Book description
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.
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.
