Overview

The history of the Special Operations Executive during World War II has been the subject of many books down the years. This is a detailed account of the development of equipment and techniques upon which the success of its subversive activities relied. SOE's behind-the-scenes research and development programme ranged from high explosive technology to chemical and biochemical devices; from the techniques of air supply to incendiarism; from camouflage to underwater warfare; and from radio communications to weaponry. This is a well-documented account of how scientific and technical skills were exploited in support of the heroic efforts of SOE agents world wide during World War II.

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9780750931656

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Where would James Bond have been without the ingenuity of Q's inventions? In the same place, presumably, as would Britain's wartime secret operatives without the many gadgets created by scientists of the SOE (Special Operations Executive). That is, up the creek without a Moneypenny between them. Yet while the wartime agents reaped all the gongs and credit, the backroom boys and girls of SOE remained unsung. Even their families thought they were civil servants or minor players in some humdrum department. Much has been written in recent years about the covert workings of SOE, but never before has anyone focused exclusively on the gizmos dreamed up behind the walls of the Victorian country house that acted as HQ. None of the contrivances amounted to the sort of hi-tech wizardry provided for 007, but they proved effective against the Nazis nevertheless. Boyce and Everett look at the conception and construction of items ranging from mini incendiaries to a poison gas container disguised as a pencil. Some inventions were gruesome, others almost comical. Many never even got to the creation stage - such as a cunning device to give the Nazi leadership a mass dose of diarrhoea. The authors are enthusiastic in detailing the mindboggling ideas that were tossed around, and the expertise that made some of them reality. One of the most remarkable aspects was that the SOE never recruited from among the boffins of their day. Many recruits came straight out of university and were simply invited to think in a lateral way. 'Be outrageous and let us decide what's feasible,' they were told. The gadgets they devised certainly complicated things for the Nazis. How much influence they and their inventors had on the course of war is debatable, but the tale of ingenuity is one that would have kept even 007 engrossed. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Fredric Boyce pursued a career in mechanical engineering with ICI before taking a post at the University of Oxford. Now retired, he is an acclomplished glider pilot and lives near Oxford. Douglas Everett was awarded the MBE in 1945 for his part in SOE's scientific effort. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1980, he wrote several books and some 200 scientific papers. He died in 2002.

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