School For Danger (1943) 

Tom Bristowe Thanks for info .

@@saras.j468 Harry Ree ("Felix") has just had his recollections published in 2020. "A Schoolmaster's War" by Jonathon Rees. (His son.) Great read - which led me here!

David Jones Thank you sir .Can we get it in Amazon ?

Were they Old Boy ? Reminds me of "stooging" in Boarding School but I didn't realise this was also done by Officers in POW Camps especially 04C ! (Colditz)

Nearne and Ree earned MBEs. Nearne’s brother and sister were both also SOE agents in France. Her sister was captured by the Gestapo and tortured so extensively that she lost her mind from PTSD. Jacqueline took care of her for the rest of their lives.

Yes Cathy, I'm a man but my Mum showed me how to knit when I was a child......If I was over there though my hands would be shaking too much to be able to knit!!

RAF...Gents to a man.

@Cyber Zorro May need to look up history books to check that out, I'm sure it would have been heavily protected by Anti Aircraft guns and losses would have been heavy.

That same footage was used in Stuart Cooper's "Overlord" (1975); available on DVD in the Criterion Collection

@@scottleft3672 Here here!

Ree and Rees. Wonder why he added the s

In the book there is no s - just Ree like his father.

Great humans

Agree. I wonder what they would think of how the generations who benefited from their bravery behaved in 2020 when faced with a cold virus.

@@EricM_001 Yes and the treachery, betrayal, treason and cowardice of our current parliament with an invasion of criminals and enemies, and aiding and abetting a nazi riddled regime, of corrupt war criminals in Ukraine. One of my great uncles by marriage was a Serbian Royalist soldier who fought in the Jugoslav army and resistance, who lost over 200 relatives, friends, and villagers to the nazis, the state and morals of our nation broke his heart, he died this year, and it disgusts me how low our nation has sunk. The people are great the politicians are lower then the dirt under our feet of our wonderful nation. The spirit of these wonderful SOE people was heroic, and it still lives in our people, it needs a real leader to rekindle the flame and make it burn bright again. My salute to SOE and all those who stood up for this nation.

You won't know the full significance of this - apparently she knitted socks to a French pattern as the English sock pattern was different - a possible giveaway in occupied Europe.

neat

Thank you. '43 on info?

@@RichardSewell-qk5jc see 1:20 of the video.

Couldn’t agree more.

The state of most nations now sadly.

as a Taff couldnt agree less

Hell you can buy that corned beef tin beef at Walmart everyday

If you like a good read, Leo Marks, Between silk and cyanide. Covers the training and drops into Europe.

Lancasters very underrated

The GreenAnorak....Yes, and I loved the casual way "Felix" asked about the suicide pills!! Could I have done that job? Not a chance.....I would have blubbed all the way to France then probably fallen apart once I got there!! VERY brave people. Another good film like this is "Target for tonight" with Charles Pickard who was later killed on the Amiens raid. Dave.

@@davesheppard8797 I love Target For Tonight. It was a real public film but using models for the train station.

@TheGreenAnorak Yes, you can easily see that they are models. It made Pickard a hero and household name. Such a shame he died on the Amiens raid.......although it's a shame anyone had to die.....War is war I suppose. My Father joined up as a wireless operator/Air gunner but due to being colour blind he became an LAC class 1, instrument maker.

Thanks, old son. Didn't know that. Gauged it to be about 130-150 Mc from the length of the antenna the operator was frying his chest hairs with.

Oh, yes, best job I ever had.

@S Macca Imperial War Museum, London - www.iwm.org.uk/

@S Macca Imperial War Museum. (In London.)

Stop reading the Daily Mail & Express and join the real world. France are and have been for decades one of our best allies.

I totally agree. Also superb for revealing the intricate depth of Col.Buckmaster's naiivete and incompetence in handling the betrayal and collapse of the "Prosper" circuit, is Jean Overton Fuller's book "Dericourt, the chequered spy". Such VERY brave agents and French people in the hands of incompetents back at Baker Street. Heartbreaking and so very sad.

1990pommie very sad

Indeed, just as in Ireland you find many monuments to our citizens murdered by british barstewards.

They ran out of Schmeissers so they had to use captured weapons from the British.

@@shizukamori6755 Ha ha ! The British film makers ran out of captured German weapons so they had to use British ;)

@S Macca Thanks for your reply. Since I wrote that comment I have learned that Germany did indeed manufacture its own outright copy of the Sten gun in some limited volume. It was in an effort to reduce the cost of, and time required in manufacturing the MP series Schmisser SMG. This is exactly your point - "In times of need you have to do what ever you have to do with what ever you have on hand."

Its also the Germans are being played by Brits, who were likely tapped for looking like Jerries based on the opinions of those who were in the war working in casting

Only to be taken as a last resort....! State the bleedin obvious.

@@ascott2264 Oh, yes, he was actually Capt.Obvious

But they were the ones resisting the tyranny while the rest of you complied.

does it matter ? any way if it does , you dont jump from low level

The four engine Short Stirling and various twin engine aircraft were regularly used to drop supplies and agents in the field. The single engine Lysander was sometimes used to actually land on covertly marked and pre-arranged landing grounds laid out by the resistance groups..

