🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅳🅰🆈 July 22, 1940: SOE is officially created at the instigation of Churchill to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied territory and aid resistance movements. #WinstonChurchill #SOE #WW2 🇬🇧 More information: https://t.co/IrKhrrXoqv

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅳🅰🆈 DEC 13, 1917: Jan Baalsrud MBE is born in Kristiania (Oslo), Norway. As an SOE commando he evaded a nine week long manhunt by German forces. #JanBaalsrud #KompaniLinge #SOE #WW2 🇳🇴 🇬🇧 https://t.co/hZjuDtK2uZ

Hugh Verity DSO &bar, DFC. No. 161 Special Duties Squadron RAF – Alan Malcher

🅱🅾🅾🅺 This publication reproduces the 1944 edition of the SOE's descriptive catalogue, 'List of Agent's Equipment and Operational Stores'. It describes the equipment available to SOE operatives (illustrated). #SOE #WW2 2/2 https://t.co/2eHtYZTYD2

🅱🅾🅾🅱🆈 🆃🆁🅰🅿 Reproductions of Balinese carvings made of H.E. and painted to look like wood, sandstone or porcelain with a wooden base concealing a time delay fuze. Native agents posing as hawkers sold them to Japanese soldiers. #BoobyTrap #SOE #WW2 1/2

🅳🅾🅲🆄🅼🅴🅽🆃🅰🆁🆈 In a BBC Timewatch television documentary a former SBS officer described the lack of coordination among government agencies as "a Whitehall cock-up of major proportions." #OperationFrankton #WW2 2/2 https://t.co/uBTgvt0UqM

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅽🅸🅶🅷🆃 DEC 11, 1942: Claude de Baissac, unaware of a Royal Marines raid against ships in the Bordeaux port, was poised to launch his own attack when he heard the explosions of the RM raid and had to cancel his plans. #ClaudeDeBaissac #FSection #SOE #WW2 1/2

🅱🅰🆃🆃🅻🅴 🅾🅵 🅼🅰🅳🅰🅶🅰🆂🅲🅰🆁 Madagascar was captured from the Vichy regime by the British in 1942 to deny its ports to the Japanese Navy and prevent the loss/impairment of Allied shipping routes. #BattleOfMadagascar #WW2 3/3 More information: https://t.co/Ia4Wtr4gWO

🆃🅾🅳🅳 🅼🅸🆂🆂🅸🅾🅽 Lt. Col. John Todd led the mission to undermine the Vichy regime in Madagascar. Operations expanded when threats of Japanese movements toward it are discovered. @GaleAcademic #ToddMission #SOE #WW2 2/3 More information: https://t.co/upVfrnhesv

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅳🅰🆈 December 11, 1941: Gladwyn Jebb, SOE's CEO, pointed out in a memo to the Colonial Office that new developments made "the Japanese seizure of Madagascar a very real possibility", and that SOE would seek to expand the Todd Mission. #GladwynJebb #SOE #WW2 1/3

🇬🇧 British innovation The S-Phone was designed by two Royal Signals officers in late 1942 and was used by Special Operations Executive agents operating behind enemy lines. The ground and air transceiver allowed for vocal communications and played a vital role in coordinating arms

The Welrod pistol was used by Special Operations Executive and OSS agents in occupied Europe. It had a built in silencer and a magazine capacity of nine 9mm parabellum rounds. The French called it the "Silent Assassin".

🅱🅾🅾🅺 'Special Operations In Norway' by @Doctor_IanRH details the remarkable history of the SOE in German-occupied Norway. @BloomsburyAcad #SpecialOperationsInNorway #IanHerrington #SOE #WW2 3/3 https://t.co/JNY8OqBQDU

🅼🅸🅻🅾🆁🅶 Contact was quickly made with Milorg, Norway's military resistance organisation. From July 1944 the group began to instruct Milorg groups with equipment airdropped from the UK, much of it in CLE Canisters. #OperationOsprey #KompaniLinge #Milorg #SOE #WW2 2/3

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅽🅸🅶🅷🆃 December 10, 1943: Four Norwegian members of SOE's Kompani Linge, Captain Alf Espedal and sergeants Torgeir Hetland, Knut Kjærland and Jan Weltzin, parachute into Norway to organise/support resistance groups. #OperationOsprey #KompaniLinge #SOE #WW2 1/3

🅲🅴🆈🅻🅾🅽 From 20 January 1945 until the end of the war, Preston was employed in Ceylon at Kandy and latterly Colombo. She was repatriated to the United Kingdom on the SS Duchess of Richmond on 28 October 1945. #NellieElviraPreston #SSDuchessOfRichmond #SOE #WW2 2/2

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅳🅰🆈 December 10, 1920: Nellie Preston is born in Raynes Park, London. Recruited for clerical work in August 1944, she left for India in December. @richard_duckett #NellieElviraPreston #Force136 #SOE #WW2 1/2 More information: https://t.co/iH7qi14QFC

Damaged by fire 😳 but enough remaining to understand Empson-Ridler’s contribution to SOE and intelligence operations! Read more in my book 'Women in Intelligence'.

🅲🅷🆄🆁🅲🅷🅸🅻🅻'🆂 🆂🅿🅰🅽🅸🅰🆁🅳🆂 Spanish Republicans also served in Britain's Special Operations Executive during World War II. https://t.co/9q2uaYoJdb #SOE #WW2 🇪🇸 🇬🇧

🆂🆃🆂 ❹❺ Special Training School 45 was located at Hatherop Castle in Hatherop, Gloucestershire. It housed SOE's Danish Holding School/Headquarters. #HatheropCastle #STS45 #SOE #WW2 2/2 More information: https://t.co/P5ek15EEHy

🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅳🅰🆈 DEC 9, 1915: Capt. John Allen-Mirehouse is born in Taunton, Somerset. He was an SOE instructor in England (STS 45) and later served in Burma. #JohnAllenMirehouse #STS45 #Force136 #SOE #WW2 1/2 More information: https://t.co/KgsztJzptg