SOE: Churchill’s Spies

Today you will tour the many sites within London that have a connection to the Special Operations Executive set up by Winston Churchill in 1940. You will begin at the Horse Guards Parade and then pass by MI6 HQ and the annexes in Queen Anne’s Gate, where the codebreakers had an office before relocating to Bletchley and where the head of MI6 resided. There are air raid shelter directions still visible on the walls.

From Queen Anne’s Gate, you will go to 10 Downing Street, the office of the British Prime Minister, and stop near the statue of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the chief of Combined Operations. At this spot your historian will discuss the cabinet meeting at which Winston Churchill tasked Hugh Dalton with setting up the Special Operations Executive and having the new organization “Set Europe Ablaze.” You will also learn about the secret tunnels hidden under Whitehall and the Admiralty HQ where Churchill was based when he became Prime Minister.

Next, we will walk through Horse Guards and past the old War Office to 2 Whitehall Court where MI6 had its HQ in World War I. This is also site of the memorial statue to the Commandos who, like SOE, were formed in 1940. Their job was to “hit back” at Nazi Germany through daring amphibious raids, thus operating overground in parallel to SOE underground.

You will finish the day at  Westminster Abbey, where you will have an opportunity to visit the memorial tablet dedicated to the male and female SOE operatives who gave their lives during World War II.

You will begin the day at the Cabinet War Rooms where, following an address by Churchill historian Phil Reed, you will have an opportunity to visit the Prime Minister’s Cabinet War Rooms as well as the renowned Churchill Museum, which is dedicated to the life and work of SOE’s founder.

Following your visit to the War Rooms, you will board the bus for the short drive to Baker Street. Best known as the home of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, during World War II the buildings along this street were at the very heart of SOE operations. In fact, the street was so central to the new espionage organization that its unofficial name was, “The Baker Street Irregulars.”

Starting by 221B Baker St., you will take a walking tour to see some of the most significant buildings associated with the organization, including the main wartime headquarters of SOE, where Colin Gubbins had his wartime office. Here, the SOE’s French Section briefed and debriefed agents headed to France and Chiltern Court and the Norwegian Section planned the famous telemark missions.

Nearby, you will visit 10 Duke Street, which was the location of General Charles de Gaulle’s alternate intelligence bureau, and Orchard Court, where men and women who had volunteered for intelligence work were screened and interviewed by the likes of Vera Atkins and Maurice Buckmaster of the SOE France Section. You will also stop at Selfridges department store, which was the site of the vast Sigsaly voice security system that connected the War Rooms to the United States. It is also where a V2 rocket exploded on December 6, 1944, killing eight and wounding 32 American soldiers and almost cutting the vital communications link between London and Washington, D.C. personnel.

You day will begin in Grosvenor Square-the heart of American activities during World War I and II. You will see some of the most significant buildings in and around the square, including General Dwight Eisenhower’s wartime office, the location of the very first American embassy in Britain and its embassies during world wars 1 and 2. Nearby you will stop at 68 Brooke Street which, during the war, was the office of William “Wild Bill” Donovan. Donavan was the founder of the OSS, the American equivalent of SOE and the precursor to the CIA. Around the corner at 70 Grosvenor Street you will also have a look at OSS HQ 70 Grosvenor Street-OSS HQ.

Next, you will take the bus to the Tower of London. You will stop outside this iconic London Landmark to discuss this medieval fortress’s role in the intelligence war during both world wars. Most importantly, you will learn about the Salt Tower, which was used to house German prisoners during both world wars. It was from here to the moat below the tower that prisoners were taken to be executed. The tower was also used as a special interrogation center before the operation grew too large and it was moved to Trent Park.

Following your short stop at the Tower you will proceed to see the London homes of some of the SOE’s most famous agents, including Violette Szabo, YEO Thomas, the “White Rabbit,” Noor Inayat Khan and Christine Granville, who was known as “Churchill’s favorite spy.” You will finish the day by visiting the SOE Memorial along the Thames and the FANY Memorial at St. Paul’s Church Knightsbridge.

In the morning, you will travel a short distance on the bus to Trent Park. During the war this stately home was used by Lawrence Kendrick as a special interrogation center for top ranking German prisoners. Some of the war’s most startling secrets were revealed to the allies by unwitting German generals who thought they were staying in a five-star prison. You will have a look at the gilded cage where “the walls had ears.”