The first aircraft used for agent para drops were Whitleys, later various aircraft were used. The Lysander was for landing drops and pick ups, as was the Hudson later on in the war. Agents did not para from Lysanders.

For anyone with the remotest interest in aircraft it is a significant issue. For those that only watch for the moving images I guess it is of no concern.

1990pommie 138 Squadron (code letters NF between August 1941 and March 1945) flew the following types: Lysander I, Lysander III, Stirling IV, Whitley V (as used for the traing drops), Liberator III, Halifav II and Halifax V. They were formed at Newmarket on 25/8/1941 by renumbering 1429 (Special Duties) Squadron; they were disbanded on 1/9/1950 at Wyton. The Halifax seen when they are driving in is a bomber version as it has the glazed nose and not the shhet metal version spirted by the SOE aircraft. The big 4-engine aircraft were used for transporting men and women, and materiel over long distances, such as to Poland and did not land. The Lysanders could carry one passenger, 2 at a squeeze, and had to land to drop them off. They are probably flying from Tempsford in Bedfordshire (located between the London to Edinburgh railway line and the Great North Road). The base was so important to the SOE that even under direct attack the Ack-Ack gunners were forbidden to shoot back.

"Now It Can Be Told" (1944) imdb

Every day of debarkation/disembarkation is referred to as "d-day" in military circles (have a look at contemporary features about the landings at Iwo Jima - they report about a certain D-Day). Same goes for 'ground zero'...

There was always talk of the second front, ie D-day, even the Germans knew it would happen, as far back as 1942, but nobody new the time date or year, only high command. My objection to the film is the snobbish daft talk, which the army spoke. This film was made for the public to see, and how many of the public spoke in those days. But once in the forces, it was very different, and very regimental. There was never any forces, that had time to be nice, or indeed polite to anybody, only senior offices of same rank.

@@philippayne4951 You must be very young, I think. How nice for you. I am old and I can remember voices like this. They were not necessarily snobs, you know.

@@elainemagson213 Well I am 70 how is that. Yes I understand fully where you are coming from, but in those days films were like that, very snobbish accent. Listen to the Queen in the early days for example, from 1947, right through, from coronation to right how she speaks now. It is very different, but still good correct English. Today youth, speak very bad English, and what is laughable they think its cockney which it is not.I teach English in Germany and also a lecture of the subject. You have to remember these films were made to put the public at ease, and to make out the forces were our friend, but the reality was was very different when you enlisted.

If they had been there 15 years prior as yourself they may have picked it out.

Ree was worried about his accent and 'schoolboy French' before he went to France. (Can't remember where I read that.)

His back story told at the start of the film was that he left France as a child and moved to Quebec.

what would have been the typical exposure of a German Landser, except for from the borders, to French before 1940?

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In fact, of the number of aircrew that had to bail out of a damaged Avro “Lancaster”, 15% survived, so these crew members were part of the extremely lucky 15%. ( www.iwm.org.uk/history/life-and-death-in-bomber-command - point number 7 )

David Fr Have to correct you, it was rotating eastwards which is correct. Just as from outer space, our planet rotates eastward not westward. However as you stand on our planet and look out, it would appear that we rotate westward, as this is our outward viewing perspective. But the reality is that we rotate eastward, and the globe was in fact rotating correctly in the opening clip.

David Fr o

"Now It Can Be Told" (1944) imdb

Its wasn’t, it was made in 1947…..the setting depicts 1943, this is when both [ for real] in the story were employed by SOE.

This is school for danger.

Wot der mater, i think you double clicked Target. I just saw it and then clicked this School for danger

I recorded this a while ago on Sky and it was entitled "Now it can be told" I believe the DVD is entitled that too. "Target for tonight" has Charles Pickard in it and other RAF personnel. Another good film.

Have bit of respect for the actors, they are all the real deal and served as agents in France. I think they do an excellent job

@@AncientAbsWisdom I agree!! They were the ones who went over! Sooooo brave!!

That's how reasonably educated people spoke in those days.

@@terryrainer2213 It was an affectation .

@@rosewhite--- In that case I suggest that you watch “In which we serve”, “Target for tonight”, and “The way ahead”. This will give you a better idea of how people from all different classes spoke. It wasn’t all “Estuary English” in those days.

@@terryrainer2213 Very true Terry, good films you mentioned too!

Firefox and ADBLOCKER

@@thomasmeadows1036 but i only want to watch commercials. Mainly for Gambling and Insurance.

How lucky you are to be so sure of what you say. LOL

Whilst you're on your rant about speech, be aware that instead fo saying "he would of given" should actually be "he would have given", you tosser.

But often SOE people didn't have a forces background. As is mentioned in the film, they needed to be supremely fit but not to look at all military in their bearing.

@@simonsp6818 ...and they often were given some say in whom they would be teamed up with for this type of irregular operation. The last thing SOE needed was tensions between individuals involved in clandestine operations.

love ww2 movies.what u can achieve working 2gether huh !!!!