SOE The First History
By DAVID FOOTMAN
IN 1953 Mr. Sweet-Escott thought of writing a history of the Special Operations Executive. When denied access to the records, he decided to put down his own experiences. In 1954 he submitted his MS to the appropriate authority and was told he must not publish. For the next ten years the ban was maintained. But in 1964 a somewhat grudging approval was given, con- ditional on certain cuts; so that now, in the autumn of 1965, we have Baker Street Irregular.* Of course, the task of censor in such cases is a thankless one. The only safe course is to say no. It may well be that the Soviet organs have long known all they wanted to know about SOE (indeed this book points to one of the Russians' sources). But there are people, impor- tant people, who do not know, or want to know, how much the Russians know already. Even more to the point is that in the stress of war conditions much is said and done that people —again, important people—would prefer to re- main undisclosed. It is easier to vet memoirs of SOE agents and officers in the field. Their con- tacts were largely on the lower levels, where mistakes and failures can be more readily revealed. But it was on the higher levels
that our author saw most of his service.
SOE's history is a stormy one. Sister clandes- tine organisations seem always apt to quarrel (though the British record is mild compared with the vicious private wars of the German, French and Russian services). But SOE by its very nature carried also the seeds of contention with the forces, the Foreign Office, and, indeed, with any department on which its unacknowledgeable activities might impinge. There was anxiety as to what this uninhibited newcomer might be up to next. There was jealousy; and the ire of rival empire-builders. There was the competitive scramble for essential equipment and facilities, in woefully short supply. As SOE grew, so did the potentialities for discord.
The growth itself is remarkable. The original Sectioo D, on the fourth floor of St. Ermin's Hotel, engaged in operations in the Balkans for the simple reason that its tiny stall had no con- tacts elsewhere. Then persons in high places showed an interest. There appeared new types of recruit—self-made tycoons and big names in the City. Such men thought big, knew what they wanted and were not easily abashed or turned aside. By the end of the war SOE occupied acres of high-class property round Baker Street and a fair quota of Britain's stately homes; main- tained large missions all over the unoccupied world; and controlled hundreds of agents and liaison officers in enemy-dominated territory.
It was, and may still be, unkindly asked what good did it do. A simpler problem is what good did saturation bombing do, and that is still un- resolved. In the case of SOE one must first ask what did its taskmasters expect of it. Were the directives they issued feasible? Were they con- sistent? And how far, in any particular instance, was SOE given the tools, the facilities and the authority to finish the job? The balance sheet shows some signal successes and some grim failures; there was much brilliant improvisation and quite a few muddles; there were splendid loyalties and bitter internal vendettas; there were upheavals and purges; and a drive that main- tained its crescendo of effort up to the final vic- tory. What at least is certain is that SOE's agents and officers in the field, in face of heavy (and often gruesome) casualties, have left a record of courage, resource and dedication that is perhaps unique in the history of Britain at war.
That Mr. Sweet-Escott was not of this com- pany was not of his own choosing. When he joined, aged thirty-two, he brought with him, as a Wykehamist, a scholar and a banker, a predilection for clarity, order and precision. These qualities were as rare in Section D as 1i the SOE that grew out of it. And in spite of his modesty it is clear that he soon also showed a grasp of detail, a sense of proportion, a knack of getting on with people and putting his point across, and considerable physical staying-power.
BAKU( STREET IRREGULAR. By Bickham Sweet- Eacott. (Methuen, 35s.) t THUY CAME FROM THE SKY. By E. H. Cook- ridge (Heinemann, 30s.) He might well get soothing answers to his pleas to be dropped into Greece; but it is obvious his masters would never let him go. He was far too valuable a staff officer to be expendable. And so he lived to write his book.
He was, at various times, concerned with the Balkans; with the Middle East; with Western Europe. In Washington he was liaison officer with the beginnings of OSS, and, back in London, with the Free French. Later he served once more, in various capacities, in the Middle East and the Mediterranean; and finished up his war in South-East Asia. No one else has seen, at first hand, so many aspects of SOE's work in its various phases. And unless and until a full history of the organisation is allowed to be written, Baker Street Irregular is the most com- plete picture we are likely to get. It is as frank as discretion will allow. It is palpably fair and honest. It is written with clarity and humour. It comes to an end abruptly with the end of the war against Japan; and one puts it down with a sharp sense of grievance at not being told what then happened to the author and his brother officers. But this is just a measure of the human interest the story has aroused.
They Came from the Skyt concerns the men in the field. The author has had the full co- operation of the main participants- -Captain Harry Rde, DSO, OBE ('Henri'); Lieutenant- Colonel Francis Cammaerts, DSO, *Legion of Honour (`Roger'); and Major Roger Landes, MC, Legion of Honour ('Aristide'). All three, in spite of their names, were British subjects and worked in the British manned and run 'reseaux Buck- master.' They were dropped to different parts of France between November 1942 and April 1943; Landes, on re-emerging, was dropped again in March 1944. The blurb says, 'E. H. Cookridge's fluent pen reconstructs the events with lively detail.' Some may wish the style of writing were rather less coloured. But it is good to have so full a record of these three very gallant men.
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