1947 that chronicles these fox hunts, complete with color photos. The desire by local whites to be accepted by the English was very strong – part of the colonial mentality.

What do you hope readers will take away from your novel after reading TRIANGLE OF TREASON?

I hope the take away is how unique Bermuda really is, being shaped from inception back in the 1600’s, and by the intersection of the three elements: the British, the American and the Caribbean. Hence the Triangle. We have played key roles in the transatlantic geopolitical rivalries over the centuries, despite our miniature size. Our location is our natural resource. The other take away is that I hope people can get the sense of how amazingly beautiful my island is. The truth is, no words can describe what I have the privilege to see every day.

Do you have plans to write more World War II thrillers? What fascinates you most about this time period?

The plan is to write two more novels. One about Bermuda’s key role in the Cold War, the other is about our key role in America’s efforts to put a man on the moon (NASA). The thing that fascinates me most about WWII is that it may have been the last war where the line between the good guys and the bad guys was so clear.