15th November 2025 – SECRET WW2 annual conference. Broadway House, Tothill St, St. James’s, London.

Our morning programme started with ‘CODENAME WHITEBEAM’ – the story of Andrée Borrel, agent of
F Section SOE, ‘Another Unsung Heroine’. This consisted of Part 1 – EARLY YEARS, a short introduction,
outlining Andrée’s childhood and hobbies, presented by Paul McCue, Executive Trustee.

Part 2 – ESCAPE – covering Andrée’s escape lines service and her own escape from France, was expertly
covered by Allan Hunn, Friend of Secret WW2 and member of the Escape Lines Memorial Society (ELMS).
Allan’s high-tech maps and graphics were greatly admired.

Paul then returned for Part 3 – ‘A VERY GALLANT FRENCHWOMAN’, detailing Andrée’s SOE training,
service in the field and tragic fate.
After a decent lunch provided on the premises we had our usual, light-hearted book auction, raising over £300
for the Network’s coffers.

Our final presentation was OPERATION CLEEVES – My grandfather in SOE’s forgotten wartime tragedy
in Thailand, a personal and moving presentation by Steve Wright, grandson of SOE volunteer Harding
Thomas. This engaging presentation covered a fascinating family history stretching from Wales to the Far
East as well as the relatively little-known invasion of Thailand by Japan. It provided an important reminder
of SOE’s activities beyond Europe.