This tribute piece serves to draw light on an area of research that’s provided practical knowledge and inspiration. It's about SOE (Special Operations Executive).
Beyond utmost respect for the exploits of the members of SOE, who risked their lives during WW2, there are many lessons that can be absorbed, even in this modern world, where much takes places in the cyber realm.
Some of these valuable lessons can be applied, not just to Tri-Tier’s focus- the realm of personal safety, but can also prove useful to many organisations that aspire to a resourceful, agile on the ground, pro-active mind set.
Ablaze...
SOE was set up in 1940. Designed to disrupt and distract the Nazi war machine, its operatives, which included both men and women, were trained to use irregular warfare, subversion, sabotage and a fairly full gamut of intelligence craft. Major General Colin Gubbins, KCMG, DSO, MC, was appointed as it's Director of Operations.
Here was a seasoned military officer, with vast experience of traditional front line warfare and also guerrilla strategies. Something, I've mentioned in previous articles, is that Gubbins was thorough in his warfare roles.
Long before his work, heading up SOE , he'd served, during the First World War, receiving the Military Cross for his actions during the Battle of Somme, in 1916.
He was an individual that despite having operational experience, continued to research the tactics used by different guerrilla groups, raiding parties and resistance fighters.
Major General Gubbins thus brought experience and this extensive understanding of irregular warfare. He had a clear sighted understanding of what was required. He also knew that SOE would need to recruit a mixture of experience and unconventional talent.
The Axis Powers were determined to suppress the spirit of resistance, in the occupied territories. It was clear that those who would partake in SOE operations, would need a tenacious readiness to take the fight to the enemy- a penchant for causing ground level dismantling and demolition mayhem.
Courage...
As the title of this article reflects, the attribute that really shows itself in the men and women of SOE is courage. Now, courage may appear in the immediate actions of these individuals, as almost a type of fearlessness- a relentless focus on the task at hard. Yet, often the case, is that courage requires one to act, while fear is very much present.
Even when fear could be somewhat faded, or circumvented by the desire to complete the mission, the stress inducing currents of adrenaline would still have surged. The nervous system relentlessly taxed and the heart rate jolted, at any time.
Many who served in SOE would've been made fully aware of the consequences for them, if they were caught. Spies- no doubt the very thought of them deeply unsettled Hitler, and so they were given severe, brutal treatment, by the Nazis. Capture would likely lead to torture and execution, in many cases.
Violette Szabo, GC, who served in SOE's F Section, was captured whilst on a reconnaissance mission, in France. She was interrogated, tortured, and taken to Ravensbrück.
This concentration camp for women would see prisoners being kept under terrible conditions, in bitter cold temperatures. Brave Violet Szabo was executed in 1944. Sometime after her death, she was awarded The George Cross. Others died in the camp due to the harsh conditions.
Yolande Beekman, also served in SOE's F Section, in the Musician network. She was a wireless operator who was transmitting vital intelligence to London and also to another network, but was intercepted and captured by the Gestapo. She underwent a violent interrogation and ended up in Dachau concentration camp in Bavaria, where she was executed.
Wireless operators had a particularly risky role. The discovery of the wireless, or if transmissions were intercepted by the Gestapo's detection groups, using direction finding equipment, would likely lead to immediate capture.
That's why the wireless operators would only ideally transmit for controlled time slots and they would have to vary their transmission spots. This meant they would have to get use to living in different houses, with different people. An unsettling, and isolating lifestyle.
It required a high level of trust and cautious day to day activity. Even those brave locals who were housing them were also often exposing themselves to great risk.
Capture was just one of the threats posed to operatives. There was also the very real risk of being killed in action, whilst carrying out one's assignment.
Along with that, came the hazardous risks of travelling to occupied territories, or parachuting into one's location.
Madeleine Barclay, on agent running duties for SOE, was killed onboard HMS Fidelity, along with the crew and Royal Marines of 40 Commando, when it was lost at sea, after U Boat attacks.
It's thus clear to see that courage was displayed in bold fashion, yet SOE knew that well trained operatives would be far more empowered, capable and confident in their roles. Training would also increase their chances of survival.
There would be many skills that they’d have to learn; and they also needed accessible field craft to help them survive a ruthless enemy; always on the ready to hunt down espionage agents, with canine zeal.
For their close-in survival training, Gubbins had an ideal candidate for this role, in the form of the hardened combative expert, W.E Fairbairn.
Training...
William Fairbairn was an unusually tough man, one that would not back down in the face of adversity. Fairbairn served with the Royal Marines and then went to work for the Shanghai Municpal Police (SMP).
