Colin Gubbins

Uncommon card · No. 113704

Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins, (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was one of the co-founders of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers. Earlier in the war, while under the command of Jo Holland, Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a commando stay-behind force based around the Home Defence Scheme of Section D, to operate on the flanks and to the rear of German lines if the United Kingdom were invaded during Operation Sea Lion, Germany's planned invasion. The Soviet double agent Kim Philby, who worked for Gubbins for some time, later wrote of Gubbins in his memoirs: The air of his office crackled with energy, and his speech was both friendly and mercifully brief. A friend of mine nicknamed him "Whirling Willie" after a character in a contemporary comic strip. It was rumoured that he could only find time for...

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