The SOE Hotel in the Second World War

Summary

Stephen Duffy (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the spy stories of St. Ermin’s Hotel in London. It includes links to SOE, MI6, Ian Fleming, and the Cambridge 5. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• The origins of the SOE
• MI6 and the SOE in the hotel during WWII (bad neighbors!)
• Incredible female spies of WWII 
• St. Ermin’s Cambridge Five connection
• The history of the hotel

Reflections

• The stories a hotel could tell if it could talk
• Proximity to power

And much, much more …

*FULL SHOWNOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*

Episode Notes

During World War II, the hotel was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive – a crucial element in his initiative to “set Europe ablaze.” Notorious spies Kim Philby and Donald Maclean were known to enjoy a drink at the hotel bar while sharing secrets with their Soviet handlers. And that’s not all – to learn the rest, you’ll have to listen to the episode. 

Quotes of the Week

“That’s where Burgess, MacLean, and Philby at different times met their Russian handlers in plain sight and sat there and spoke normally. Didn't talk out the side of their mouths, didn't have red carnations and copies of the Financial Times under their arm. They just passed over their information, their paperwork or whatever, in plain sight to everybody.” – Stephen Duffy.

*FULL SHOWNOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

• Hitler’s Trojan Horse – Nazi Intelligence with Nigel West (2023)
• Nazis on the Potomac – with former National Park Service Chief Historian Bob Sutton (2022)
• SPY@20: The Spy of the Century – Curators Alexis and Andrew on Kim Philby (2022)
• The Beverly Hills Spy – with The Hollywood Reporter’s Seth Abramovitch (2022)

*Beginner Resources*

• MI6 History & Facts, Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) [Brief history of MI6]
• World War 2 Chronology, B. Johnson, Historic UK (n.d.) [Timeline of Britain in WWII]
• How Churchill Led Britain to Victory in the Second World War, J. Taylor, Imperial War Museum (n.d.) [Short article]
• The St. Ermin’s Autobiography, St. Ermin’s Hotel (n.d.) [Pamphlet]

*FULL SHOWNOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*

Primary Sources 

• File Release: Cold War Cambridge spies Burgess and Maclean, UK National Archives (2015)
• Alexander Simitch Stevens Oral History, Imperial War Museum (1992)
• Basil Davison Oral History, Imperial War Museum (1988)
• My Silent War, K. Philby (1967)
• SOE Training Advice on Disguise, UK National Archives (n.d.)

*Wildcard Resource*

• The cocktail menu at St. Ermin’s Caxton Bar features a number of spy-related references, including Bond’s signature drink. To learn more about this “shaken, not stirred” beverage, check out this article for a brief history of the Vesper Martini. 

*FULL SHOWNOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*

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