D -DAY: FORMER wartime code breaker Harry Beckough purposely planned the release of his latest book to coincide with D-Day.

D-Day commemorates the mass invasion of Allied troops on June 6 1944 to repel Hitler's Nazi troops and bring the Third Reich to its knees.

Mr Beckough's latest book is called Germany's Fourth Reich in which he writes that while the previous three were not a success militarily, the Fourth Reich as he considers Germany today to be has established financial dominance over the UK and other countries it once fought.

Mr Beckough, 90, who lives in River Park, studied in Germany before the Second World War and saw Hitler's rise to power.

He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery and served in India before being enrolled as a code breaker.

He worked on breaking Rommel's signals and messages in Africa before being recalled to India to serve with the 14th (Burma) Army dealing with Japanese coded signals.

Following the war he was appointed to the Foreign Office to help with the revival of the universities in Germany.

The cover of his new book states: "As an academic, in charge of two universities, they spoke freely to him of their plans for the future.

"This book reveals that inherited desire for domination which has been Germany's major characteristic through major wars and battles over centuries."

Mr Beckough, who moved to live in Marlborough seven years ago to be nearer his married daughter, said: "You only have to witness what has happened over the last couple of years."

He said German industry now owned many key companies in Britain and France and other Allied countries, including the former Rover company at Swindon now controlled by BMW.

He said: "People do not appreciate that it is still Germany we are fighting, not on the battlefields as in 1914-18 or 1939-45 but through the EU."

Mr Beckough said he did not think there would be further military confrontations between England and Germany.

He said: "I cannot see other military uprisings because of the strength of NATO but they are winning the financial and industrial war."

Copies of his book cost £5, plus postage, and can be obtained from Mr Beckough at 44 Castle Court, Marlborough SN8 1XG.