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SOE's Mastermind (Hardback)

The Authorised Biography of Major General Sir Colin Gubbins KCMG, DSO, MC

Military > Biographies > Military Biographies WWII > Espionage & the SOE

By Brian Lett
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 288
Illustrations: 32 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781473863804
Published: 4th July 2016

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For those with even a passing interest in the Second World War, the name Colin Gubbins is synonymous with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). This is not surprising as from its creation in late 1940 at Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s command ‘to set Europe ablaze’, Gubbins was the driving force behind SOE. Over the next four years as, first, Operations and Training Director (codename M) and, from 1943, its Commander (CD) he masterminded every aspect of its worldwide covert operations.

Remarkably this is the first full biography of the man whose contribution to victory ranks in the premier league. The Author’s research and access to family archives reveal the experiences in The Great War and later in Russia, Ireland, Poland and as Head of British Resistance that made Gubbins such a pivotal and influential wartime figure.

The result is a fascinating biography that reveals as much about SOE’s extraordinary activities as it does about the man who inspired and commanded them.

A great read about one of the most influential special operations officers of all time.

Read the full review here

Lars Gyllenhaal

This was a very enjoyable and informative book.

Read the full review here

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A Blog on Winston Churchill

Long awaited has been a biography to examine the career and contribution to victory of Major General Sir Colin Gubbins KCMG, DSO, MC.

Military Historical Society

Lett's volume on Gubbins clearly benefits from the approval of the Gubbin's family, and is written in a more traditional style than some modern biographies.

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Belfast Telegraph

... This is an admirable book that reads as an adventure story, which of course it is, of a talented, brave man who sacrificed what may well have been a brilliant military career to operate below the radar, retiring on the pension of a colonel when the author considers Gubbins could have risen to the top of the army. Carefully researched with the full cooperation of the family and clearly written and presented. Excellent.

Robert Bartlett

About Brian Lett

Brian Lett is an author of World War Two history, who has seven books currently in print. He has lectured extensively upon irregular warfare in World War II, including to the British Army. He is a recently retired Queen's Counsel who practised at the Bar of England and Wales for forty-seven years.

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