Cloak of Enemies

The Special Operations Executive was conceived by Churchill in 1940 to "set Europe ablaze". Yet, SOE was to have many enemies at home before it was even officially sanctioned. As Britain fought for survival, SOE struggled to fend off and outwit Whitehall rivals who threatened its very existence. In a back-stabbling climate of secrecy, rivalry, confusion and duplication, Cloak of Enemies reveals the true cost of that rivalry, the steps that were taken to snuff out SOE and the true tragic effect that a campaign to discredit SOE had upon Operation Frankton, the iconic small-unit commando raid of World War Two that has passed into military legend as The Cockleshell Heroes. In this, frail canoes paddled deep into the heart of enemy territory to plant limpet mines on German shipping in Bordeaux harbour in December 1942. it was a raid that cost the lives of all but two of those who took part. Had there been better liaison and co-operation between SOE and its rival, Combined Operations, Operation Frankton need never have been mounted and young lives need never have been squandered. Layer by Layer, Cloak of Enemie reveals for the first time the true and tragic story that lies behind the raid that has passed into legend.

Auteur

Dr Tom Keene is a professional writer, researcher, journalist and former senior ITV executive, he is director of Longbow Productions. Cloak of Enemies has grown out of an original ground-breaking BBC television documentary which he researched, wrote, produced and directed. This in turn developed into a six year part-time PhD thesis. His work on that documentary led to the award of the Royal Marines Historical Society Award and the Roland Lewinsky scholarship award. His work on the PhD led to a four year scholarship with the University of Plymouth. He is a former infantry officer in the Territorial Army and past Chairman and First Aid Officer of the The Dartmoor Rescue Group.

Résumé
The Special Operations Executive (SOE), also known as 'Churchill's Secret Army' or the 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', was born from Churchill's vision 'to set Europe ablaze'. It was formed to conduct espionage and sabotage in enemy-occupied territory as well as aid local resistance groups in their own irregular warfare. After D-Day, it played a crucial role in the liberation of Europe. However, Tom Keene's book reveals for the first time how close it came to never existing at all. Many saw SOE as a threat to the existence of MI5 and other intelligence agencies, and some in the armed forces refused to work with the new agency, fearing its broad remit and lack of experienced operatives... SOE, in turn, became ever more secretive, hiding detail's of their operations from anyone outside the agency. This backstabbing climate of rivalry, confusion and secrecy within the higher echelons of government not only nearly destroyed SOE, but also had tragic repercussions for the daring Commandos who took part in the legendary 'Cockleshell Raid'. Cloak of Enemies exposes the secret war in the shadows and backrooms of Whitehall during the Second World War and its far-reaching consequences.