Roderick Bailey

Forgotten Voices of the Secret War

In 1943, small teams of elite British soldiers began parachuting into the mountains of Axis-occupied Albania. They were members of Britain's Special Operations Executive, and their task was to find and arm bands of local guerillas and harass the Axis as best they could. None had been to Albania before, or knew what awaited them. Trying to survive in extreme conditions and formidable terrain, these young Britons lived in constant danger of capture and death, and were plagued by illness, lice and frostbite. Casualties were appalling and most guerillas keener to kill each other than fight Italians and Germans. In his extraordinary new book, Roderick Bailey draws on interviews with survivors, long-hidden diaries and recently declassified files to tell the full story of this remarkable corner of SOE history and finally settle the question of whether or not British communists in SOE, perhaps even colleagues of the Cambridge spies, had conspired to betray British interests.

SOE in the Land of the Eagle

The Wildest Province

The Imperial War Museum

Exploring the actions and events that lead to the Victoria Cross being awarded, 'Forgotten Voices of the Victoria Cross' is full of heroic tales, drama and action from the last century.

Forgotten Voices of the Victoria Cross

From the summer of 1943, small teams of elite British soldiers began to parachute into Axis-occupied Albania. These men belonged to Britain's Special Operations Executive, a secret organisation set up early in the Second World War to encourage resistance and carry out sabotage behind enemy lines. Their task was to find and support bands of local guerrillas and harass the Axis as best they could. None of these young Britons had been there before or knew what was waiting for them.Trying to survive in extreme conditions and formidable terrain, SOE missions lived in constant danger of capture and death and were plagued by illness, lice and frostbite. Casualties were appalling. Most guerrillas, meanwhile, seemed keener to kill each other than fight Italians and Germans. British backing went eventually to Albania's communist-led partisans. It remains a controversial choice. Their leader, Enver Hoxha, seized power at the end of the war and was to rule with a brutal hand for forty years.In The Wildest Province, Roderick Bailey draws on interviews with survivors, long-hidden diaries and recently declassified files to tell the full story of this remarkable corner of SOE history. Through the experiences of individual SOE officers, including Anthony Quayle, the actor, and Julian Amery, the future MP and Minister, he reveals the grim realities of life in the field. He looks, too, at the dilemmas faced and created as the British sought to decide which guerrillas to arm. And by shedding light on what was going on at SOE headquarters, Bailey settles the enduring question of whether or not British communists in SOE, perhaps even colleagues of the Cambridge spies, had conspired to lead British policy astray.

Originally published: New York: Lyons Press, 2001.

Secret Agent's Handbook

Special Operations Executive was a secret British organization set up early in the Second World War to encourage resistance and carry out sabotage behind enemy lines. This is the definitive oral history of this unique military force.

An Inside History of Special Operations During the Second World War

6 June 1944: the day Allied forces crossed the Channel and began fighting their way into Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. Initiated by airborne units and covered by air and naval bombardment, the Normandy landings were the most ambitious combined airborne and amphibious assault ever attempted. Their success marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. Drawing on thousands of hours of eyewitness testimony recorded by the Imperial War Museum, Forgotten Voices of D-Day tells the compelling story of this turning point in World War 2. Hearing from paratroopers and commandos, glider pilots and landing craft crewmen, airmen and naval personnel, we learn first-hand what it was like as men waited to go in, as they neared the beaches and drop zones, and as they landed and met the enemy. Accounts range from memories of the daring capture of 'Pegasus' bridge by British glider-bourn troops to recollections of brutal fighting as the assault forces stormed the beaches. Featuring a mass of previously unpublished material, Forgotten Voices of D-Day is a powerful and important new record of a defining moment in modern history.

A New History of the Normandy Landings

Forgotten Voices of D-Day

'The Gestapo kept me three days in this interrogation house. They especially wanted to know what I did after my escape, and precise things on the organisation of the SOE. And just for fun I suspect, because I had really not much to tell them, they pulled one of my toenails out...' - Robert Sheppard, SOE agent The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British organisation created early in World War 2 to encourage resistance and carry out sabotage behind enemy lines: in Winston Churchill's famous phrase, to 'set Europe ablaze'. Drawing on the vast resources of the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive and featuring a mass of previously unpublished personal testimonies, Forgotten Voices of the Secret War tells the stories of SOE agents, HQ staff, diplomats, aircrew and naval personnel in their own words. As the war unfolds, we learn of parachute drops into enemy territory, torture by the Gestapo and nerve-wracking sabotage missions in far-flung climes. Forgotten Voices of the Secret War is both an incredible account of espionage during World War 2 and a fitting testament to the efforts and sacrifices of a dedicated group of courageous men and women.

Roderick Bailey

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