A proto-version of the SOE was formed in 1938 after Germany annexed Austria. Originally, the organization was three independent war departments merged into one. Those Departments were: The Electra House, a Propaganda Organization created and headed by the Foreign Office, referred to as (SO1), MI6's Section (D) Destruction, (SO2) and MI6(R) Research (SO3).
Eventually, SO3 and SO2 merged into one entity and SO1 was separated and became its own War Department, Political Warfare Executive. This changing of departments and duties, led to near constant arguments between the formally independent units on the the subjects of duties and responsibilities, the sharing of information and the chain of command, which in turn, led to a revolving door of new Leadership.
The Formal and Official Founding of the SOE came on July 22, 1940, when Winston Churchill and Lord Hankey persuaded Section D and MI6(R) to coordinate their operations and "Set Europe Ablaze"
Major General Colin McVean Gibbons Head of the SOE 1943. Winston Churchill Prime Minister of England
S.O.E. F Section referred to the agents and spies trained for and deployed to France. These agents were trained in sabotage, and wireless radio work. Most training focused on agents finding (or in the case of Virginia Hall) setting up an intelligence network once on the ground.
(Left)
Sabotage and Demolition Class.
(Right)
Skills In action
This aspect of the job would be the most dangerous, since agents were often exposed because they trusted the wrong person or because of another agent's carelessness. For example Violet Szabo was captured because the other operative she was working with insisted on using a car for a mission, even though a bicycle would have be less obvious and was the safer choice.
The French Section of the S.O.E was moved to 64 Baker Street on October 31, 1940. And like how the C.I.A. Headquarters is called Langley, after the Virginia neighborhood, which it resides, and how the street name for the London Metropolitan Police Department became a euphemism for the department itself -Scotland Yard. Likewise, the S.O.E became referred to simply as Baker Street.
(Right) Illustration of The Baker Street Irregulars in A Study in Scarlet by Richard Gutschmidt
(Left) A photograph of SOE Agents in the field with Resistance Fighters
The term: The Baker Street Irregulars was invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to describe the network of street boys Sherlock Holmes employed as a spy network for intelligence work.
Since the Head Quarters for the S.O.E. was at 64 Baker Street. Many agents and operatives inside and outside the department started referring to S.O.E. Agents as The Baker Street Irregulars.
The Baker Street Irregulars appear in two Sherlock Holmes novels and one short story:
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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Here, collected in one volume, are all four full-length novels and 56 short stories chronicling the colorful adventures of Sherlock Holmes--every word Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote about Baker Street's most famous resident.
A Study in Scarlet
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A Study in Scarlet is the first of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson narrates his first meeting with the eccentric Holmes, who appears almost genius in some fields of study and completely ignorant in others. This, as Holmes explains, is because he believes that brain space is limited, and one must be careful what one puts in. He gradually reveals his method and thinking to an astonished Watson. We see Holmes languishing at home, scratching at the violin he can play to perfection. We see the erratic way he conducts business, and finally, after a trip across half the world into a completely different landscape and story, we see him unravel the mystery at the heart of the novel in an apparently effortless manner.
The Sign of the Four
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's second novel starring the great detective Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of the Four weaves together a complex plot involving stolen treasure, a secret pact between guards and prisoners, and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Revealing and humanizing Holmes beyond his portrayal in A Study in Scarlet, this novel from 1890 shows us the detective's drug habits and introduces Watson's wife-to-be, Mary Morstan.