The extraordinary story of Triple Agent ‘Zig Zag’.

Agent Zig Zag to the British, Agent Fritz to the enemy. A spy, lover, dashing hero, part time conman, debonair safecracker, patriot, and crook, but most especially a truly remarkable triple agent, unique amongst all others during conflicts in modern history. The unbelievable Eddie Chapman was a charming and brave bon viveur who doubtless saved many lives, but received scant recognition from his home country. From Double Cross to Iron Cross (the only British citizen ever to be given one) this is an amazing story that was kept secret by the British Govt. for many years. Edie Chapman later married Betty Farmer who in later years published her own exciting story as 'Mrs Zig Zag'.

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The untold story of Agent Jack.

This a story that greatly troubled the British Govt. who for many years kept it secret. Mild mannered bank clerk Eric Roberts might not fit the physical image of a dashing hero, but as a perfect spy for MI5 he was a brave master of espionage and uncovered a truly worrying situation on the British home front that had to be kept quiet during WW2. Pretending to be enemy’s man in London, agent Jack built up a secret network of British sympathisers in the UK, with many passing secrets to him in the mistaken belief that he had a direct link to Berlin. One sympathiser even started to get close to the greatest secret of the entire war - the wide scale monitoring of coded enemy messages. During the 'Cold War' Roberts also helped to uncover a ring of dangerous spies working deep within the British establishment. For many years this intriguing story remained under lock and key, but can now be told.

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Special Operations Executive. The Secret Saboteurs of WW2.
The amazing role of SOE in WW2. A fascinating and secret unit tasked by Winston Churchill to “Set Europe Ablaze”. However, from the outset SOE faced considerable opposition from the allies, well before the enemy had ever heard from them. Yet SOE agents demonstrated remarkable courage and resourcefulness in their guerrilla war, resulting in General D Eisenhower saying “…they played a very considerable part in our complete and final victory”. This talk will bring back to life the organisation, its Obstacles, Triumphs, Tricks & Tragedies.
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Heroines, Hazards & Honours. The remarkable women agents of SOE in WW2
The story of the incredibly brave women of SOE.  In no previous or post war conflict have women been parachuted behind enemy lines to act as saboteurs. Their hazardous exploits were truly remarkable. The Recruiting Officer for SOE (F section) wrote “In my view, women were very much better than men for the work. Women, as you must know, have a far greater capacity for cool and lonely courage than men”. This talk will specifically highlight some of these extraordinary women such as Krystyna Skarbek who, most likely, inspired the character Vesper Lynd in the James Bond novel Casino Royale.
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Characters, Courage and Calamities. The brave male agents of SOE in WW2
The intriguing story of the men within SOE and their equally astonishing adventures, often working in tandem with no less remarkable women agents. This talk will focus on individuals such as Wing Commander ‘Tommy’ Yeo-Thomas (aka ‘The White Rabbit’), one of the most extraordinary SOE secret agents of WW2 who survived the war by defying unbelievable odds and enduring brutal treatment. Many believe that he was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s fictional hero, James Bond. Reference will also be made to the American and Canadian contribution to secret teams parachuted into occupied France ahead of D-Day 1944.

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Tricks, Tales and Traitors.
At a time when Equatorial Guinea on the West Coast of Africa was Spanish territory, a remarkable operation sanctioned by the British Government took place in 1942 to make three enemy ships completely disappear overnight without a shot being fired. Also, the colourful tales of Grand Prix racing drivers who were secret saboteurs acting as spies, along with an extrovert secret agent who fooled the enemy by acting as a drag queen in occupied Paris. It concludes with stories of a traitor who all along was working for the other side, sometimes leading to mayhem and tragedy. This talk will bring back to life some truly amazing characters and their remarkable adventures.

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Norway and the race to prevent Armageddon.
This talk will feature the west coast of Norway (and its links to the Shetland Islands) plus the area west of Oslo. “They did nothing less than save the world” wrote one CBS News correspondent. Changing the course of history in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. With temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius and carrying over 30 lbs. of individual kit, this is the fascinating story of highly dangerous missions in Norway by Special Operations Executive during WW2 that prevented Nazi Germany from developing a nuclear bomb. The commander of enemy troops during the occupation of Norway reported “British gangsters….the finest coup I have seen in this war”. Some years ago the presenter met the leader of the most successful SOE mission and will use his words to describe what actually happened to stop a global catastrophe and in so doing rewrote the course of history. Failure to succeed would have meant an utterly different world today.

 

Tales from lands of sun and snow in the 1940s

A talk that uniquely connects events in West Africa and Norway where each altered the course of global events. The first severely hampered enemy U-Boats in the south Atlantic- but at an extraordinary risk as it could have led to the fall of Gibraltar and all that would have followed. The second stopped Hitler from developing a nuclear bomb which would have changed forever the course of history. 1000s of miles apart, but in each case not a shot was fired, and the results were outstanding, led by the exceptional agents of Special Operations Executive.   This presentation picks out similarities of other talks about ‘Tricks, Tales & Traitors’ and ‘Norway and the race to prevent Armageddon’ by focusing on the unique ingredients of both, with possible lessons for today.

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