Setting the Med Ablaze: Churchill's Secret North African Base: 2 (Special Operations Executive)

It was Christmas 1942 when eleven young women boarded the troopship Strathaird and braved the attentions of U-Boats in the deep Atlantic. Borrowing a cricketing phrase they called themselves the First Eleven. But they were not the first to arrive at the Special Operations Executives secret North African base near Algiers. Code-named Massingham it was formed by SOE to spearhead subversion and sabotage in what Winston Churchill called the soft underbelly of Europe. Massingham was hidden away at the Club des Pins a former luxury resort nestling among pines next to a Mediterranean beach. By the time SOE had got to work there was little luxury left. Setting the Med Ablaze tells the true stories of the men and women of Churchills secret base. Its life was short. Less than two years after its formation its job was done. But Massingham played a key role in the Allied offensive in the Mediterranean islands Italy and France. If you enjoy historical nonfiction this book is for you.