MI9: Escape and Evasion: 2020

(Paperback)

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Many of the most famous escapes in history took place during the Second World War. These daring flights from Nazi-occupied Europe would never have been possible but for the assistance of a hitherto secret British service: MI9. This small, dedicated and endlessly inventive team gave hope to the men who had fallen into enemy hands, and aid to resistance fighters in occupied territory. It sent money, maps, clothes, compasses, even hacksaws and in return coded letters from the prisoner-of-war camps and provided invaluable news of what was happening in the enemy's homeland. Understaffed and under-resourced, MI9 nonetheless made a terrific contribution to the Allied war effort.

First published in 1979, this book tells the full, inside story of an extraordinary organisation.

Author Bio

M. R. D. Foot CBE served throughout the Second World War and in 1945 was decorated for service with the French Resistance in Brittany. His time in action included a brief spell as a prisoner of war, which involved several unsuccessful escapes. He then taught at the University of Oxford for eight years, before going on to become Professor of Modern History at the University of Manchester. He wrote and edited a number of books, including the classic SOE in France and Resistance: An Analysis of European Resistance to Nazism 1940-1945. He died in 2012. J. M. Langley MBE, MC was wounded and captured at the battle of Dunkirk. He escaped from a German POW hospital in Lille and later returned to Britain, where he was recruited into MI9. There he organised the escape of around 3,000 people from German prisoner-of-war camps. He wrote an acclaimed memoir, Fight Another Day, and died in 1983.