British Modern Military History Society

WE are delighted to announce that after 18 months of suspension due to covid-19, we shall be resuming our monthly talks at Woodcote village hall on Wednesday, September 8 at 7.30pm.

Our speaker will be Helen Fry, who coincidentally was our very first speaker in the hall almost exactly two years ago.

Her talk is called “MI9 escape and evasion in the Second World War”.

We hope you will join us for what will be a most interesting talk. It will be nice to see you back for the resumption of our live talks.

MI9, the British directorate of military intelligence section 9, was a department of the War Office from 1939 to 1945.

It was tasked with supporting available European Resistance networks and making use of them to assist Allied airmen shot down over Europe to return to Britain.

MI9 infiltrated agents, usually by parachute, into occupied Europe.

These agents would link up with a Resistance cell and organise escape and evasion efforts in a particular area, usually after being notified by the Resistance of the presence of downed airmen.

The agents brought false papers, money and maps to assist the downed airmen.

The usual routes of escape were either south to Switzerland or to southern France and then over the Pyrenees to Spain and Portugal.

The group also facilitated the escapes of British prisoners of war, both out of the prison camps and out of occupied Europe. It also communicated with British prisoners of war and sent them advice and equipment.

Members of MI9 included Airey Neave and Michael Bentine as well as Mary Liddell, one of the few women parachuted into enemy territory.

Helen will draw on declassified files and eyewitness testmonies from across Europe and America.

She has written and edited more than 25 books and because of her expertise in British intelligence in both world wars, she has been involved in a number of documentaries, including David Jason’s Secret Service.

She has also written extensively about the 10,000 Germans who fought for Britain in the Second World War.

As the fight against covid-19 is not over, we shall treat this talk as a pilot and do our best to ensure everyone is kept safe so the format will differ from what went on before:

• The number of attendees will be restricted to 50 people (compared with 100 before lockdown).

• Seats will be spread out to ensure suitable distancing in the hall.

• Only cold drinks (beer, wine, soft drinks) will be provided and only in disposable plastic glasses.

• No buffet food will be provided to minimise congregating around the tables.

• Sanitising gel will be provided and all chairs will be wiped down.

We ask of you:

• Only to come to the meeting if you have had both vaccinations and are showing no symptoms of covd-19. • Carry out a lateral flow test beforehand.

• Wear a mask when not seated and do not move chairs closer together.

• Take drinks back to your seat and do not congregate round the tables.

Please arrive between 7pm and 7.20pm so we can minimise disruption and delays at the door.

To book your place, please email info@bmmhs.org so we can monitor numbers of attendees. We will confirm your reservation.

Payment should be made in advance direct to the society’s bank account. The price is £10 per person, which includes the talk, drinks and two strips of raffle tickets.

As usual, the society will make a donation to a military charity of our speaker’s choice.

For more information, visit www.bmmhs.org