SOE and OSS Jedburghs in front of B-24 prior to departure just before night at Area T, Harrington Airdrome, England, c. 1944. Photo: Office of Strategic Services.

During the Second World War, a secret British organization known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE) recruited and trained thousands of operatives to carry out sabotage, espionage and resistance activities behind enemy lines. Sometimes referred to as the “Baker Street Irregulars”, after the location of its London headquarters at 64 Baker Street, it was also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army” or the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”. The SOE reinvented the art of unconventional warfare and played a major role in the outcome of the war.

The SOE was formed at the direction of Prime Minister Winston Churchill in July 1940 by the Minister of Economic Warfare, Hugh Dalton, who merged three existing secret departments. The SOE’s main mission was to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in Europe and Asia, where the Axis powers had occupied or attacked various countries. The SOE also supported local resistance movements.

SOE Structure

The structure of the SOE was complex and was constantly evolving during the war. Initially, it consisted of three broad departments: SO1 (propaganda), SO2 (operations), and SO3 (research). Later, these departments were reorganized into geographical sections, such as F (France), S (Scandinavia), G (Greece), and H (Hungary). Each section had its own headquarters, staff, and networks of operatives and contacts in the field. The sections were also divided into sub-sections, such as RF (French Resistance), DF (French escape lines), or SF (Special Forces). The SOE also had various branches that provided specialized services, such as training, communications, security, finance, and supplies.

Commando officer Major General Sir Colin Gubbins was the main leader of SOE. He was in charge of every aspect of the SOE’s covert operations around the world, first as its Director of Operations and Training, and later as the Director of the entire organization. SOE units often operated independently or in cooperation with other Allied agencies, such as British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly referred to as MI6, United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action (BCRA). 

SOE Training

The senior staff in SOE were typically ex-public school (a type of fee-charging private school in UK) and Oxbridge, but the agents came from all walks of life and backgrounds. Prospective agents for the SOE underwent a rigorous and comprehensive training program. There were four stages in the training process: preliminary school, paramilitary school, parachute school, and finishing school.

• Preliminary school: The prospective agents’ character and potential were assessed without revealing to them what SOE did. Those candidates not deemed suitable were sent to the ‘cooler’, where they were encouraged to forget the little they had learned about SOE.

• Paramilitary school: The prospective agents received physical training, weapons handling, unarmed combat, demolition, map reading, field craft, elementary Morse code, and raid tactics. The schools were based mainly in Scotland, where the courses were as grueling as the terrain.

• Parachute school: The prospective agents learned how to parachute safely and effectively at Ringway near Manchester. Parachuting was a common method of infiltrating agents into enemy territory.

• Finishing school: The prospective agents polished up their tradecraft at Beaulieu in Hampshire. There were eventually eleven different SOE training schools located on the Beaulieu estate.

The training was designed to prepare the prospective agents for any situation they might encounter in the field. It also tested their endurance, resilience, and adaptability. The prospective agents who successfully completed their training were deemed ready to be sent on their missions.

SOE Agents

The SOE employed about 13,000 agents during the war, many of whom were women. The SOE often faced opposition from other British agencies, such as the Secret Intelligence Service and Bomber Command, who feared that the SOE’s activities would interfere with their own objectives. However, the SOE had the backing of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who famously ordered them to “set Europe ablaze!”

The SOE employed many remarkable agents, who displayed exemplary courage, skill, and dedication in their missions. Some of them became famous for their exploits and achievements. They include:

• Violette Szabo: A British agent of French origin who conducted two missions in France as a courier and sabotage expert. She was captured by the Germans after a gunfight and executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1945. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the Croix de Guerre.

• Noor Inayat Khan: A British agent of Indian origin who served as a wireless operator in Paris. She was one of the few operators who managed to evade capture for several months despite intense German surveillance. She was eventually betrayed by a French collaborator and executed at Dachau concentration camp in 1944. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the Croix de Guerre.

