Special Operations Executive

Discussion in 'SOE & OSS' started by Jedburgh22, Oct 24, 2010.

  1. Chris Murray

    Chris Murray Member

    The site wont let me edit my post / list and I am useless with this kind of computering....here is the list updated to what I THINK I know now


    SOE Designations

    12-land = Germany
    19-land = Denmark
    21-land = Finland
    22-land = England
    26-land = Norway
    31-land = Latvia
    35-land = Yugoslavia
    36-land = Sweden
    38-land = Serbia
    43-land = Estonia
    46-land = Lithuania
    49-land =
    93-land = Scandinavia
    95-land = Russia

    A of G-40,000 = Maj. Farish, OSS
    A/D – George Taylor[1] - Chief of Staff to CD Frank Nelson
    AD/E = Director of SOE London Group/Head of SOE in NW Europe
    AD/F = [?] London Yugoslav Desk
    AD/H = Director of Mediterranean Operations
    AD/M = Musgrove
    AD/P = Air Commodore A.R. Boyle – Security Intelligence Liasion
    AD/3 = Glenconner - July 1942. When Glenconner was not in Cairo; he was in London. He was head of the Balkans Section in London – became head of SOE Cairo after the 1942 purge
    AD/Z = Lt.Col. F.T. Davies – Army & R.E. Supplies Scientific Research W/T supplies
    A/H2 = Dr. Alfred Heinrich Hugo Julius Becker[2]
    A/H 3 =
    A/H 21 =
    A/H 31 = Mihailović
    A/H 69 = Rapotec
    A/H 179 =
    A/HA = Julian Amery
    A/HG = Alexander ‘Sandy’ Richard Glen
    AL = Air Operations
    AL Air = Operations
    AMX = Massingham Mission
    AQ/F = FANY personnel
    AQ/H = HQ Admin
    AQ/O = Stationery
    AQ/S = Stores and Equipment

    B/B = Delhi Group

    C = Stewart Menzies
    Caesar = Julius Hanau
    CD = Director of SOE [Nelson (Feb 1942), Hambro (Sep 1943), Gubbins (end)]
    CEO = Chief Executive Officer [Gladwyn Jebb], (Spring 1942) Colonel Harry Sporborg

    D = Head of Section D (one of SOE’s forerunners)
    D/A = Administration
    D/AF = Offices, furniture and telephones
    D/AG = Air Raid Precautions
    D/AT = Transport
    D/CA = Arms
    D/CAM.F = Special Supplies
    D/CE = Security
    D/D = Devices
    D/E = Wireless
    D/FIN = Director of Finance [Group Capt. J.F. Venner]
    D/H = Balkans and Middle East (Cairo Group)
    D/H – George Taylor
    D/H 2 = Col. Bailey
    D/H 3 = Leslie Charles D’Oyly Harmar
    D/H 4 = NERO, Trevor James Glanville
    D/H 18 = Basil Davidson
    D/H 19 = Robert George Head
    D/H 20 = John Still Bennett
    D/H 21 = A.H. Rogers
    D/H 21 = P. Walkden
    D/H 22 =
    D/H 24 = Frederick Lawrence
    D/H 36 = Geoffrey Hugh Swinburne Frodsham
    D/H 70 = Boughey
    D/H 72 = H. Seton-Watson
    D/H 94 = Capt. K.J. Elliott
    D/H 109 =
    D/H 134 = Deakin
    D/H 178 = Maclean (also Z)
    D/H 245 = Atherton
    D/H 286 = Robertson
    D/H 363 = Lofte
    D/H 366 = Kebel
    D/HS = Bickham Sweet-Escott
    D/HSS – Stephan H. Clissold
    D/HV = Lt-Col. Pearson [SOE] Head of the Balkan and Middle East Desk
    D/HY = Tom S. Masterson [Head of the SOE Belgrade Office then @ Cairo Balkan political subversion][3]
    D/HZ = Duane Tyrell ‘Bill’ Hudson
    D/N = Persian staff
    D/O = may be the Minister of State ME
    D/P = Russia
    D/PLANS = Future Planning
    D/PROPS = Land and Buildings
    D/Q = Press Propaganda
    D/R = French, Dutch and Belgian Sections
    D/S = Scandinavia
    D/SD = War Establishments
    D/T = Security
    D/YC = Codes, Cyphers and Telegrams
    D/Z = Shipping
    DM = looks like C-in-C ME / Wilson
    DSP = Special Propaganda Directorate, Middle East
    DSO = Directors of Special Operations
    DSO(B) = Directors of Special Operations (Balkans)
    DSR = Director of Scientific Research
    DSS = Security Special Section
    DT = Liaison with SIS

