The triumphs & disasters of Churchill's secret army
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Books
SOE: The Special Operations Executive 1940-1946 by M R D Foot
(Pimlico, 1984, 1999) £12.50
This story of the men and women who were members of this most secret agency
is an excellent starting point to begin a study of the SOE – M R
D Foot is the service's official historian. He has also written SOE
in France (1968; out of print).
Gubbins & SOE by Peter Wilkinson and Joan Bright Astley (Pen
& Sword Books/Leo Cooper, 1997) £11.95
A celebration of the life and work of Major-General Colin Gubbins who
was in charge of the Special Operations Executive during World War II.
Das Reich by Max Hastings (Pan, 1981, 2000) £7.99
Within days of the D-Day landings, Das Reich – the 2nd SS Panzer
Division – marched north through France to reinforce the front-line
defenders. They were hounded every mile of their march by saboteurs of
the resistance and agents of the Allied Special Forces. Their reprisals
were some of the most appalling atrocities of the war.
The following books are all out of print. Search for them in libraries and second-hand bookshops.
Secret War: The story of SOE by Nigel West (1991)
A detailed analysis of SOE's structure and performance.
Sabotage and Subversion: The SOE and OSS at war
by Ian Dear (Cassell Military Paperbacks, new edition 1999)
An anecdotal account of code-breaking, blockade-running, guerrilla action,
bombing missions, sniper and assassination work, running double agents,
training work and recruitment methods.
Clandestine Warfare: Weapons and equipment of the SOE and OSS
by James Ladd (1988)
An interesting technical book.
Something Ventured by C M Woodhouse (1982)
An account of the Gorgopotamos operation by one the participants.
Most Secret War by Knut Haukelid (1978)
A personal account of the Norwegian heavy water operation.
Archives
Many of the wartime documents relating to SOE have either disappeared or remain under embargo. Nevertheless, there are numerous files available for inspection at the Public Record Office in Kew. Pointers to where they can be found are given at the end of both M R D Foot's SOE and Ian Dear's Sabotage and Subversion.
The Imperial War Museum also houses fascinating permanent exhibits on SOE, and its reference library has many books on the subject and related areas.
Websites
Special Operations Executive
www.tarrant-rushton.ndirect.co.uk/Special%20
Operations%20Executive.htm
A relatively brief explanation of SOE can be found here, but where this site
excels is in the photographs of SOE-relevant places as they are today.
Mission Impossible:
The Special Operations Executive 1940-1946
www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/
wwtwo/soe_01.shtml
Article on the SOE from BBC History Online.
Mission Scapula: SOE in the Far East
www.m.a.christie.btinternet.co.uk/
Enthusiast’s site dedicated to the exploits of his father, Arthur Christie, in the SOE, especially in the Far East.
64 Baker Street London W1:
The women of the Special Operations
Executive
www.64-baker-street.org
Very full site that tells the story of an extraordinary group of women
who worked for SOE during World War II.
The Violette Szabo Museum
www.violette-szabo-museum.co.uk/
Amateur site that tells the story of this brave SOE agent.
Films
The Heroes of Telemark
British, 1965
Director Anthony Mann
Screenwriters Ivan Moffat, Ben Barzman
Cinematographer Robert Krasker
Music Malcolm Arnold
Cast Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson, Roy Dotrice,
Anton Diffring, Michael Redgrave
A fairly good rendition of the initial SOE raid on the Vermork heavy-water
plant in occupied Norway.
Carve Her Name with Pride
British, 1958
Director Lewis Gilbert
Screenwriters Vernon Harris, Lewis Gilbert
From the book by R J Minney
Cinematographer John Wilcox
Music William Alwyn
Cast Virginia McKenna (Szabo), Paul Scofield, Jack Warner, Sydney
Tafler, Denise Grey, Alain Saury, Maurice Ronet, Nicole Stéphane,
Noel Willman, Bill Owen, William Mervyn, Anne Leon
A biopic of Violette Szabo, the young British widow of a French officer,
who was enlisted as an agent for SOE and died in front of a German firing
squad as a consequence of her work to stop Das Reich from reaching Normandy.
Odette
British, 1950
Director Herbert Wilcox
Screenwriter Warren Chetham Strode
From the book by Jerrard Tickell
Cinematographer Max Greene
Music Anthony Collins
Cast Anna Neagle (Odette), Trevor Howard, Peter Ustinov, Marius
Goring Odette, the French wife of an Englishman, who offered her services
to SOE. When southern France was overrun by the Nazis, she was captured
and – sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp – was tortured.
Despite herself, Anna Neagle produces a wonderful performance of this
George Cross-awarded heroine.