It was a dangerous, wild city at this time, with crime syndicates, gangs, street thuggery, gutter like dealings, corruption, protests, poverty, plus the threat posed by the Japanese army.
Although badly injured in a knife attack, Fairbairn stayed in his job but made it his mission to study all the fighting knowledge he could access. This would allow him to develop a system of training to keep himself alive but also to share with his constabulary.
His body would still acquire many more scars, in the line of duty but he internalised some life saving concepts. He absorbed from Ju Jitsu, Judo, Boxing, Savate, Chinese fighting arts, old European wrestling and other methods, including bayonet and knife skills.
One of Fairbairn's go to movements that he would go on to teach his recruits, was the open hand thrusting palm strike to the chin.
This likely came out of Fairbairn's exposure to the Chinese internal art of Bagua, as he trained with the bodyguard of the Empress Dowager. The bodguard was an advanced teacher of Bagua and I heard that Fairbairn was deeply impressed by his lethal skills.
Open hand strikes were a practical and logical choice to show to recruits. Impact with a fist to the head, runs the risk of cracked knuckles, broken fingers, or cuts, susceptible to infection. For those who needed to operate a wireless, a pistol, or other equipment, this was a risk. There were other reasons.
Without taking away from the contributions he made, close-in combatives have, in certain ways, evolved quite a bit since those times. Some of these methods required the element of surprise, and dirty fighting doesn't always hold up, against trained combat athletes, such as skilled Greco Roman wrestlers, ring hardened Thai boxers; or street fighters, astute to these moves.
It does, however, have a place and can give a needed edge, to someone who may not have been able to receive more extended training. It gave agents something they would hopefully remember and it further instilled SOE’s ethos of using irregular, unconventional ways to prevail.
Over the years, Fairbairn's work has also drawn in many modern day instructors of tactical training and researchers of these close quarter methods. He even taught members of OSS. Some went on to become key figures in the CIA.
We will return to Fairbairn's methods, in a further article.
Now, when he taught the SOE recruits, he was teaching people from diverse walks of life, with different experiences and builds. I understand Violette Szabo was about 5ft 3.
Nancy Wake, AC, GM, who also operated in France, was also said to be of petite build. The Gestapo nicknamed Nancy, the White Mouse, as she was so elusive. The ability to be elusive being a prized attribute for agents, carrying out sabotage and running networks.
Spirited and known for excellent field craft, Nancy also participated in raids and other more direct engagements with the enemy. Also, I heard that Nancy did utilise her hand to hand combat training, in one incident, when she was stopped by an SS sentry. She used an open hand chop to his throat.
Fairbairn would not have had immense amounts of time to convey combat techniques, as there were many other aspects of field craft that the recruits had to learn- from parachuting, to escape and evasion, maintaining their cover stories, using explosives and operating wirelesses.
Fairbairn would often select carefully from his diverse repertoire and adapt the training to the recruit's likely role, once they were to be deployed. He also had some core basics that could be taught across levels.
This was about surviving in war conditions; weapons also had to be taught- firearms being a priority. Fairbairn showed recruits how to use concealed blades and even how every day items, such as a rolled up newspaper; or keys could be used, to enable a shock tactic. He also taught silent kill methods and how to neutralise a sentry
Another weapon he would train them to use was the cosh. This weighted weapon was fairly easy to hide and could be used up close. I believe W.Stanley Moss used one of these, to knock out the Nazi General's escort, during an SOE capture op, in Crete. More on this shortly.
Also helping Fairbairn, at the SOE training centre, discreetly tucked away in Scotland was Eric Sykes. They had worked together, in the SMP, in those gritty streets of Shanghai and Sykes was a highly skilled shot and firearms expert, who had the ability to shoot very accurately from the hip.
From various accounts, much of their training often carried out in an unorthodox, unconventional manner, was a way to ingrain into recruits that they had to keep their wits about them.
How might recruits respond after being plastered with drink? How did they come across when offered a fine glass of wine?
The instructors were not trying to trick them, or add a touch of drama, for their own amusement. They understood that the enemy would also use all kinds of tricks, traps, or deception and could appear at any moment. You could say that they were helping to heighten the recruits' attributes of awareness and alertness.
Understandably, there were also recruits, though possessing of courage within their being, who would still have experienced, in burdening fashion, the tensions and pressures of their imminent deployments, to these dangerous, unforgiving environments.
Fairbairn, though rather deceptively, looking somewhat like a reserved military chaplain, also conveyed a tacticturn toughness and a strong belief in his methods.
