Picture of George is Crown Copyright
Description of talk – Speakers - Dr. Kate Vigurs, Peter J Davies, John Pether
A Morse code message from France announced the birth of occupied Europe’s largest covert force 80 years ago - an event The National Museum of Computing is marking in May.
The sender was Georges Bégué - an agent of Winston Churchill’s new Special Operations Executive created to sabotage the German war machine. Bégué was the SOE’s first agent in France - hundreds would follow to become part what’s believed to be the largest SOE operation in Europe.
TNMOC is celebrating Bégué’s radio message with a talk by historian and author Dr. Kate Vigurs on May 6 and two days of wireless transmissions by enthusiasts.
Author of the forthcoming Mission France: the true story of the women of SOE, Kate will discuss:
Bégué - his life, work, landing and transmission
The SOE in France - from daily danger to supporting the Allied landings on D-Day
Communications and transmissions from France intercepted by sites across Britain
A freelance historian, Kate studied the women agents of SOE in France for her PhD while her her post-doctoral research has included a work on UK holocaust memorials. Kate regularly appears on TV and radio, covering topics such D-Day, the Battle of Britain and more.
Kate joins TNMOC as members of the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society recreate Bégué’s message. They will try to establish contact with enthusiasts and those at resistance museums in Europe using authentic call signs and genuine and replica radio sets. They will attempt to overcome some of the technical challenges Bégué would have faced 80 years ago.
Members of the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society will join Kate on this May 6 event to take your questions on the radio technology, the transmissions and the WWII receiver equipment that features in our museum and helped intercept communications from occupied Europe.
PLEASE NOTE: Participants will be sent the link to the virtual talk no later than two days before the event.
