SOE in 100 Objects

BELINDA CURWEN is an editor, writer and historian, with a BA in the history of art and architecture and an MA in classical culture and philosophy. As an editor, she has specialised in design-led illustrated publishing, both mainstream and heritage, especially object-led cultural histories, such as those of the British Museum, British Library, National Portrait Gallery, BBC and DK. Her interest in SOE stems from the timeless fight for freedom at the heart of the SOE story, alongside the pioneering ingenuity of SOE’s ‘Q’ creatives and the inspiring courage of its undercover operatives. She was also intrigued by some clues left behind by two family relations: her father who served as an SOE agent in Greece and his cousin who was a military historian.

‘This ambitious objectification of SOE history encompasses everything from the fish oil needed to create nitroglycerine to dead rats stuffed with explosives, from a Lysander aircraft to a 'Shetland bus’, and from heavy water to the blackmarket silkworm cocoons essential for making parachutes. Collectively they create a material history that is at once deeply telling and lightly told.’