Many men and women were involved in the Clandestine War –  ‘secret’ aspects of warfare, including those in SOE, the PWE, MI5 and MI6, and their experiences are featured on the following pages including biographies, audio-clips and documents.

Intelligence work was a vital element of the war and men and women ran considerable personal risks in carrying out deception and sabotage. We plan also to introduce this area of our holdings on our Key Aspects pages with a feature on the SOE.


Noor Inayat Khan - SOE

On 13 September 1944, a beautiful Indian princess lay on the floor in a concentration camp in Dachau. She had been brutally tortured and shot through the head by an SS guard. Her name was Noor Inayat Khan. The Germans knew her only as Nora Baker, a British spy.

Odd Westeng - Norwegian Resistance

Odd Westeng   Odd Westeng was a member of the Norwegian Resistance. His role was to guide various people, usually those wanted by the Gestapo, to the Swedish Border.   Before his death in 1989, Odd and his friend Brede wrote a detailed memoir, 'Secret Path to Freedom', recounting some of their experiences. The Secret in the Forests It was dawn in early May 1942. Through my