SOE Singapore: 1941-42

When the Special Operations Executive was set up in the summer of 1940 Singapore seemed far from any likely war zone. But Lt Colonel Alan Warren was sent there in early 1941 to take charge of all SOE operations in the Far East. His job was far from easy as both the native population and the military saw little purpose in his mission. Yet a year later Britain's empire in the Far East had collapsed like a pack of cards, suffering disaster at sea and on land. This is the story of that year for the Orient Mission (the name given to this section of SOE) as this small number of men tried desperately to achieve results against the Japanese advance through Asia. In the summer of 1941 a training school was set up near headquarters under Major Jim Gavin to instruct in guerilla warfare behind enemy lines. After being joined by the famous Freddie Spencer Chapman and Jack Knott, the team trained communist guerrillas, European stay behind parties, the Hong Kong Recce Regiment and the Burma Levies. The latter were volunteers who went on fighting long after the regular armies were in retreat. As the Japanese invaded Malaya, Siam, Hong Kong, Johore and Burma, stay behind parties took to the jungle to organise subversive activities; some died, many became prisoners and some survived after perilous journeys to safety. After exhaustive research, Richard Gough has written the full story of the Orient Mission and of the colourful characters who ran it, telling of what they tried to achieve and the results of their endeavours in the face of tremendous odds.