• Nancy Wake: A New Zealand-born agent who became a leading figure in the French Resistance. She helped to organize thousands of Marquis fighters and led several attacks on German installations and convoys. She was nicknamed “The White Mouse” by the Gestapo because of her ability to escape capture. She survived the war and received numerous awards, including the George Medal and the Legion of Honour.

• Ben Cowburn: A British agent who completed four missions in France between 1941 and 1944. He was involved in various sabotage operations, such as destroying railway engines at Troyes and sprinkling itching powder into German uniforms. He also gathered intelligence and forged contacts with various resistance groups. He was awarded the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre.

• Yvonne Cormeau: A British agent of Belgian origin who served as a wireless operator in France. She sent a record of 400 transmissions in 13 months – the highest of any SOE wireless operator. She also helped to arrange supply drops and escape routes for other agents. She survived the war and received several awards, including the MBE and the Legion of Honour.

• Krystyna Skarbek (aka Christine Granville): A Polish agent of the SOE, she was the first woman to work for Britain as a special agent and the longest serving of all Britain’s wartime women agents. She carried out daring missions in Nazi-occupied Poland and France, smuggling information, propaganda, and money across borders. She also rescued several SOE agents from prison and execution. She was awarded the George Medal, the OBE, and the Croix de Guerre for her bravery and contribution to the Allied war effort.

SOE Operations

The SOE carried out numerous operations during the war. Many them were spectacular feats of daring and ingenuity that had a lasting impact on the course of the war. Some of the better known operations include:

• Operation Anthropoid: The assassination of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, one of the main architects of the Holocaust and the Nazi ruler of Czechoslovakia, who was also known as the Butcher of Prague. Two Czech operatives trained by the SOE parachuted into Prague and ambushed Heydrich’s car on 27 May 1942. Heydrich died a week later from sepsis resulting from his wounds. The operation boosted the morale of the Czech resistance and provoked Hitler’s wrath, who ordered brutal reprisals against the Czech population.

• Operation Gunnerside: The sabotage of the heavy water plant at Vemork in Norway. Heavy water was a key component for Germany’s nuclear research program. A team of Norwegian commandos trained by the SOE infiltrated the plant on 27 February 1943 and planted explosives that destroyed the production equipment. The operation prevented Germany from developing an atomic bomb and was later called “the most successful act of sabotage in all of World War II” by Sir Winston Churchill.

• Operation Postmaster: The capture of three Axis ships from a neutral Spanish port in Fernando Po (now Bioko) in West Africa. A team of British and Polish operatives disguised as dock workers boarded the ships on 14 January 1942 and overpowered their crews. They then sailed the ships to Lagos in Nigeria under British control. The operation demonstrated Britain’s naval supremacy and disrupted Axis supply lines.

• Operation Josephine B: The destruction of a transformer station at Pessac in France. The station supplied electricity to a submarine base at Bordeaux where German U-boats were stationed. A team of French operatives trained by the SOE paddled across a river on 7 June 1941 and planted explosives on the station’s pylons. The explosion cut off power to the base and damaged several U-boats. The operation was one of the first successful acts of sabotage by the SOE in France.

• Operation Jedburgh: A secret mission during World War II in which three-man teams (which often included women) from different Allied countries parachuted into Nazi-occupied territories. Their goal was to help the local resistance fighters with weapons, training, and coordination. They also carried out sabotage and guerrilla attacks against the German forces. The operation was named after a town in Scotland where some of the teams trained.

Impact of the SOE

The impact of the SOE on the war was significant. The SOE helped to undermine the morale and efficiency of the enemy forces by disrupting their supply lines, damaging their infrastructure, and assassinating their leaders. It also boosted the morale and confidence of the occupied populations by providing them with weapons, training, and guidance. The SOE also contributed to the liberation of several countries by coordinating with Allied forces and local partisans. It also gathered valuable intelligence and forged alliances with various groups that would shape the post-war world. The SOE was disbanded on 15 January 1946, with many of its agents moving to the Secret Intelligence Service. The legacy of the SOE is still felt today.

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