Gable Ender at the heart of Germany’s surrender

“I WAS born in a crossfire hurricane, and I howled at my ma in the driving rain,” are the opening lyrics of Jumping Jack Flash, probably my favourite Rolling Stones track.

But what is a crossfire hurricane? – P.

Jumping Jack Flash was the Stone’s seventh No 1 hit, spending two weeks at the top of the charts in June, 1968.

Guitarist Keith Richards had a gardener, who he nicknamed Jumping Jack, and he was the inspiration for the song.

It seems that Mick Jagger may have made up the phrase “crossfire hurricane”, possibly after mishearing the phrase “class five hurricane.

However, some people claim that as the eye of a hurricane passes over a fixed spot the wind direction changes 180 degrees, hence a crossfire.

A FRIEND from Montrose tells me he read on Facebook that a fellow Gable Ender had a role in the surrender of Germany at the end of the Second World War.

Is this true and, if so, who was he? – M.

General Sir Kenneth Strong, Chief of Intelligence under Eisenhower’s Supreme Command, was born in Montrose in 1900, the only son of four children, to John Strong, the rector of Montrose Academy, and his wife Ethel.

He was educated at Montrose Academy, Glenalmond College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Strong was commissioned into the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1920 and became an intelligence officer, serving in Germany from 1926-29 and 1935-39.

Just before the outbreak of war, in August 1939, Strong was appointed Head of the German Section at MI14.

When General Dwight Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander in 1943, Strong became Chief of Staff for Intelligence.

He then played a leading part in the negotiations with Germany in 1945 and was present on May 7 when the unconditional surrender document was signed, bringing an end to the war in Europe.

Strong was mentioned in despatches, appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and awarded the United States Distinguished Service Medal, and other foreign awards, including the French Croix de Guerre and Légion d’honneur, and the Order of the Red Banner from the USSR.