Edited by Craig Moore
In the James Bond books and films, the fictional James has Q Branch to supply him with ingenious equipment to use on his missions. During WWII, the very real Special Operations Executive (SOE) field agents had the equally ingenious Camouflage Section supplying them.
This new hardback book is drawn from the detailed records of the Camouflage Section that was collated and published in a secret document after the war. It details the men and women of the Section, hailing from a variety of trades and professions, who turned everyday items into concealment devices to carry weapons, ammunition, film, radios, false documents, microfilm and codes. These vessels ranged from oil cans, firewood and ornamental clocks, to record players, water bottles and tubes of toothpaste. Explosives and incendiary devices for industrial and military sabotage were concealed in dead rats, hollowed-out pieces of coal, books, torches, statues and suitcases. Convincing disguises were created to ensure that field agents would pass as locals in whatever region they were parachuted into. Essentially, the Camouflage Section was responsible for keeping SOE agents behind enemy lines safe in the most nerve-wracking of circumstances - when under the suspicious gaze of the Gestapo.
The SOE's Camouflage Section was dissolved after the war and the documents detailing their work remained classified for thirty years. The work done has been drawn from those documents and for the first time is now presented in an accessible book form.
Size: 181x 252mm 176 pages hardback , ISBN: 9781 7815 5965 9
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