    E = Director of Services
    E = Equipment & Supplies/Director of Services
    E/C = Codes
    EU/P = Poles abroad, Minorities

    F = France
    Felix = Vladimir Feller

    G-60,000 = President Roosevelt
    G-50,000 = Donovan OSS
    G-50,100 = Sherwood
    G-40,000 = OSS
    G-710 = British JSM?

    H = Spain and Portugal (Iberia)

    J = Italy, Malta and Switzerland

    K = Special Liaison and Far East

    L = Planning and Intelligence

    M = (Operations) Directorate See Bickham Sweet-Escott
    M = Gubbins
    MG = General Staff (London Group)
    MP = Poland
    MS = Communications
    MT = Training
    MTH = Hungary
    MY = Czechoslovakia

    N = Netherlands

    O = Far East
    OLD = Col. Bailey
    OSA = Official Secrets Act

    PTC = ‘Put through the cards’, Used in SOE personal files indicating when the subject was negatively vetted, i.e. when a check was carried out of the MI5 card index to see if anything was recorded against the person.

    Q = North Africa

    ResMin Med – Macmillan
    RF = Allied French

    S = Scandinavia
    SO = Minister of Economic Warfare (Ministerial head of SOE) Dalton, Selborne
    STS = Special Training School

    T = Belgium

    U = USA and South America
    UKCC = United Kingdom Commercial Corporation
    UNCLE =

    V/CD = Brig. Stawell

    W = East and West Africa
    Wix = Brig. Armstrong

    X = Germany and Austria

    YM = Military Attaché
    YP = Embassy / Ambassador

    Z[?] = seems to refer to outside ministries
    ZA – The RCAF / Air ministry / COAS Sinclair
    ZC = UKCC Headquarters
    ZE = Ministry of Economic Warfare (MEW) Headquarters
    ZM = War Office
    ZN = [?] Navy ; One of them has to the Navy
    ZP = Foreign Office
    ZNO = Zone non-occupée (Vichy France)
    ZO = Zone occupée (Occupied France)

    SOE Individuals

    CD is the Director of SOE; but could also refer to SOE's board of Directors.
    DM – looks like C-in-C ME / Wilson
    D/O may be the Minister of State ME
    When someone from SOE says “Dear Top” it’s Selborne / Minister of Economic Warfare they are writing to
    Massingham – SOE Station Algiers (est. Late 42) forward stations in Brindisi and Naples
    DADDY – Mihailović commander, Split area
    ME – Middle East?
    FO files list Prince Paul as “F”
    FO Files: Moley = O. Sargent

    SOE Yugoslav Missions
    (Incomplete)

    ALKALI
    Brzece
    Lt. Stott; Sjt. Jouny

    ALMONER
    Leskovac
    Capt. Hawkesworth; Sjt. Shenton

    ANGELICA
    Kosovo
    Capt. More; Parsons

    BALLINCLAY

    BRAZENOSE
    Mission to Macedonian Partisans

    BULLSEYE
    Hudson Mission
    Maj. Hudson, Capt. Robertson

    BUMBOAT
    At Mihailović forces Kragujevac
    SW Užice
    Lt. Beamish, Sgt. Jones

    CAVERN

    CAVERN TWO

    CLOWDER
    Maj. Buxton

    COCKNEY
    Slovenia
    Sgt-Maj. Simcic
    Pte. Bozic

    COLLABORATE
    At Serbia HS 5/888
    Capt. Lofts – Hudson’s Signal Staff Captain; Sgt Ainworth; Sgt. Emly; Cpl. Slamnik

