The origins of SOE in France

Murphy, CJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5056-7879 2003, 'The origins of SOE in France' , The Historical Journal, 46 (4) , pp. 935-952.

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Abstract

This article explores the official motivation behind the authorization in 1960 of research into the activities of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War by M. R. D. Foot, leading to the publication of SOE in France in 1966. The work has traditionally been viewed as the official response to critical investigative works on SOE published during the 1950s, combined with the vocal campaign of Dame Irene Ward, who made several calls in the House of Commons for an official account of SOE to be published. Material now available at the Public Record Office reveals that these were not the sole considerations in official minds, nor the most significant, concerning the possibility of publishing such a work. The foreign office was particularly concerned that Britain's contribution to wartime resistance in Europe, exemplified by SOE, was being overshadowed by both soviet propoganda, emphasizing the communist contribution to resistance, and the publicity being given to SOE's American counterpart, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The ‘campaign’ of Dame Irene Ward, supported by the negative slant given to SOE in the books of Jean Overton Fuller and Elizabeth Nicholas, unknowingly gave support to a frame of mind that was already in existence in favour of an unofficial account of SOE activity, albeit for different reasons.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Subjects / Themes > D History General and Old World > DC France Subjects / Themes > D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D731 World War II Memory, Text and Place
Schools:	Schools > School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences Schools > School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences > Centre for European Security
Journal or Publication Title:	The Historical Journal
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0018246X
Related URLs:	Publisher Publication
Depositing User:	H Kenna
Date Deposited:	23 Jan 2009 13:31
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2022 15:33
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/1277

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