From Trent Park you will travel to historic Audley End House. This English Heritage site focuses on the home’s long history. Built by Sir Thomas Audley, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, the house is one of the largest, and best preserved, stately homes in England. The focus of interpretation today is on the house at the height of the Victorian era. You will have a sneak peek at the house’s wartime role as the home for the Polish section of SOE.

Next, you will have an opportunity to see one of the most intriguing and important locations of the entire espionage war, RAF Tempsford. This airfield—once the most top-secret in wartime Britain—was the home of 138 (Special Duty) and 161 (Special Duty) Squadrons RAF, which were tasked with transporting special agents to occupied Europe. You will see the remains of the airfield, as well as the site of Gibraltar Farm, where SOE agents like Violette Szabo left for their clandestine missions.

The day will end with a visit to the American Battle Monuments Commission Cambridge American Cemetery, where you will have an opportunity to pay your respects to the 3,811 Americans buried there, as well as the 5,127 names recorded on the wall of the missing. In particular, you will take a moment to remember those U.S. personnel who were killed while taking part in the top secret “Carpetbagger” missions, which supplied Allied agents operating throughout occupied Europe.

You will begin your day at the Shuttleworth Collection. This world renown private aviation museum houses some of the rarest surviving aircraft in the world. What is most wonderful about the collection, however, is that most of the planes at Shuttleworth are still in flying condition. Of particular interest is the V9552-a rare Westland Lysander Mk. II Aircraft of the type used to transport SOE agents into and out of occupied France. You will have an opportunity to experience an exclusive up-close tour of the aircraft that is generally only offered to a lucky few.

You will then board the bus for a short drive to the Museum of Military Intelligence at Chicksands. Located on an active military base, you will have a rare opportunity to explore some of the museum’s incredibly diverse collections which include rare examples of SOE memorabilia actually used on operations. Special items from the collection not normally seen will also be brought out and made available.

You will finish the day at Bletchley Park, 20 minutes away. Known as the home of the Government Code and Cypher School and the place where the famous Enigma code was finally broken, your visit will focus on the work of “Section D,” which was the precursor of SOE and the close connection between signals and human intelligence gathering efforts.

In the morning, you will travel to Beaulieu and the New Forest. Today, Beaulieu is the home of the National Motor Museum and the place where the BBC Television Top Gear is filmed. While you will have time to explore one of Europe’s largest auto museums, the real reason for the visit will be to see the Secret Army Exhibition. Known as the “SOE Finishing School,” some 3,000 SOE agents trained at Beaulieu during the war, including Nancy Wake, the most highly decorated female operative of the war.

Driving back toward Portsmouth, you will stop to visit the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. During the visit you will have a chance to get inside the last World War 2-British Submarine. More importantly, you will have an opportunity to see X24, the last of the midget-class of submarines from the war. These British midgets were used on a number of highly dangerous missions during the war, including Operation Postage Able which was the pre-invasion survey of Omaha Beach. Submarines of this type were also used on D-Day as navigational beacons on D-Day.

You will then travel to just outside of Portsmouth to visit Admiral Ramsey’s headquarters at Southwick House and the site of the famous D-Day map room. Inside the map room you will learn about the critical role played by SOE Agents and the Jedburgh Teams they supported in conducting vital intelligence gathering and espionage operations prior to the Normandy landings.

Time permitting, you will have time in the Historic Naval Dockyard to view the Royal Navy Museum and its original copy of the D-Day plan, HMS Victory and the many other fine exhibits inside the site.

Your final day on tour will begin at RAF Tangmere. Legendary as a front-line airstrip during the darkest day of the Battle of Britain, in the later years of the war it was used as the final stop for agents on their way to occupied Europe. After taking off from RAF Tempsford, Lysanders taking agents to France would stop at RAF Tangmere for a refueling and final briefings before flying to France. While they waited, agents would stay at the famous “Cottage.” For many, it would be the last little bit of England they enjoyed. Your visit to this historic airfield will include stops at the old airstrip and control tower as well as the famous cottage. You will then explore the  Tangmere aviation museum, which houses a world renown collection of Battle of Britain and SOE artifacts.

The next stop is Chartwell, the wartime prime minister’s beloved wartime home. En route, you will visit the grave of William “Billy” Fisk, the first American killed during World War II.

At Chartwell, you will have a private guided visit of the museum and collections, giving you a chance to reflect on the contributions made by Britain’s wartime prime minister to the SOE and the “Secret War.” The tour will conclude at the little churchyard at Bladon, where you will pay your respects to Churchill, the father of SOE, at the family burial plot.

There will be one morning departure to the London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to catch your flight home.