PADDY Ashdown is coming to Salisbury next month, to talk about his latest book, The Cruel Victory.

Lord Ashdown found time in his busy schedule to speak to the Journal about his book, his views on the city and, of course, politics.

The Cruel Victory tells the tale of the heroic civilians of the French Resistance, the Maquis du Vercors, who took on a ruthless German division in a battle that ended in massacre.

“It’s my ninth book,” Lord Ashdown explains.

“I have got a book on the go nearly all the time. My wife calls it my train set.”

But what inspired the former special forces commando to recount this particular story?

“I know that area, which is very, very beautiful, quite well,” he said.

“I used to walk there and fell in love with the area and became captivated by the story and its tragedy.

“It’s also the hidden story of D-Day. We all know what happened on the beaches, but far too little is known of the sacrifice of young French men who were called into action at the same time.”

Lord Ashdown spent two-and-a-half years researching the book.

“I love the research, the process of writing and – what I’ll be doing in Salisbury – going round talking about my book,” he said.

“The most enjoyable bit is uncovering the stories – finding someone, somewhere, with records of their father’s time in the French Resistance and bringing it to life.”

“The thing that always fascinates me and why I always write these books about the French Resistance and the Second World War, is that ordinary men are able to do extraordinary things and those we think of as extraordinary are able to do terrible things.

“You never really know the quality of a man or woman until they are under stress.”

The former Royal Marine Captain said the key message he wanted to bring out in his book was not to forget the French contribution to the success of D-Day.

“Eisenhower said it probably wouldn’t have succeeded if it wasn’t for the sacrifices of young men in places like Vercors, who tied the Germans down.

“It’s very sad to me that we remember almost every position of every soldier on the beaches but we know nothing of these young men.”

Lord Ashdown has visited Salisbury many times before and passes through twice a week on his way to and from London on the train,” said Lord Ashdown.

“It’s a fabulous city,” he said.“Of the south west cities with which I’m closely associated, like Bristol and Exeter, Salisbury is incomparably the most beautiful.”

A prolific author, Lord Ashdown already has another book in the pipeline, which follows the story of three men in Bordeaux between 1942 and 1944.

The book explores on the interplay between a young British radio operator, a Frenchman described as “one of the great betrayers in the Resistance”, and a highly sophisticated, very clever Gestapo officer who never used torture but took people out to dinner to persuade them to inform.

The conversation inevitably shifted to politics as I asked Lord Ashdown what was the proudest achievement of his political career.

The answer? Being MP for Yeovil.

But Lord Ashdown was less willing to reveal his biggest regret.

“I’m old enough to know that I made many mistakes, but I’m far too experienced to tell you what they were,” he said.

After that we discussed the coming general election, which Lord Ashdown described as “the most unpredictable and volatile of all time”, and the rise of UKIP.

So why is the purple party so popular at the moment?

“People are fed up with the idea, and rightly so, that politics is a professional calling,” he said.

“We have moved away from politics of belief and principal, towards politics of managerialism.

“But is UKIP a movement or a political party?

“We will know the answer to that when they try to produce a manifesto behind which they are united and which is suitable for a civilised nation.

“Last time was a disaster.”

And what about the other end of the spectrum? The Green party’s recent surge in the polls at the expense of the Lib Dems appears not to concern Lord Ashdown.

“Those who are Lib Dem voters and want to make a protest will vote Green,” he said.

“At a serious time when we have fragile economic recovery and great danger internationally – when people think ‘who do I vote for that will give the country stability, protect my job and make a fairer Britain?’ – many people think it’s not the time for protest, but time for rather more serious politics.”

Paddy Ashdown will appear at Salisbury Playhouse on January 23 at 7.30pm to talk about his new book.

The talk is a fundraising event in aid of Salisbury Playhouse’s 40th Anniversary Campaign and the Army Benevolent Fund.

Go to salisburyplayhouse.com or call 01722 320 333 to book.