Secret War: A Pictorial Record of the Special Operations Executive

A perusal of the Obituaries in the broadsheet newspapers within the last few years will reveal that a number of people belonged to a secret wartime organisation called the Special Operations Executive. 'The Firm' or 'The Org', as it was also described, was not an ordinary War Office department. The public did not know it existed. It was a secret organisation whose purpose was only revealed long after VE Day.

For many, the names Violette Szabo and Odette are synonymous with heroism. Their wartime experiences have been made into biographies and films but it was only recent television treatments that really highlighted this fascinating organisation. The SOE parachuted men and women into enemy-occupied countries to recruit, train and arm resistance groups in the fight against National Socialism.

Historian Juliette Pattinson conveys the amazing story behind this organisation. Included within this collection are many rare photographs from the Imperial War Museum, featuring some of the agent,s weapons and gadgetry of those who operated in occupied France.