WW2 SOE and RAF Silk Escape Map of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania complete with Compass and Players Cigarette Tin.

A super double sided original WW2 Silk Escape Map as issued to SOE and the RAF.
These Escape maps were made of silk, because they could be sown into clothing so made no noise when the Operative or Airman was searched.
They also lasted longer than paper maps which would be destroyed if they got wet.

This WW2 SOE and RAF Silk Escape Map covers Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, it is complete with working Compass and Players Cigarette Tin. All items are in super condition. It came to us from an elderly collector and has a few folds where it’s sat in its tin since the end of the war.

Setting Europe Ablaze.

 SOE was set up to wage a secret war. Its agents were mainly tasked with sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines. They had an influential supporter in Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who famously ordered them to 'set Europe ablaze!'

SOE's director of operations was Commando officer Brigadier Colin Gubbins whose interest in irregular warfare originated from his service during the Irish War of Independence (1919-21). Gubbins had also been involved in planning to establish a sabotage force to work behind the lines during any German invasion of Britain.

Gubbins’s approach to warfare included blowing up trains, bridges and factories, as well as fostering revolt and guerrilla warfare in enemy-occupied countries.

After completing a gruelling training regime, SOE agents were parachuted into occupied Europe and the Far East to work with resistance movements. Many were serving soldiers, often with Commando training, but others joined directly from civilian life.

Women also joined up. Some were enlisted in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) to disguise their secret work. These were the only women permitted a combat role during the Second World War.