Introduction

We all know that many Canadians fought with the Allied forces to defend democracy during the Second World War. Many of these people were killed or wounded and all made tremendous sacrifices serving their country.

Not so well known are the contributions of a small, but unique, group of Canadians who served the cause of freedom in a different way – those who volunteered to be secret agents. These brave men and women worked behind enemy lines in German-occupied Europe and Japanese-occupied Asia supporting the efforts of the underground Resistance movements. These Resistance movements were made up of local people fighting against Fascist powers trying to take over their countries.

Although Canadians from all backgrounds volunteered to go behind enemy lines, secret agents came primarily from three groups: French Canadians, immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe, and Chinese-Canadians. Between the years 1939 and 1945, they served in France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Italy, Burma, Malaya and Sarawak. Unlike their counterparts in the military forces, they received no public recognition for their extremely dangerous work. They had no rousing send-offs. For the name of their game was secrecy – and the outcome depended on individual acts of courage.

Canadians who became secret agents during the Second World War served with two British secret organizations: The Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) and M.I.9 (Military Intelligence).

S.O.E. was the larger of the two organizations, with almost 14,000 members at its peak of operation in 1944. In the words of Winston Churchill, its task was "to set Europe" – and later Asia – "ablaze." It was established in 1940 to fight the Facist invaders of Europe and Asia from within the occupied countries. Specially-trained S.O.E. agents were smuggled into these countries where they linked up with members of local Resistance movements, trained them, and organized them into a fighting force to harass and weaken the enemy before the Allied advance.

M.I.9 was a smaller organization, concerned with Allied prisoners-of-war and Allied airmen shot down over enemy territory. Its function was to help them escape, by supplying agents and their helpers with money, radio communication and supplies.

Once accepted by either of these organizations, agents underwent a course of rigorous training in preparation for the dangerous tasks ahead. This included training in parachute jumping (most agents parachuted into enemy territory at night), using high explosives, climbing mountains, elementary Morse code, techniques of killing noiselessly, and the art of blending in with the local population. Agents were thoroughly briefed on their new identity and were given local contacts, a code name, forged identity papers, ration cards and work permits. The trainees were watched closely and assessed for such key qualities as endurance under stress, self-reliance, resourcefulness, discretion, good judgement and language skills.

The stories which follow are only a handful taken from the many that are known. The common thread which runs through them all is courage – an ingredient these people demonstrated in large measure. Some of them also gave their lives. It is hoped that by publishing several of their stories here, this small group of extremely courageous Canadians will finally get some of the recognition they so deserve.