This was important, as he had to instil confidence and readiness to be ruthless, in these recruits. Many were of young age. Violette Szabo was only 23 years old, when she was executed.
In one of Fairbairn's books on unarmed combat- Get Tough, he states:
"We've got to be tough to win, and we've got to be ruthless-tougher and more ruthless than our enemies."
Looking carefully, at photos of W.E Fairbairn, I'd say that his was a face reminding one of that saying- still waters run deep. Look further and it's a face that then conveys still waters may drown you...
There were also those who entered SOE, with both their own physical capabilities and mental toughness. Colonel Bill Hudson, DSO, OBE who was an SOE officer, operating in occupied Yugoslavia, was regarded as a good wrestler and boxer.
Blending in...
Like Gubbins, these men knew that irregular warfare required the realisation that the enemy wouldn't fight fair and neither should they. Knowing what was at stake, the instructors were training the recruits to adapt to the unexpected and if they were forced to deploy combative tactics up close, they had to do so with conviction and get away, whilst evading capture.
They could not telegraph movements. Neither could they afford to break cover or make seemingly small mistakes that could cost lives. Recruits had to be able to trust their training but also adapt it, to the moment in hand.
Even today, in personal safety scenarios, each situation can be different, in some way. There will be various factors influencing the aggressor and the possible ways to disengage from them.
Much of the recruits training was also about reading situations in advance. Was the contact they were due to meet a double agent? Was the rendezvous point too exposed? Did something just not feel right? There was much to discern.
Other skills had to be especially developed, such as their ability to wield the language, like a local. Recruits were sometimes picked because of their ethnic features or family background. Blending in might be the key skill that would allow them to complete their objectives and remain undetected.
It's also something that's of use to anyone wanting to apply travel safety skills, be it an executive, student, or group of tourists heading to a foreign city.
Not all SOE agents had to blend in, with the same level of detail. In some regions, where the fighting was more overt, raids might be carried out, but operatives would not have to spend weeks on end, playing the part of a resident from the local civilian community, as they were more in skirmish mode. This was usually the case for the groups involved in Operation Jedburgh.
The art of blending in, also works better when one conveys a calm, relaxed demeanour. The agents of SOE would have to keep especially calm whilst being questioned, or when their papers or possessions were being scanned, by the suspicious eyes of patrolling soldiers and check point guards.
We've looked here, at the ability to blend in, being a vital one to the SOE operatives. Taking this further, blending in, required another ability- they needed to be able to adapt…
It was essential that they were adaptable to their unfamiliar environment, sudden changes or unexpected testing factors. This required another mental attribute which is resourcefulness.
Resourcefulness...
Yvonne Cormeau, from Wheelwright Network, was highly regarded for her composure and ability to perform effectively under pressure, as a wireless operator.
In order to move about, she would assume the role of travelling nurse to get to key locations, without raising suspicion. Looking at photos of her, you could see how she would have blended into a French environment. He father was actually from Belgium.
One of the many admirable examples of an SOE operative constantly using their wits to not only carry out their operational role but also to escape from captors and continue to disrupt the enemy forces, is the gallant activity of Forest Frederick Edward Yeo-Thomas, GC, MC.
Nicknamed The White Rabbit by the Gestapo, Yeo Thomas, a robust, dynamic and unpeturbed soul, operated in Vichy France. Having been badly tortured, after the first time he was captured, he still made various escape attempts. Eventually, in 1945, he pulled off his final daring escape and fortunately survived the war.
Prior to his work in SOE, Forest served in the US army and fought with the Polish, against the Russians. There’s even an account about him escaping from a Russian prison. It seems he was a natural escape artist.
Another example of resourcefulness and daring involves Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek, OBE, GM. In SOE, this seasoned Polish agent, known also as Christine Granville, saved the lives of two fellow agents- Xan Fielding and Francis Cammerts.
They had been captured and held by German forces, at a prison. Using her wits, guile and what I gather was sheer assertiveness, she managed to persuade the captors to release them. This would have required determination and a persuasive intensity.
Then, there was the SOE activities in Crete. One of the the most well known operations, utilising daring and resourcefulness, was carried out by Patrick Leigh Fermor DSO, OBE and W.Stanley Moss, MC, with the aid of Greek resistance fighters. In 1944, the group managed to abduct General Heinrich Kriepe.
It involved Fermor and Moss dressing up in German military uniforms, in order to ambush the General and knock out his driver. Deception thus being another tool in SOE’s portable arsenal.
Then, they had to escort the captured general, who was concealed in the back of the vehicle, through numerous check points.
