Private Papers of Colonel J S Wilson CMG OBE

Photocopied ts memoir (115pp) written in 1962 and covering: his early life and education at Trinity College, Glenalmond in Scotland; service with the Imperial Indian Police, 1908 – 1922, eventually as Senior Deputy Commissioner, Calcutta, with useful details of conditions, policies, civil unrest, the scouting movement in India and an official visit by the future King Edward VIII; appointments as Camp Chief, Boy Scouts Association, 1923 – 1943, Director, Boy Scouts International Bureau, 1938 – 1953 and Honorary President Boy Scouts International Committee, 1953 – 1957 with much information about his important role in the Association and the administration of the organisation; service with Military Intelligence (R) and the Special Operations Executive, July 1940 – September 1945, with references to his work running courses for SOE agents at Arisaig, as staff officer in the SOE training section and also as Head of the Norwegian section (January 1942 onwards) and Regional Head, Directorate of Scandinavian and Baltic States (September 1943 onwards) including excellent descriptions of clandestine activities by SOE agents especially in Norway, details of individual missions including GUNNERSIDE, the attack on the 'heavy water' plant at Vemork in 1943, and an attempt to sink the TIRPITZ (1942), references to individual agents including Odd Starheim, Knut Haukelid and Peter Deinboll and useful comments on various aspects of the section's activies including communications and contribution to the war effort, as well as statistics reinforcing the success of sabotage operations; also photocopies (22pp) of papers concerning his service with the Indian Police and SOE, including two obituaries and two documents from his SOE Personal File.

Cataloguer AC