Product Description

'The Gestapo kept me three days in this interrogation house. They especially wanted to know what I did after my escape, and precise things on the organisation of the SOE. And just for fun I suspect, because I had really not much to tell them, they pulled one of my toenails out...' - Robert Sheppard, SOE agent. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British organisation created early in the Second World War to encourage resistance and carry out sabotage behind enemy lines: in Winston Churchill's famous phrase, 'to set Europe ablaze'. Drawing on the vast resources of the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive and featuring a mass of previously unpublished personal testimonies, "Forgotten Voices of the Secret War" is the definitive oral history of a remarkable organisation, showing how in the face of extreme danger and personal risk this select band of men and women helped tilt the conflict in the Allies' favour.As the Second World War unfolds, we hear the voices of secret agents and HQ staff, of diplomats, aircrew and naval personnel. We learn of parachute drops into enemy territory, of code names and cover stories, of capture and torture by the Gestapo, of nerve-wracking sabotage missions, and of guerrilla fighting alongside groups as varied as the French resistance, partisans in Yugoslavia and tribes in the Burmese jungle. Throughout, lives hang constantly in the balance as seemingly ordinary people summon extraordinary reserves of daring and endurance. "Forgotten Voices of the Secret War" is both an incredible account of a unique clandestine force and a fitting testament to the efforts and sacrifices of a dedicated group of courageous men and women.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6987 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

MRD Foot, Literary Review
"Roderick Bailey's assembly of tales deserves a warm welcome, both for readability - there is not a dull page - and for surprise: a great deal of it is unkown to a general public"

The Spectator
"Told through interviews recorded by the Imperial War Museum...Roderick Bailey has skilfully braided their stories into a coherent narrative, and the quality of their egregious courage catches at the heart."

Review
`Assembles with great skill a picture of the Special Operations Executive at work behind several fighting fronts... A valuable addition to the history of war.'