    CONQUEST
    At Partisans, Dalmatia
    Lt. Ballard, Sgt. Booth, Sgt. Ponder

    CRAYON (Formerly LIVINGSTONE)
    At Italian Slovenia – HS 5/885

    CUCKOLD

    CYANIDE

    DECIMA
    Maj. Davidson

    DESIRABLE
    At neighbourhood of Sarajevo
    HS 5/891
    Maj. Head, Sgt. [R?B]akic, Sgt. Simic
    Objective: supplement to BULLSEYE

    DIPPER

    DISCLAIM
    At neighbourhood of Zabljak
    HS 5/891; HS 5/892; HS 5/893
    Dropped 4/5 February 1942
    Captain Elliot, Cpl. Chapman; Lt Erjanski; Sgt Milkovic
    Objective: supplement to BULLSEYE
    C A P T U R E D

    ENAMEL
    Dubasnica
    Capt. Vercoe; Cpl. Scott

    ENTANGLEMENT

    EXCERPT (formerly ALLEGORY)
    At Homolje HS 5/889 / Belareka
    Maj. Rootham, Capt. Vercoe; Sjt. Anderson; Sjt. Hall
    Objective: include looking for Polish troops and making contact with Poland

    FLESHPOTS
    At Skoplje, connected to HACKTHORPE
    D/H468 Capt./Maj. Morgan, Cpl./Sgt. Hollingsworth Cpl. Vignevic;

    FLOTSAM
    Capt. Davis, Sgt. Fegec?

    FUGUE
    E. Pristink
    Capt. Lees; Lt. Tomlinson; Sjt. Faithful; Sjt. Lesar; Sjt. Johnson; Maj. Solly-flood

    FUNGUS :
    1st CDN Commies to Partisans 21 April 1943 – Brinje, Croatia
    Partisan HQ Croatia
    Maj. Selvig, SBS

    GEISHA
    joined CYANIDE
    Capt. Owen, Lt. Gibbs, Cqms. Sykes, Sgt. Pater, Cpl. Folyn

    HACKTHORPE (formerly COUNTERFEIT)
    Extensive Brief
    • At Macedonia - HS 5/887
    • D/H513 Capt Sehmer; Cpl Langmaid; 2/Lt. Gaitsky; [?] Blackmore;
    [added ? June 43] Lt. / [local rank]Capt. Lees; Lt. / [local rank]Capt. Purvs; 2/Lt. Tomlinson; 2/Lt. Smith; LAC. Thompson
    Objective – attack Chrome mines (Trepca), Albanian frontier, and the railway Skoplje-Veles at bridges over Vardar river or tunnel

    HENNA
    At Split HS 5/896
    Lt. Rapotect; Sgt. Sinko

    HOATHLEY
    1st CDN Commies to Partisans 21 April 1943 – Javornik, Bosnia

    HUGGATE
    At Kopaonik, D/H516
    Maj. Selby, Capt. More, Sgt. Blackmore

    HUNDON

    HYDRA
    Lt. Nedeljcovic; Sgt. Djekic, Mjr. Atherton

    ICARUS

    KIDMORE
    At Central Serbia HS 5/886
    Capt. Hawkesworth RE; Sgt Harvey NZE; Engineer Sgt Lindstrom NZE; Cpl Leban, Royal Yugolsav Guards
    Objective Nish-Skopje Rlwy
    Maj. Cope

    MACMIS
    Maclean Mission

    MONKEYWRENCH
    at Partisans in Macedonia
    Maj. Quiney, Sgt. Mountford, Sgt. Prpic, Cqms. Gilder

    MULLIGATAWNY

    NERONIAN
    NE Pristina
    Lt-Col. Cope; Maj. Raw; Maj. Sehmer; Lt. Chudleigh; Sjt. Harvey; Lt. Link

    PERSEVERANCE
    At Snood [Macedonia to meet TEMPO, Tito’s delegate there]
    S/Ldr. Clark, Sgt. Juryman, Cpl. McRobert

