An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | by PAUL O'BRIEN MA D uring World War two, the men and women of britain's Special operations Executive (SoE) were tasked with 'setting occupied Europe ablaze'. operating in occupied territories, they attacked German installations, blew up bridges and arms factories, organised local resistance movements, and carried out reconnaissance, gathering vital intelligence for the Allies. having been parachuted behind enemy lines, however, the average life expectancy of an SoE operative was just three months. If caught, and many were, agents suffered torture and execution as no quarter was given by their enemies, especially the Gestapo. As German forces consolidated their positions in Occupied Eu- rope, Britain needed a specialised force designed to wage a cam- paign of sabotage and subversion, wreak havoc behind enemy lines, and interrupt the German war machine's vital supply of raw materials coming through Europe on their way to German facto- ries. On 22nd July 1940, the SOE was given its charter under the directorship of Hugh Dalton, the Minister for Economic Warfare. A certain amount of secrecy still surrounds the SOE and how it was organised. It was considered a fluid organisation, able to adapt to the changing demands of the war. At the beginning it was divided into three branches: SO1, SO2 and SO3. SO1 was the propaganda section, an amalgamation of a number of govern- ment departments. SO3 was a planning branch, but according to historians never achieved its goals. SO2 was to become the mainstay of the SOE was the amalgamation of two government agencies, M16's D Section and the War Office's Military Intel- ligence Research Section. The organisation was further divided into units and sub-sections that included intelligence, signals, accounts, and research and production units. Initially, recruitment for the SOE was difficult because, being a secret group, it could not advertise openly for volunteers. However, personal and indirect recommendations enabled the organisation to recruit a large number of men and women from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities with specialist qualifica- tions, including engineers, journalists, and even some criminals. Once identified, potential agents were interviewed to deter- mine their suitability for the task that lay ahead. The interviewer had the difficult task of determining if the candidate was suitable to become an agent, whose work would be very different from that of a soldier. Linguistic skills were of great importance for sur- vival in the field, as discrepancies in language, dialect or accent would immediately mark them as outsiders and draw suspicion. Having been accepted and convinced to volunteer for the specialist group, candidates were put through a rigorous training regime at the estate of Lord Montagu, at Beaulieu in the New For- est, Hampshire. Training consisted of a three- to five-week syllabus that included physical exercise, field-craft and combat training. When the formal training and individual assessment was complet- ed, they were sent to more specialist training schools to be taught industrial sabotage, wireless operation and encryption. Training also became more psychologically demanding, with courses in spy-craft, assassination, using disguises, and safe- breaking. They were also instructed on how to organise resis- tance cells. These would initially be used to gather intelligence on the enemy, before progressing to sabotage and assassination of high-value targets. Weapons issued to operatives included the Sten gun, which was the perfect weapon to conduct guerrilla warfare as it was cheap to produce, easy to fire, and could be bro- ken down and easily concealed. A number of automatic pistols fitted with silencers were also distributed, as was the infamous Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. Potential candidates also underwent parachute training, as this was the most utilised insertion method used. The RAF and Royal Navy did not like conducting insertion operations with the SOE, as they believed that the insertion of one agent risked the lives of aircrew or the possible loss of a ship. However, they were over ruled and ordered to assist as required. Having completed their training agents were covertly inserted throughout Europe, where they located local resistance groups, SpECiAl opErAtionS ExECutiVE Philip Worrall, an SOE agent, pictured on assignment in the Greek mountains during WWII.

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