SOE Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe

by British Special Operations Executive

The actual course given to all secret agents in SOE before working behind enemy lines. It includes everything you needed to know to go undercover – from documents, cover stories and how to live off the land to how to get through an interrogation.

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.

In late 1942, SOE was asked to increase the number of agents to aid the invasion of mainland Europe. Part of agent training was ‘tradecraft’ – the practical details on how to be a clandestine agent behind enemy lines – which every agent had to attend at various bases centred around Beaulie in Hampshire.

The course was a set of lectures and this book contains the actual text of those lectures which were discovered in the National Archives this year. It is not only a fascinating insight into the workings of one of the Second World Wars most famous and secretive organisations, but is also a reminder of the huge danger anyone being dropped behind enemy lines had to face.

Genres: World War II, Nonfiction

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2014

Reviews

[Anna Galicinski]

This is such an incredible burst of information for everyone who loves history. As a writing, having access to these specifics was so helpful getting inside the mind of these characters and seeing what they were actually prepped with. Such a neat resource!

[Katia M. Davis]

This is a fascinating insight into the training methods of the SOE. I read it for research for a story and it is so succinctly written that I found myself highlighting just about everything. It is jam packed with excellent information. I fully recommend to anyone with an interest in historical subversion.

[Dave]

It’s interesting but hardly a “good read”. This is a manual where many specifics would be filled in by an instructor so whilst this is interesting to a degree, there is pretty limited insight into what the agents were taught.

[Rob McMinn]

This was clearly at times simply an outline for a spoken lecture or training session. On the other hand, it is full of interesting detail, instructions, rules, advice, rationales, which makes it a useful research text.

[willow]

How curious it is to read typed up top-secret government lectures from WW2. While reading the manual I felt uneasy as it all felt a bit too real, as if these events were unfurling right now. Though naturally it is outdated, there is so much information you could apply anytime, as long as the occasion arises. The text is a bit dry - understandably so, since it was never created for entertainment purposes, but it is still an enjoyable read. Glad I picked it up from the National Archives.

[Steve]

A fascinating look into what was expected by the SOE and how best to stay alive.

[Tara Conlow]

I read this to prepare for a larp about the SOE. There are some exercises in the end. It's dry, lectures, but it is what it promises to be.

[Daniel Massey]

Not the best way to learn about the SOE, its practices and methods.