Īfter the war, the organisation was dissolved on 15 January 1946. The organisation directly employed or controlled more than 13,000 people, about 3,200 of whom were women. The SOE made use of neutral territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis. SOE operated in all territories occupied or attacked by the Axis forces, except where demarcation lines were agreed upon with Britain's principal Allies, the United States and the Soviet Union). For security purposes, its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau", or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Those who were part of it, or liaised with it, were sometimes referred to as the " Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.įew people were aware of SOE's existence. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare, Hugh Dalton, by the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation.
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