The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was created by Winston Churchill in 1940 to "set Europe ablaze," but its most significant success occurred in the jungles of Burma, where its guerrilla operations were vital to the reconquest of the country. SOE’s greatest commander was Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Peacock. Born in India in 1893, Edgar Peacock missed WWI due to his employment in Burma’s Jungles. In 1940, aged 46, he lied about his age and enlisted as a Private, ending the war as a highly decorated special forces Lieutenant Colonel, who had conceived, planned and led the most successful guerrilla operation of WW2. Approximately 130 British officers and NCOs parachuted in, raised about 12,000 indigenous guerrillas and prevented the Japanese from halting General Slim's advance on Rangoon. Over eight months of intense, continuous, combat in enemy territory, Operation Character accounted for 11,874 Japanese casualties for the loss of 22 British troops. For a period they outperformed the entire British 14th Army!Monsoon rains, scarce supplies, dense mountainous jungle, tigers, snakes, leeches and a determined enemy, all combined to make this an operation like no other. Eminent historian, Richard Duckett, given exclusive access to private family files, has produced an extraordinary biography of an exceptional man, exploring Edgar’s truly fascinating life 'warts and all'.
