An extraordinary family secret. William Cook spoke at The Oldie Literary Lunch about his debut novel, The Fifteenth Man — inspired by the remarkable story of his grandfather, Werner von Biel. William grew up believing his grandfather was a wastrel. But after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he travelled to Berlin and discovered the truth: during the Second World War, Werner had saved a Jewish friend, Manfred Alexander, from the Holocaust — hiding him, feeding and clothing him before helping him escape to Switzerland. Listen to William’s fascinating speech at theoldie.co.uk @williamcooknews 📸 Photos by Neil Spence.