It was Christmas 1942.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 Executive’s 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 Churchill’s secret base. Its life was short. Less than two years after its formation, its multinational job was done. British, American, French, Italian, Spanish: all worked together to play a key role in the Mediterranean war.

Setting the Med Ablaze: Churchill’s Secret North African Base PDF

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