This was to be followed by an arduous journey, on foot, until they eventually reached a British naval vessel and headed with the captured general, to Egypt.
A friend one of mine, from the security world, knew Patrick Leigh Fermor, in the post war period. Also, I once had an impromptu drink with military historian and journalist, Sir Max Hastings, who knew Patrick well.
It was fascinating to hear insights about this adventurous, spirited individual, who to this day, is also highly regarded for his travel writing.
Max Hastings, who has written many military history books, kindly gave me a copy of his own highly informative bestseller, The Secret War. This book covers a lot, regarding clandestine warfare between 1939-45.
For further information about the operation in Crete, W.Stanley Moss wrote a well known book, titled Ill Met by Moonlight, which goes into much further detail about it. His direct participation in this risky operation, makes this book even more of an intriguing read.
Broad Range of Expertise and Experience...
One of the strong points of SOE was that it recruited across many different layers of society. It needed individuals with specialised knowledge, yet it also thrived using individuals that society might sometimes deem as outsiders, disrupters, or creative, restlesss adventurers.
It even recruited individuals who’d been involved in certain forms of criminal, or underbelly activity; as well as rebellious types, with subversive tendencies. This did attract the scorn of some of the more staunch embracers of the traditional military model.
Whilst certain roles would require physical prowess and strength; others also required a more subtle touch, even academic backgrounds. C.M Woodhouse, DSO, OBE had achieved a double first in Classics, whilst at New College, Oxford. He served with SOE, operating for quite a bit of time, in Crete. He developed a very good understanding of Greek culture, which obviously appealed to him and helped him, with his interactions.
It's also worth noting that many entered SOE, having already gained significant military experience, in one of the regiments of the British army, or other branches of the armed forces.
Xan Fielding entered into SOE via the Cyprus Regiment, and Patrick Leigh Fermor came from the Irish Guards. Bill Hudson had worked with D Section of SIS and Yeo-Thomas had served with the RAF.
Many of these individuals also had vibrant, kinetic life experiences and often a wider cultural awareness. This, in itself, made them more adaptable, when mixing with resistance fighters, and their contacts, within other countries.
They often had to win favour amongst those they encountered and worked with. In some cases, they also had to further ignite the spirit of resistance, in the local groups.
Leigh Fermor, as a young man, had travelled quite extensively, especially in Eastern Europe and had learnt to use his wits, to make contacts and mingle in different circles, from rural to high society. He was also a gifted linguist and his knowledge of Greek certainly came in useful, in Crete.
SOE is also acknowledged as one of the earliest organisations to actively utilise women, in operational roles. Given the diverse theatres of war, it also needed to recruit people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Those known to have recruitment roles included Selwyn Jepson and Vera Atkins, CBE. For this role they had to be able to read people quite quickly and assess- who would be able to adapt to each environment, who would be able to operate under extreme pressure and who would be trustworthy.
Selwyn who recruited for F Section, is also known for his work as a writer and authored various detective novels. He felt that women were well suited to the isolating clandestine work of the organisation. It certainly could be a lonely world, when behind enemy lines.
Vera Atkins worked closely with the women agents, who would go one to be deployed as wireless operators, but she had also worked in the field, in various intelligence operations.
Whilst the SOE was a British organisation, it had agents from other countries and would also work with allies from other places. Noor Inayat Khan, GC who worked for F Section, came from an Indian family and was the first female wireless operator, to be sent into occupied France. Sadly, she was captured and executed, after being betrayed.
France Antelme was French Mauritian and operated with the SOE in Madagascar. There were also Danish, Norwegian, Polish and Greek SOE agents, to name just some. There were SOE operations being run in many regions, including Italy, Yugoslavia, Burma, Austria, North Africa and Asia.
Recently, in a discussion with military and intelligence author Kate Reid-Smith, I was interested to learn that in 1941, Penang was apparently the location to one of SOE's advanced headquarters for their Oriental mission, focusing on Thailand.
Having visited Penang a number of times, since childhood, it was interesting to learn this. I was also surprised when she said that the heritage listed Birch House, within which this former HQ was set up, now houses a Macdonalds. How times change..
Kate, who is a former military intelligence officer, who grew up in Penang, has recently written an in depth book on the SOE operation that took place in South East Asia. It's called- Operation Cleeves, SOE's Forgotten Wartime Tragedy in Thailand. This less known, intense mission would certainly make for a powerful film production and it’s a non fictional story that certainly needs to be shared.
Other Needed Attributes...
