'Secrets, Silk and Cyanide' talk will reveal deadly wars conducted quietly in Buckinghamshire

A lecture at the University of Buckingham will uncover secret wars supported by great houses in the area during World War II.On April 12 at 7.30pm, The Buckingham Society will present ‘Secrets, Silk and Cyanide’. Major General Bill Robins will be giving an overview of the agencies behind these operations and their work in North Buckinghamshire. He will then focus on the Special Operations Executive (SOE), its stations at Poundon and Grendon Underwood and its role in communicating with agents, operating undercover to support resistance movements in Europe.

He will also cover the work of the women of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in support of SOE and the deadly cat and mouse games between German security agencies and Allied agents.Finally, he will talk about some of the triumphs and disasters which SOE lived through, and about a few of the courageous women and men who lived and died for it.

During the Second World War, many of the great houses around North Buckinghamshire supported venomous secret wars, conducted quietly and lethally beneath the titanic battles around the globe. Much about them has stayed in secret archives since 1945. Historians are now unwrapping more.

WWII FACTFILE

World War II was one of the most destructive wars in human history. It was fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers, and it lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved more than 70 million people and resulted in millions of casualties. We will explore some of the most interesting and important facts about this war.