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Secret War Resources FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Centre 1 USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOSSIER TO FURTHER YOUR TRAINING AS AN AGENT OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE. Prisoners of War Prisoners of War are often referred to by the acronym POW. The Hong Kong garrison was a mixed force of about 14 000 British, Indian, Canadian, and Chinese soldiers. Defence equipment consisted of a few anti-aircraft guns, six airplanes, and a few small gunboats. Two battalions of Canadian soldiers, the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles from Quebec, totaling 1975 men, arrived in Hong Kong on November 16, 1941, under the command of Brigadier J.K. Lawson. Less than a month later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong from the landward side. The defenders resisted bravely but were forced to surrender on Christmas Day. Allied losses were 2445 killed, wounded and missing. Canadian losses were 267 killed, including Brigadier Lawson, and 290 more were to die during 44 months of often brutal captivity. Canadian POWs were first interned on Hong Kong Island and on mainland China. Between January 1943 and April 1944, more than 1100 Canadians were moved to Japan to work as forced labourers, mainly in coal and iron ore mines. One survivor tells his story: “One of my boys caught a rat and cooked it, and he saved me a small portion. I sat it on top of my rice while it was still hot, so I could taste that flavor through the rice. When you’re starving, anything tastes good.” - CSM Red Windsor, POW Japan Canadian forces arrive to defend Hong Kong Allied POWs await liberation from the HMCS Prince Robert, in Hong Kong, 1945 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Centre 2 USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOSSIER TO FURTHER YOUR TRAINING AS AN AGENT OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE. Secret War – Online Flash Movie - Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_ani_wwt wo_movies_soe.shtml - Plug in some ear buds and watch the movie animation about the Allies’ Secret Operations Executive during World War II - Respond to the questions on your student worksheet as you watch. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Centre 3 USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOSSIER TO FURTHER YOUR TRAINING AS AN AGENT OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE. Camp X We all know that many Canadians fought with the Allied forces to defend democracy during the Second World War. Many of these people were killed or wounded and all made tremendous sacrifices serving their country. Not so well known are the contributions made by a small, but unique, group of Canadians who served the cause of freedom in a different way—those who volunteered to be “secret agents.” These brave men and women worked behind enemy lines, in German-occupied Europe and Japanese-occupied Asia, supporting the efforts of the underground resistance movements. These resistance movements were made up of local people fighting against fascist powers trying to take over their countries. Many Canadians fought behind enemy lines in the Second World War as agents for the British organizations that, stealthily, slowly at first but with growing effectiveness, raided coastal German and Japanese defenses, operated agent networks and organized acts of sabotage in occupied countries. They wore no uniforms, and all knew without exception, that if captured, they could not look for the smallest protection from the Allied command. Many were captured, tortured, and executed by hostile forces. Most Canadians who became secret agents during the Second World War served with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). With almost 14000 members at its peak, the SOE, was an organization of highly trained saboteurs which was secretly created by the British War Cabinet on the 22nd of July 1940. The SOE was soon unleashed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to strike fear into the heart of Asia and set occupied Europe ablaze. With an urgent need to train secret agents for missions behind enemy lines, Camp X was established on a 275-acre farm bordering Lake Ontario between the city of Oshawa and the Town of Whitby. It was the first secret agent training school in North America. The Camp was the first experiment of its kind in Anglo / American / Canadian intelligence cooperation and operated as one of the hubs of intelligence training and wartime communications for the Allied war effort. Agent training at Camp X was extremely rigorous and ran nonstop around the clock, winter and summer. The Camp’s curriculum, which was designed to make or break potential agents, covered a variety of intelligence / counter intelligence and infiltration techniques. Agents endured intense physical fitness training, live fire exercises and were taught the basics in survival training, hand to hand combat (silent kill), use of small arms, parachute jumping, explosives training, map reading, radio operation, secret writing, agent recruitment, disguises, propaganda, and psychological warfare techniques. In 1944, the Camp ceased operating as a secret agent training school but survived the transition from the World War to the Cold War with the emergence of the Soviet threat and went on to play an important role as a top secret communications facility (Hydra). FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Centre 4 USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOSSIER TO FURTHER YOUR TRAINING AS AN AGENT OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE. Sneakers adapted to leave false footprints: These shoes were devised for raiding parties in the far East. They left prints in the sand that looked like the bare footprints of local people. Heavy boot prints would have been an instant giveaway. These plaster logs were designed to smuggle arms and ammunition into enemy territory. The arms or ammunition were packed into cardboard containers, and sealed to protect the contents from the damp. The sealed containers were then built into dummy logs, which were carefully modelled on actual common tree varieties of the place of destination. They were then painted and embellished with moss and lichen, to make them look even more real. These chambers were used to conceal messages or objects. Toothpaste tubes were also used, but clearly the chamber would have been smaller. All the tubes were branded with the name of an appropriate manufacturer, and the top of the tube was filled with shaving cream or toothpaste so that it could be used normally, averting any suspicion. This normal bottle cork has had a secret compartment whittled out of it. It was used to conceal codes and micro- prints from the enemy. These incendiary suitcases were intended to provide security for secret documents, and act as a booby trap for any snooping enemy soldier or secret policeman. They also came in the form of briefcases. To open the case safely, the SOE agent had to make sure that the right hand lock was pressed down and held to the right. If this wasn't done, the left hand lock would fire the charges when anyone attempted to click it open. It is not known whether the sleeve gun was actually used in the field. According to the SOE catalogue, the assassin lets the gun slide into his hand and presses the muzzle against the victim, whilst pulling the trigger with his thumb. As the gun is only a few inches in length, it can then once again be hidden up the sleeve. The bullet cartridge remains within the gun, so there is no tell-tale evidence left lying around. The gun had a range of up to three yards, but allowed only one shot. The SOE used a range of disguise techniques. The illustration shows what the catalogue claims can be done with a 'little shading, a theatrical moustache and a pair of glasses'. These minimalist, but highly effective, disguise techniques were drilled home to the SOE recruits by their instructors. In the field, new disguises had to be quick and easy. for more radical disguises, some agents even underwent plastic surgery to change their appearance. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Centre 5 USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOSSIER TO FURTHER YOUR TRAINING AS AN AGENT OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE. Gustave Bieler – was born in Montreal, and was the first Canadian Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent to work in occupied france. After four months of training, Bieler parachuted into france, when his spine was badly injured. Even so, he organized a sabotage group. They derailed and blew up trains carrying troops and arms. Bieler was captured with his radio operator in 1944. Months of torture by the Gestapo failed to break Bieler, and this won him the respect of his captors. When Bieler was marched to his death in September 1944, he was granted the unusual “privilege” of being shot by firing squad instead of being hanged. Henry Fung – Henry fung was the first Chinese-Canadian agent to be parachuted into Malaya, in June 1945. Only 19 years old, he worked with an SOE team, blowing up telephone lines and railway bridges, and harassing Japanese road convoys. When he fell ill with malaria and jaundice, Henry was evacuated to Britain and eventually made his way home to Canada. Nevertheless, when the war ended he helped receive the surrender of Japanese forces in their jungle garrisons. Henry fung was one of the hundreds of young Chinese-Canadians who volunteered for SOE service in the Asia-Pacific. Joe Galleny – was trained as an elite espionage agent and parachuted into Nazi- held Yugoslavia. Later, in Hungary, Joe was captured and tortured. He lost 170 pounds (77kg). He escaped and, while hiding out in Budapest, helped forge travel documents for fellow spies and Jews facing Nazi persecution. When the Russians arrived, they took him into custody but he was eventually freed.
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