Greenwood, Erik Spencer (Oral history)

British officer served with No 3 Independent Company in Norway, 1940; served with Intelligence Corps in GB and Egypt, 1941-1942; served with Headquarters, Special Operations Executive in Cairo, Egypt, 2/1942-1/1943; served as liaison officer with Special Operations Executive to Chetniks in Yugoslavia, 4/1943-6/1944

REEL 1 Aspects of period as officer with No 3 Independent Company in Norway, 1940: abortive attempt to go with Ski Bn, Scots Guards to Finland, early 1940; his abilities to speak Scandinavian languages; nomenclature of independent companies; posting to unit at Bodo to attempt to sever German lines of communication; how he was cut off from unit; withdrawal to Harstad; attitude of Norwegian civilians towards British forces; aerial destruction of Bodo. Aspects of period as intelligence officer with Intelligence Corps in GB and Egypt, 1941-1942: training as intelligence officer in GB; posting to Cairo to interrogate German POWs, 5/1941; background to transfer as intelligence officer to No 16 GR Military Mission bound for Soviet Union, 9/1941; purpose of mission and it's disbandment, 1/1942. Recollections of period as officer with Headquarters, Special Operations Executive in Cairo, Egypt, 2/1942-1/1943: joining Special Operations Executive, 2/1942; initial role in Cairo; contact with James Klugmann; opinion of functioning of headquarters, 1942; refusal of Soviets to have him as vice-consul in Tabrik in Soviet occupied Iran, summer 1942; preparing stay behind party in Alexandria, Egypt, 8/1942. REEL 2 Continues: plan to mine River Danube, autumn 1942; second plan to use block ship on River Danube. Recollections of operations as liaison officer with Special Operations Executive to Chetniks in Yugoslavia, 4/1943-6/1944: plan to send him as liaison officer to Chetniks, 12/1942; abortive attempts to parachute into Yugoslavia, 1/1943-3/1943; successful parachute drop, near Zagubica, eastern Serbia, 4/1943; character of Captain 'Sinisa' leader of Chetnik group that received him; opinion of Chetnik communications; lack of achievements of 'Sinisa' group, 4/1943; status of local Nedic forces; obsession of local Serbs with massacre of Serbs in Croatia; attitude of locals towards British; character of local Vlassi population in eastern Serbia; absence of Partisan forces in Zagubica area; question of lack of prior knowledge of Yugoslav Partisan forces in Yugoslavia; 'Sinisa's' expectations of aid from GB; his suggestion of possible targets for 'Sinisa' group; supplies air dropped to Chetniks. REEL 3 Continues: equipment required by 'Sinisa' group from Special Operations Executive; strategy of Chetnik forces; contents of air supply drops in Yugoslavia; decreasing quantity of air supply drops during 1943; character of minor engagement between 'Sinisa' and Bulgarian occupying forces; successful operations to wreck barges to block River Danube, 10/1943; observing abortive operations to blow bridge over River Morava, 12/1943; how he was air-lifted out of Yugoslavia, 6/1944; enquiry by General Ira Eaker about fate of United States Army Air Force crew shot down over Yugoslavia; order that British personnel serving with Chetnik forces should not return to Yugoslavia; his opinion of switch in British policy from Chetniks to Yugoslav Partisans; question of Chetnik collaboration with Germans; attitude of local population towards occupying Bulgarian forces; capture and interrogation of Volksdeutscher by Chetniks in Serbia. REEL 4 Continues: rejecting option of killing Volksdeutscher; attempts to stimulate Chetniks to greater activity; story of discovering Draža Mihailović's alleged order to drive Greenwood out of Yugoslavia.