SOE Syllabus: Lessons in Ungentlemanly Warfare, World War II

by Denis Rigden

As the regular forces rebuilt after their escape from Dunkirk, Britain began striking back at Nazi Germany through a small number of strategically placed spies and saboteurs, the Special Operations Executive. Britain's Public Record Office now reveals much new information, particularly about the training of agents. This heavily illustrated work includes actual training manuals used during World War II.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference

432 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

Reviews

[James Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This remarkable book is a collection of the surviving lecture notes from the training of Special Operations Executive agents during the second world war. It was published by the official UK government publisher and it is amazing that this ever happened given that it is effectively a how to manual for covert operations (although I doubt we'd need to worry overly about someone who actually read this and then tried to do it themselves without extensive practice).

[Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the British spy schools of WW2, this is what they taught their agents going behind the lines...the book includes W.E. Fairbairn's lesson plans for his gunfighting and "silent killing" courses (later taught to the OSS, by both him and his student, Col. Rex Applegate). Invaluable for military history/covert action/spy buffs, and gutterfighters with a taste for their historical roots!