The difficulty in writing this article is that the lives and exploits of most of these wartime figures might each deserve a separate book. Moreover, I'm certainly not a trained historian, though do have an interest in certain historical topics. Also, I've not researched the history of SOE, with the commitment and vigour of an academic researcher.
My own focus and interest has been in seeing what attributes, knowledge and insights can garnered that can fit within the various areas that my own work covers, particularly the field of tactical training and on the ground investigations.
There is, however, far more in depth academic work from military historians, such as the authors mentioned above and accounts from people, who served in SOE.
I’d also like to mention The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops by Damian Lewis.
SOE: An Outline History of the Special Operations Executive 1940 - 1946, was written by the late M.R.D Foot, who served in SOE and was recognised as the official historian for SOE.
There are then writers who’ve written more specfic biographical accounts about individual SOE members.
For those further interested in related areas of wartime history, I would very much recommend the works of author Ben Macintyre. His books include SAS: Rogue Heroes.
To round off this look at the SOE, there are some other distinct attributes, to consider. Another much needed attribute, that formed part of their resilience in the field, was patience.
This is worth mentioning. Agents would have to wait for unknown lengths of time for instructions or contacts to appear. Perception of time would also be affected by stress and the irregularity of their hours in operational mode.
Despite a readiness to want to win (perhaps another attribute), they had to often stealth march to the beat of the environment's drums.
Weather conditions, levels of moon light, other events, or enemy activity, might require them to pause and wait, before putting a plan into action. There were supply drops to wait for and, at times, there was a real need to simply hide and wait...
Spirit...
There are also moments where we see these profound displays of human spirit, in the thick of adversity.
Maurice Pertschuk, MBE, LdH, CdeG, the son of Russian Jews who escaped the pograms, worked as an SOE agent and was due to carry out a sabotage mission but was captured. His contact, at the factory he was planning to destroy, turned out to be a double agent.
Prior to his execution, whilst in captivity, in Buchenwald concentration camp, he still managed to write a book of poems called The Leaves of Buchenwald.
There are also accounts of Violette Szabo, who was known for her ability to keep in good cheer, that convey how, even when she was in captivity, she not only remained in strong spirits but was also very supportive to fellow prisoners.
F.F.E Yeo-Thomas, was also known to have led ten French prisoners to safety, on his final and successful escape, in 1945.
An intense level of mental toughness was certainly needed, especially if captured. Ken Macalister, a Canadian officer with distinct spectacles and impressive qualifications in law, served in F. Section. When he was captured and interrogated at Fresnes prison, he resisted his interrogators, who wanted his security codes, so they could send false wireless transmissions to London. He was executed in 1944 at Buchenwald camp.
Should an agent reveal key information, it would be costly. It could result in others being captured, traps sprung, along with networks infiltrated and shut down.
Given the pain caused to the likes of Macalister, Szabo and Yeo-Thomas, during these interrogations, they showed immense fortitude, in not giving in.
SOE operatives would also need to have good people skills, in order to gather intelligence, which in some cases, required them to engage directly with the enemy.
It was important that they worked well with their group, which sometimes could be small. Nancy Wake worked in a team codenamed Freelance, which consisted of just three people.
Then, they also had to get along with the many different people, they might encounter. This in itself required many of the above attributes- from patience to awareness…even charm and acting skills.
After the war, some members actually went into creative fields, such as writing or acting. Sir Anthony Quale, who served with SOE, operating with the partisans in Albania, went onto to act in many films, including Lawrence of Arabia.
It's also worth noting that there might have been more personal motivations fuelling some of these men and women's innate will to gain victory and unleash their spirit of defiance, in the face of the enemy.
Many would already have lost someone during the war, including colleagues and immediate loved ones. Wake, Szabo, and Cormeau had all lost husbands to the war. Then, there was the looming fear for most who served, of their countries being invaded and forever lost.
The world today, is certainly not at its most stable place, and most do not want another global war. The world therefore requires our peace valuing societies to still keep close to hand, some of these potent attributes. Fortunately, the past actions of those courageous souls, ensures that these feats of daring and these wider serving attributes, echo firmly into the present, lest there are any attempts to extinguish the spirit of freedom.
Aran
About the author:
Based in London, Aran Dharmeratnam is the founder of Tri-Tier. He specialises in personal safety and resilience training, often working with high profile figures and their families. With experience in various areas of the security sector, Aran also works with global security companies involved in private investigations and strategic intelligence. He’s been deployed on the ground, in numerous cases. Aran’s insights have appeared in The Financial Times, The Spectator, Aviation Security International, and Security Management Today.
For consultations or training contact: office@tri-tier.com