TPF Stories- The Moon Squadron

The Parc Fermé F1 Podcast

The Parc Fermé

Sports, Leisure, Automotive, Sports News, News

4.5 • 722 Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2020

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Editor’s Note: I hope you enjoy this new podcast from TPF which takes a second glance at the history of motorsport. It has its own RSS feed on iTunes or you can listen on the Podbean player below. Let us know if you like the format and content.
In the early 1940’s, the British government made a big decision. A decision that would find a young man named George flying at night, by moonlight, to engage in clandestine operations by landing in fields in France. Geroge was a Moon Squadron pilot.
Tony was a Spitfire flying ace and he too joined the battle over Europe but like George, he loved racing cars. The two of them would be intertwined by fate, history and a love of racing. So much so that they would be instrumental in creating something spectacular that continues to this very day.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The weather in London during the month of July 1940 was a marked contrast from May and June.
0:06.7	It was unsettled, cool, and wet on the whole. It was particularly wet and a belt along the
0:12.1	east coast of Britain, where thunderstorms occurred frequently and were sometimes severe.
0:17.5	The high and low pressures waged war on each other, and like the invasion of France, a depression
0:22.5	moved slowly over the UK covering most of the country in cloud and rain.
0:26.7	Then, on July 22nd, the clouds broke, and nearly the entire kingdom was covered in warm, edifying
0:34.0	sunlight, and the sun shone particularly bright on a huge decision of the British government.
0:41.2	The decision?
0:42.5	The creation of three specific groups into one clandestine organization called the Special Operations Executive, or S-O-E.
0:53.5	Its mission?
0:59.3	To conduct espionize, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against Germany and to aid the resistance movements.
1:06.1	Hey, it's Todd, and you're listening to The Park for May stories.
1:13.4	We're taking a second glance at the history of motorsport.
1:18.6	In this episode, we're going to be talking about the Moon Squadron.
1:30.2	One of the prime characteristics of any espionized organization is that no one should know of its existence.
1:33.7	True to form, very few knew about the SOE.
1:39.4	It wasn't a part of the Secret Intelligence Service and had a separate minister of its own.
1:51.7	Its HQ was on Baker Street, and those who were part of the organization were liaise with it were sometimes called Baker Street Irregulars after the famous Sherlock Holmes novels.
1:56.7	The goal was simple, to quote, set Europe ablaze.
2:11.2	The SOE organization, well, it had a few names, including, quote, Churchill's Secret Army, or, quote, Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
2:25.5	For secrecy's sake, it would sometimes be referred to by various names such as, quote, the Joint Technical Board or the Inter-Service Research Bureau, all very innocuous sounding and all very deliberate.
2:35.4	The SOE flew numerous missions, dropping agents behind enemy lines with supplies and weapons, and then retrieving those agents, as well as deposed leaders and their families, and thousands more operatives and high-value
	...

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