Talk:Special Operations Executive

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The list of agents on this page is of such a length that I feel it would benefit from being divided into the various SOE Sections. At present I don't have sufficient data to do this myself, but whoever has added all of the names which do not yet have their own pages may well have it. Petermanchester 11:44, 12 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I am currently undertaking the addition to this page of as many books and films as I can recall and/or discover on the subject of SOE operations, as well as agent biographies that I am able to add. Petermanchester 22:05, 12 Nov 2003 (UTC)


As of this writing, the link titled "Special Operations Executive Records Release 8th Feb 2002" in category "external links" seems broken.
The current URL

http://www.pro.gov.uk/releases/feb2002-SOE/list.htm

says 404.
Hope this helps maintain this impressive article.
Alain Becker (FR) 03:42, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Yup, it's broken, and it doesn't look like it's going to come back. The whole site seems to have moved to http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, and lists of releases before 2003 have been cleansed. Their online catalogue (PROCAT) is dead, so I can't search for the missing info. As a consolation prize, I added a link to the nearest thing I could find, a list of 2003 document releases relating to SOE. --Heron 10:52, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

They do seem to have been making changes. However, there's a search page active, for the moment, at ,http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search.asp CVA 19:07, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)


I think Roger Courtney has a role here, with the SBS, but can't figure out how. Guttlekraw 06:49, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've added details of two books by MFD Foot and a description of Mackenzie's book. As a personal opinion I'm not sure why we have books and films on a joint list. I feel films generally are very inaccurate and tend to "glamorise" the subject. I'd like to suggest we have separate "books" and "films" lists. There are now so many books (of varying quality) some of the very reliable ones are in danger of being "lost" in a ever lengthening list. What do contributors think of the idea of dividing the bibliography into three sections : official publications/academic histories ; autobiographies of those who actually took part ; biographies / popular books written by authors without personal experience ? Cefas 26 Mar 06

Have not received any comments so have amended article on lines suggested above. Cefas~~ 14 April 06


FANY "The SOE included a number of women (who were often recruited from the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry); its F Section (France) alone placed 39 female agents in to the field, of whom 13 did not return. " I always understood that female SOE agents were placed in FANY after recruitment because female members of the British Armed Forces were not allowed to carry arms. FANY had a more relaxed attitude to rules and regulations. It was thought that if capture they might get some protection from being members of a uniformed force. Of course it did not help. FANY did supply personnel to staff SOE UK radio stations but that was probably because they were considered very trustworthy because of their backgrounds. --jmb 23:38, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] France

The phrase "The F Section, under British control, recruited agents who were not prepared to accept the leadership of General De Gaulle" could be better expressed. Some people not liking De Gaulle wasn't the only reason for the two sections. If anything I thought F section came first & RF was started because De Gaulle didn't want to work under British control. -- SteveCrook 09:18, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Denmark

The Danish Resistance was able to mount few covert actions before the end of the war. Most of the actions conducted were railroad sabotage to halt German troop movements from and to Norway. However, there were examples of sabotage on a much larger scale especially by BOPA. In all over 1000 operations were conducted from 1942 and onwards. The Danish resistance also saved nearly all of the Danish jews from certain death in German KZ camps. This was a massive overnight operation and is to this day recognized among jews as one of the most significant displays of public defiance against the Germans. They did assist SOE in its activities in neutral Sweden. For example, SOE was able to obtain several shiploads of vital ball-bearings which had been interned in Swedish ports.

One of the two striked through parts cant be right


Tha slughy 22:07, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chamberlain

The Neville Chamberlain article states "he had a key role in the formation of the Special Operations Executive", yet this article doesn't mention him at all. --J Clear 12:00, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

  • In M R D Foot's SOE The Special Operations Executive 1940-46, the forerunner of SOE was agreed in March 1939 for sabotage and leaflet work in the Czech borderlands and Austria. It says that Chamberlain did not object. Then in 1940 - By a curious irony, the last details had already been handed over by Churchill to be settled by a personage whom Dalton particularly detested. The forging of a weapon intended to create the utmost difficulties for Hitler was undertaken by the man who is commonly derided as having been too soft in his treatment of Hitler at Munich: Neville Chamberlain. --jmb 18:19, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mistakes and Points

FRANCE "SOE's operations in France were directed by two London-based country sections. F Section was under British control, while RF Section was linked to General de Gaulle's Free French government in exile."

>>

This is not true (see "A Life in Secrets" -Sarah Helm). de Gaulle's group was in no way linked with the SOE. In fact de Gaulle was at direct odds with SOE's F Section. He believed the British were carrying on illegal operation in France because they were not linked with his Free France (supposedly the exiled government). At the end of the war de Gaule went to the point of ordering some SOE agents off French soil. SOE (F) also allowed agents to do field recruiting which meant many native French worked with SOE on the ground.

"SOE included a number of women (who were often recruited from the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry); F Section alone sent 39 female agents into the field, of whom 13 did not return."

>>

Actually while some were recruited while in FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry... Im not joking that was the initials used) - SOE mainly used FANY as a cover for their women spies. England's laws did not permit women to take part in combat or field operations (other than drivers and nurses etc.). So to get around this the women enlisted in SOE were also enlisted in FANY to give them a cover. This also allowed SOE to get money and such for the women.

"The memorial's Roll of Honour lists the names of the 91 men and 13 women members of the SOE who gave their lives for France's freedom."

>>

This is a quick statement but should be fleshed out a bit. "gave their lives for France's Freedom" is not accurate. The main point of opperations was to prepare for D-Day. The agents where giving their lives for their country (mostly British citizens though born in other countries).

Also these people were almost all murdered in hitler's concentration camps in very gruesome ways.

Many problems with this article but I need to stop here for now, Mike