    RAKEOFF

    RAPIER

    RAPIER UDAL

    RELATOR

    REPARTEE
    SW Užice
    Capt. Maynard; Cpl. Halford; CQMS Hainsworth

    RHODIUM
    At Kopaonik
    Brzece
    Maj. Cope, Lt. Chudleigh

    RIPVANWINKLE
    Capt. Burnett

    ROWENA

    ROUGHSHOD
    Kozjac
    Capt. Purvis; Capt. Boon; Lt. Newlyn; Sjt. Walker; Pte. Thompson; Spr Opertownsn

    RUPEES
    Gornjanje
    Capt. Nash; Capt. Patterson; Maj. Greenwood; Maj. Scorgie; Capt. Hargreaves; Cpl. Vella; Cpl. Ridewood

    SAVANNA

    SEIZURE

    SERBONIAN

    SMOULDER
    At Homolje, D/H335
    Maj. Greenwood, Sgt Anderson

    TOFFEE

    TYPICAL
    Partisan GHQ
    Capt. Deakin

    HS 5/882 Correspondence with Brigadier Maclean, 1943-1944
    HS 5/883 Dummy signals station in Croatia; enemy attack Drvar, 1944
    HS 5/885 CRAYON mission (formerly LIVINGSTONE); Italian Slovenia, 1943-1944
    HS 5/886 NERONIAN and KIDMORE missions; instructions, 1943
    HS 5/887 HACKTHORPE mission (formerly COUNTERFEIT); Macedonia, 1942-1943
    HS 5/888 COLLABORATE mission: instructions and reports, 1942
    HS 5/889 EXCERPT mission (formerly ALLEGORY): Harbourne Polish party, 1943
    HS 5/890 SEIZURE mission: Brigadier Armstrong's mission to Mihailovic, 1943-1944
    HS 5/891 DESIRABLE and DISCLAIM missions, 1942
    HS 5/892 DISCLAIM: capture of party, 1941-1943
    HS 5/893 DISCLAIM: reports, 1941-1945
    HS 5/894 HENNA and HYDRA missions: Split and Montenegro; reports, 1941-1943
    HS 5/895 HENNA and HYDRA: disappearance of Major Atherton, 1942-1945
    HS 5/896 HENNA and HYDRA: agents reports, 1941-1943
    HS 5/897 HENNA and HYDRA: interrogations, operational post mortem, 1942-1944
    HS 5/898 KNOCKHOLT mission: establishment of bridgehead on Dalmatian coast, 1944
     
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  2. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    The Eliah Meyaer work on the SOE is a very good source of information on the background of agents and complements work by M R D Foot.E H Cookridge and others.

    It was once freely accessible on the internet but those days have gone since it has fallen into the hands of Academa.edu...now an account is required and all that that means.

    I remember considering printing it out as a reference and it ran to 90 pages with normal sized fonts.
     
    Chris Murray likes this.
  3. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Dear Chris,
    Thank you indeed, I'll proceed accordingly. Thank you indeed for your kind suggestions!
    Marco
     
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  4. AlanDavid

    AlanDavid Junior Member

    does anyone know when the designation DON for the o/c small arms section, fell into disuse?

    Regards

    AlanD
     
  5. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Dear Chris, thank you once again. I went through Mr. Meyer's material, and also sent him a few lines, asking for help.
    Should you have any possible suggestion, I'll be most grateful.
    Have a nice weekend,
    Marco
     
  6. Darren Mead

    Darren Mead Member

    Evening I'm hoping you guys can help, was there any S.O.E units involved in Burma? My Great grandfather was a chindit, in conversions with my grandfather he told me that his father had told many stories of him time in the S.O.E in Burma in 4-5 men units, His name was Cecil Frank de Vall, He was a rank Sergeant and his service number was 988344
     
  7. Chris Murray

    Chris Murray Member

    Darren,

    The SOE was indeed in Burma. Dr. Richard Duckett and Dr. Robert A. Farnan are two people I know working on the subject. Dr. Duckett recently published an excellent book "The Special Operations Executive in Burma: Jungle Warfare and Intelligence Gathering in World War II." Bobby has a chapter in my book "Unknown Conflicts of the Second World War: Forgotten Fronts." His chapter is entitled "Indigenous Resistance as Irregular warfare: The role of Kachin Forces in SOE and OSS Covert Operations During the Burma Campaign."

