SOE Records

Operation Garbo: The Personal Story of the Most Successful Spy of World War II
Operation Garbo: The Personal Story of the Most Successful Spy of World War II
By Juan Pujol Garcia, Nigel West
Godwin's Saga
Godwin's Saga
By Kenneth Macksey
N

Nadia

New Member
Hi

Just joined and looking for more information about the SOE, especially about what information has been available about them. I'd be very grateful if anyone can help.

Can anyone tell me if SOE personnel records are completely separate from army records? Would the army have any records of an SOE operative if they had never been in the army?

Thanks!
 
Hi Nadia, The SOE records are kept at the PRO in Kew. You can obtain a record if the person you are looking for has died, and you have to have proof of their death. There are some good researchers about but they can be expensive for a long search. Hope this is of help to you. Regards Mick
 
Dear Nadia: Kew is the place to start. But there is in the offing a spate of books to appear soon on various SOE operational areas so you couldn't do wrong to wait. Also the National Archives in Washington is a good place to go in a pinch. If you keep your fingers crossed and have good luck, the Brits will have shared their SOE information with the Yanks. Since we have a Freedom of Information Act in place, it's very doubtful that anything regarding SOE activities is unavailable. Please keep in mind, however, that England is the home of litigation for slander; you have to be carefull when you use a name, especially when the person is alive.
 
Thanks for the replies. I have now been to Kew and looked at some of the records - unbelievably interesting! It's good to know some new books are on the way too.

I see that a lot of the SOE agents were registered as being on the army 'General List' instead of with a regiment. Can anyone tell me more about that?
 
Hi Nadia

What's your interest? I only ask because my father was attached to SOE during WWII- you can see him on the Gallery for Czechoslovakia - Jan Sedivy. I've been trying to track down some records myself and was interested to read how useful you found it. Keep promising myself a trip down there but other things keep getting in the way!

Nick
 
i too tried to find stuff on my father -major wae mckenna. he was 2sas but the Association had no record of him then they said he was soe so it was a trip to kew. got his soe file out but hardly anything in it. told by pro bod that was not unusual. did try various leads but only "mission accomplished" by david stafford actually mentioned him. i'm getting old and would like to know more. recent 'churchill secret army(?)' has revived it all. yes. pro are your best bet but you need to be persistent. best of luck
 
Top