Wake, Nancy. The White Mouse: Autobiography of the Woman the Gestapo Called the White Mouse. Melbourne: Macmillan, 1985. Wake, Nancy. The White Mouse: Autobiography of the Woman the Gestapo Called the White Mouse. Melbourne: Macmillan, 1985.
See Kim Willsher, "Farewell to Nancy Wake, the Mouse Who Ran Rings around the Nazis," Guardian, 8 Aug. 2011; Adam Bernstein, "Nancy Wake, 'White Mouse' of World War II, dies at 98," Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2011; amd Paul Vitello, "Nancy Wake, Proud Spy and Nazi Foe, Dies at 98," New York Times, 13 Aug. 2011.
Nancy Wake-Fiocca ("Andreé") was an Australian national who was living in Marseilles when France fell in June 1940. She joined the Resistance and had to flee France when the escape organization with which she was working was rolled up in March 1943. She parachuted back into France as an SOE liaison with the Maquis in March 1944. Cookridge, Inside SOE, p. 355. See also, Braddon, The White Mouse (1957); and Fitzsimons, Nancy Wake (2002).
Wales, T.C. "The 'Massingham' Mission and the Secret 'Special Relationship': Cooperation and Rivalry between the Anglo-American Clandestine Services in French North Africa, November 1942-May 1943." Intelligence and National Security 20, no. 1 (Mar. 2005): 44-71.
Located west of Algiers, "'Massingham' served as the main command, communication, supply and training centre for [joint SOE and OSS] clandestine operations into southwestern Europe after the North African TORCH landings in November 1942.... The near total integration ... was the result of a determined effort by a few individuals."
Walker,
David E. Lunch with a Stranger. London: Wingate, 1957. New York: Norton, 1957.
Constantinides says Walker worked for British SIS from 1938 to 1941 in Switzerland and the Balkans. From 1941 to 1944, he headed SOE's "oral deception unit" in Lisbon. His main weapon in the latter assignment was the planting of rumors. This book is short on details, but is nonetheless unique in view of Walker's position.
Walker, Jonathan. Poland Alone: Britain, SOE and the Collapse of the Polish Resistance 1944. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2008.
From publisher: This work "focuses on the bloody Warsaw Uprising of 1944, when the Polish Resistance attempted to gain control of their city from the German Army. They expected help from the Allies but received none, and they were left helpless as the Russians moved in." The author "examines whether Britain could have done more to save the Polish people in their crisis year of 1944, dealing with many different aspects such as the actions of the RAF and SOE, the role of Polish Couriers, the failure of British Intelligence, and the culpability of the British press."
Walters, Anne-Marie. Foreword, M.R.D. Foot. Intro., postscript, and notes, David Hewson. Moondrop to Gascony. London: Macmillan, 1946. Hampshire, UK: Moho Books, 2009.
From publisher: In January 1944, Walters parachuted into southwest France to act as a courier for SOE's Wheelwright circuit headed by George Starr. "For this Moho edition, David Hewson ... adds biographical details for the main characters, identifies the real people behind the pseudonyms and provides background notes. He also reveals what happened to Anne-Marie at the end of the war."
Ward, Michael. Greek Assignments: SOE 1943-1948 UNSCOB. Athens: Lycabettus Press, 1992.
West,
Nigel. [Rupert Allason] Secret War: The Story of SOE, Britain's Wartime Sabotage Organization. London: John Carter via Hoddington & Stoughton, 1992.
Surveillant 2.2: This work "studies SOE's original charter ... and analyzes SOE's structure and performance."
Wharton-Tigar,
Edward, with A.J. Wilson. Burning Bright: The Autobiography of Edward
Wharton-Tigar. Worcester Park: Metal Bulletin Books, 1987.
Wharton-Tigar served with SOE in North Africa in World War II. Among other exploits, he organized a covert mission, Operation Falaise, against a German-operated observation station near Tangier. See Smith, "The Bodden Line," I&NS 6.2/448-449 and fn. 4.
Wheeler, Mark C.
1. Britain and the War for Yugoslavia, 1940-43. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980.
2. "The SOE Phenomenon." Journal of Contemporary History 16, no. 3 (1981): 513-519.
Wighton, Charles. Pin-Stripe Saboteur: The Story of "Robin," British Agent and French Resistance Leader. London: Odhams, 1959. Le Saboteur. Paris: Fayard, 1959.
Constantinides notes that the basic premise of this work seems to be in error, as "Robin," the organizer of the Juggler Resistance network, was not Jacques Weil, as identified by the author, but Jean Worms.
Wilkinson, Peter [Sir].
1. Foreign Fields: The Story of an SOE Operative. London: Tauris, 1997.
For Lane, I&NS 13.2, this "is among the more stylish of the latest crop of memoirs of the Second World War in occupied Europe.... [The author] planned and then led the 'Clowder' mission to the Slovene Partisans.... This is a splendidly written and rounded account of the early chapters in a fascinating and extraordinary life."
2. "SOE und Deutschland: Ein persönlicher Beitrag." In Großbritannien und der deutsche Widerstand, 1933-1944, eds. Klaus Müller and David Dilks, 189-194. Paderborn & München: Schöningh, 1994. [Capet]
3. and Joan Bright Astley. Gubbins and SOE. London: Leo Cooper, 1993. Barnsley, UK: Leo Cooper/Pen & Sword, 2010.
Surveillant 3.4/5 says that there is a "good section on the complications of running an organization dedicated to Special Operations which must cut across all areas of turf from other Bureaus, and the organization itself was divided between helping resistance groups and guerrillas, or engaging in subversion and sabotage." According to Seaman, I&NS 11.2, this book is not so much a biography "as an examination of the most significant part of Gubbins' professional career as the driving force behind SOE." Both of the authors had a "close professional and personal attachment" to Gubbins, and they are able to give the book "a real insider's view."
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