    I know little to nothing about SOE in that part of the world beyond knowing they were there so unfortunately this is the limit of what I can offer you. However, if you reach out to the two names above I suspect you can get some help getting a little further along in your search.

    Happy hunting and best of luck.
     
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  8. Darren Mead

    Darren Mead Member


    thanks for the swift reply i have just purchased the first book, and will look into your book thanks again
     
  9. I don't know if any of the following are in the database of SOE personnel. I am still seeking information about some of them. They were mainly personnel with SOE missions 'Toffee' and 'Savanna' that went into Bosnia in 1944 to support the Partisans. Any help will be appreciated.

    Re: 'TOFFEE' - See WO 202/242, 202/503 et al for reports and signals to and from the field.

    Captain T P (Tom Pringle) Wilson MC, a BLO to Partisan Third Corps in Eastern Bosnia from 24.01.1944 to 21.09.1944 - See HS 9/1607/5 for his prior service and a report of the situation in the field. I've additional information from a relative.

    Cpl Lincoln -- a wireless operator who accompanied Wilson, identified as Ernest Lincoln in my book (more about that below); however, an individual who claimed to have known him said his first name was Elmer and that he was more commonly known by the nickname “Dickie.” He was a Cockney from Burdett Rd, Bow. He later served in Burma.

    Major C S (Colin Scott) Dafoe, a Canadian surgeon in the RAMC, previously served in North Africa, joined Toffee on or about 12.05.1944. He was the subject of a biography I wrote, 'The Parachute Ward,' originally published in 1987. See HS 9/387/8 for his service file.

    Pte/Cpl/Sgt "Frank" Oxley was one of two RAMC medical assistants who accompanied Dafoe. His rank is listed variously in records, although he appears in photographs with sergeant stripes on his uniform. He was known as Frank, but it's not clear if that was short for something else -- eg, Francis -- or if it was his first or middle name.

    Pte/Cpl/Sgt "Chris" Real was Dafoe's other RAMC assistant. His forename could be Christopher or Christian; another source suggested Clarence, but that seems less likely. A record concerning his later service in Malaya suggests his service number was 7371113.

    I am most interested in learning whatever I can about Oxley and Real.

    Cpl Ball was another wireless operator. A military report I received from Yugoslavia refers to a Cpl Baldennis who joined the British mission on 18.05.1944, which leads me to suspect he was Dennis Ball.

    Cpl Eden was a wireless operator described as formerly with a tank regiment before performing some special duty on Vis before transferring to SOE. Sources suggest his forename was Jeffrey (or Geoffrey) and that he was a nephew of Sir Anthony Eden, the Foreign Secretary at the time; however, there are reasons to doubt the latter claim.

    Pte Gaul was a medical orderly in the RAMC. I've a photograph but no other info.

    Re: 'SAVANNA' - See WO 202/349 et al for signals to and from the field.

    Captain W M (Wiclif McCready) Holmes was another BLO who linked up with Toffee on 26.07.44. It's said he was an associate of Patrick Leigh Fermor et al and was previously involved with activities in Crete, including the great kidnapping caper, but there's no hard evidence to support the claim. There is no service file for him listed at TNA, perhaps because he was alive until 2016 (he died shortly before his 100th birthday). Information received from relatives describe an extraordinary military career that spanned Dunkirk, Egypt, Crete, Yugoslavia, Italy, France and, after the war, with the police in Malaya and counter insurgency in Cyprus.

    Cpl F I (Frank Ivan) Straw, a wireless operator who accompanied Holmes, killed while landing by parachute. See HS 9/1423/7 for his service record.

