Unearthing Churchill’s Secret Army

The Official List of SOE Casualties and Their Stories

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War II
Cover of the book Unearthing Churchill’s Secret Army by John Grehan, Martin Mace, Pen and Sword
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Grehan, Martin Mace ISBN: 9781783376643
Publisher: Pen and Sword Publication: December 19, 2012
Imprint: Pen and Sword Language: English
Author: John Grehan, Martin Mace
ISBN: 9781783376643
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication: December 19, 2012
Imprint: Pen and Sword
Language: English

The Special Operations Executive was one of the most secretive organizations of the Second World War, its activities cloaked in mystery and intrigue. The fate, therefore, of many of its agents was not revealed to the general public other than the bare details carved with pride upon the headstones and memorials of those courageous individuals.

Then in 2003, the first batch of SOE personal files was released by the National Archive. Over the course of the following years more and more files were made available. Now, at last, it is possible to tell the stories of all those agents that died in action.

These are stories of bravery and betrayal, incompetence and misfortune, of brutal torture and ultimately death. Some died when their parachutes failed to open, others swallowed their cyanide capsules rather than fall into the hands of the Gestapo, many died in combat with the enemy, most though were executed, by hanging, by shooting and even by lethal injection.

The bodies of many of the lost agents were never found, destroyed in the crematoria of such places as Buckenwald, Mauthausen and Natzweiler, others were buried where they fell. All of them should be remembered as having undertaken missions behind enemy lines in the knowledge that they might never return.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Special Operations Executive was one of the most secretive organizations of the Second World War, its activities cloaked in mystery and intrigue. The fate, therefore, of many of its agents was not revealed to the general public other than the bare details carved with pride upon the headstones and memorials of those courageous individuals.

Then in 2003, the first batch of SOE personal files was released by the National Archive. Over the course of the following years more and more files were made available. Now, at last, it is possible to tell the stories of all those agents that died in action.

These are stories of bravery and betrayal, incompetence and misfortune, of brutal torture and ultimately death. Some died when their parachutes failed to open, others swallowed their cyanide capsules rather than fall into the hands of the Gestapo, many died in combat with the enemy, most though were executed, by hanging, by shooting and even by lethal injection.

The bodies of many of the lost agents were never found, destroyed in the crematoria of such places as Buckenwald, Mauthausen and Natzweiler, others were buried where they fell. All of them should be remembered as having undertaken missions behind enemy lines in the knowledge that they might never return.

More books from Pen and Sword

Cover of the book Lady Under Fire on the Western Front by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Panzers I & II by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Cheating Death by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book History of Dive Bombing by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Discovering Classical Music: Berlioz by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book The Pope's Army by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Boulogne by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Black Night for Bomber Command by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Rails Across Europe by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book British Tanks by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book The Soviet-Afghan War by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Passchendaele by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book ARCTIC SNOW TO DUST OF NORMANDY by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb by John Grehan, Martin Mace
Cover of the book Destroyer Down by John Grehan, Martin Mace
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy