Paul McCue is a part-time military historian and author for over 25 years, he is the author of four books to date and regularly gives talks and presentations in England and France. His current specialised subject is French Section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and he is presently working on a three-volume roll of honour for this Second World War secret service.
In 1942, Jacqueline Nearne was invited to interview at the War Office in London for what she hoped would be a translator job. Although the 26-year-old was born in Brighton, England, she'd grown up in France, and was fluent in both languages. Nearne must have been startled when the interviewer asked how she felt about parachuting from an airplane, or if she'd consider taking a job that offered only a 50/50 chance of survival. She hadn't realized it when she'd entered the room, but she was being considered for a job with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a new wartime secret service established in 1940. SOE liked to think outside the box when looking for recruits, and its secret agents included taxi drivers, shop clerks, racecar drivers, school teachers, a Chilean actress, and an American female journalist with a wooden leg. --Air and Space Magazine