The Deadly Game

A British Army Secret Agent Handler in the Troubles

Will Britten

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Paperback

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English

Miscellaneous
01 November 2025

Memoirs; Military history: post WW2 conflicts; Espionage & secret services; Special & elite forces; Military intelligence

SOUTH ARMAGH, NORTHERN IRELAND, 1983. Will Britten, 23, has just qualified as an agent handler for the British Army's ultra-secret Force Research Unit. He and a fellow agent handler complete the detailed paperwork following a covert meet with one of the Detachment's most important agents, who has successfully infiltrated 'Mad Dog' McGlinchey's INLA Active Service Unit.

A few days later, there is a phone call. The draft Contact Form wasn't put in the burn bag. Both PIRA and INLA now know his real name.

What would you do?

The Deadly Game is the memoir of a military intelligence officer with the FRU a unit so secret that the rest of the army barely knew it existed. Their role was to infiltrate terrorist cells on both sides of the Troubles, to gather intelligence and disrupt them from the inside. Will Britten provides a unique insight into one of the most successful intelligence units of all time, and the part they played in ultimately bringing Republican terror to the negotiating table.

AUTHOR: Will Britten served in the British Army from 1978 to 2005 and was a senior officer in the Intelligence Corps. He operated as a HUMINT officer in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Cyprus and Iraq. He was part of the BRIXMIS unit, a unique liaison unit, in East Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. He subsequently operated as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer in some of the world's hotspots, including Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Angola, and directed the UK military's covert intelligence training at the Specialist Intelligence Wing, in Ashford, Kent.

20 colour illustrations

By: Will Britten
Imprint: Miscellaneous
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781837050208
ISBN 10: 1837050201
Publication Date: 01 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

Will Britten served in the British Army from 1978 to 2005 and was a senior officer in the Intelligence Corps. He operated as a HUMINT officer in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Cyprus and Iraq. He was part of the BRIXMIS unit, a unique liaison unit, in East Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. He subsequently operated as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer in some of the world’s hotspots, including Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Angola, and directed the UK military’s covert intelligence training at the Specialist Intelligence Wing, in Ashford, Kent.

Reviews for The Deadly Game: A British Army Secret Agent Handler in the Troubles

‘A gripping tour de force – reveals the inside story of the secret war in Northern Ireland, from one who was there, at the very heart of the darkness. A riveting, insightful, rollercoaster read. Truly revelatory.’ -- Damien Lewis ‘This is life in an undercover unit. Will is revelatory, insightful, thoughtful and honest. It doesn’t get better or more real than this – this is how it was!’ -- ‘TC’, recruiter of ‘Stakeknife’