    There are several other names in my notes:

    Roy Wardle was a w/t operator who went into Bosnia with Capt Basil Irwin between April and October 1944 and later served in Burma.
    Stan Dutton, another w/t operator, also went to Burma.
    Peter J Warr, presumably a w/t operator, was with Major John Henniker-Major.
     
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  10. Raymond Sweetman

    Raymond Sweetman New Member

    Hello - very late to the show - only in the past few days was I aware of this site/form and it's resources! The Sweetman mentioned in one of the SOE documents (HS 3/91) related to 'Operation Postmaster' is actually a cousin of mine, John Bryan Sweetman. Just before Christmas I took a trek to the National Archives in Kew as part of a process to go through records to establish what I can about that part of his service (no luck btw). Despite the problems with delays in getting hold of Army service records (currently running at delays of 18+ months) I've nevertheless, using a wide range of resources, managed to flesh out the basic framework of his basic military service. If you are still researching SOE personnel please feel free to contact me for further information. Best wishes, Raymond Sweetman
     
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  11. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Raymond welcome to the forum
    I have dropped Jedburgh22 a private message to say you have joined the forum.

    regards
    Clive
     
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  12. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

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  13. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks for highlighting the page on Richard's website. Excellent work from him as always.
     
  14. Sfsg

    Sfsg Member

    Cpl Dennis Gaul and Cpl C Real went to No 1special Force in Jan 1945. Athens ?
     
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  15. I don't know much about Gaul, so any info you can share will be greatly appreciated. I know Real dropped into Malaya in August 1945 as part of Operation Humour.
     
  16. Sfsg

    Sfsg Member

    I've put some photos on here. I have more on face book so I could try and hook up with any descendants . How do you know these guys? I've been trying to find Reals Family for years!
     
  17. I wrote a book, 'The Parachute Ward,' about Colin Dafoe, a Canadian surgeon in the RAMC who joined SOE and parachuted into eastern Bosnia in 1944 to serve with Tito's Partisans. Chris Real was one of two medical orderlies who accompanied Dafoe. Gaul was another orderly attached to the mission, codenamed 'Toffee.' I've spent more than 40 years trying to properly identify Real (I think I now at least have a service number for him) and the other orderly, Frank Oxley.
     
  18. Sfsg

    Sfsg Member

    Thanks for your work. I hoped you might recognise the men. I will get a copy of your book soon as. My main mission was to identify the men, try to tell their story and work out the mission he was MIA on. But the can of worms was open. Their regement no's didn't yeild anything online. I've been trying to get Dennis's records for years. They never send them. We do have a photo of him with an Asian man but i don't know from where. He left the Army in October 45 because of the TB. My granddad died in 48 so all the bits of paper he kept told the story. Apart from the little he told my nan. She said he was Mia a few times I think the 2-3 months she said was an accumulation. It's not like they keep the wives in the loop. Long periods of not knowing. Have you ever come in to contact with any of the men?
     
  19. I looked at some of your other posts about your grandfather. It's interesting that you have some of the same photos from Yugoslavia that I collected and reproduced in my book (get the updated paperback version available through lulu.com rather than the original edition; and don't pay wildly inflated prices on eBay or other used books sites). The most important person I met who was directly involved with the British Mission was Miki, Dafoe's young guard and interpreter. I spent a lot of time with him in Sarajevo and elsewhere in Bosnia in the 1980s. I also met several former Partisan officers and doctors while living in Yugoslavia for a while to write early drafts of my book.
     
  20. Pat Atkins

    Pat Atkins Well-Known Member

    No idea if this is helpful to anyone, but I just found this list of DZ co-ordinates in my files - really bad practice, I didn't make a note of where I found it...:omg: but from the title I gave it, must've come from Carpetbagger records of the final year of the war (US 885th BS). The names I recognise from my research (148 Sqdn late' 44-May '45) are all in Yugoslavia.

    DZ-885thVolume01-April1944_March1945-1.jpg
    For interest, this is what you get for the co-ordinates for FUNGUS (Google maps):
    upload_2022-11-3_19-57-49.png
     

    Attached Files:

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