SOE Expeditions, Comrie (2026)

12/05/2026

Secrets, Spies & Special Forces. London, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

The war wasn’t just won on the front lines it was won in the shadows of Baker Street.

This August, join us for our SOE London Weekend: an immersive journey into the secret world of the Special Operations Executive.

We’re going beyond the history books, offering expert storytelling and private access to historic sites that are strictly off-limits to the public.

Step behind the curtain to walk the streets where legends were born, visit the clandestine headquarters where the most daring missions of WW2 were planned, and uncover the grit of the men and women who operated in the dark.

If you’re driven by history, leadership, and the stories of those who defied the odds, this is a weekend you cannot miss.

This isn’t just a history tour, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime, immersive journey into the shadowy world of WW2 espionage.

Gain exclusive access to restricted wartime sites normally closed to the public. Expert-led talks from intelligence historians and espionage specialists.

Walk the same streets as Britain's most daring secret agents, step inside top-secret locations, and uncover the hidden war that shaped history..

Limited spaces available.

Check the website for full details and to secure your spot.

https://soeexpeditions.com/soe-london-wknd

09/05/2026

Remembering one of the great Allied special operations warriors of WW2, Peter Ortiz.

A U.S. Marine, French Foreign Legion veteran, and OSS operative, Ortiz became legendary operating behind enemy lines in occupied France.

Fluent in multiple languages and fearless almost to the point of myth, he parachuted into the Alps on OSS “Union” missions.

Armed and trained the Maquis resistance, rescued downed Allied airmen, sabotaged German operations, and even infiltrated N**i circles under false identities.

At times Ortiz openly wore his Marine uniform in occupied France, a psychological act of defiance that stunned both resistance fighters and Germans alike.

He later led the massive “Le Grand Parachutage” supply operation supporting French resistance forces before liberation.

Surrounded near the village of Centron, Ortiz reportedly surrendered to save civilians from German reprisals rather than fight to the last man.

One of the most decorated Marines of WWII, Ortiz earned:

• Two Navy Crosses
• Legion of Merit
• Croix de Guerre
• Multiple Purple Hearts

Now a major new book is bringing his story back into the spotlight: Ortiz’s War by Nicholas Reynolds and Katie Sanders scheduled for release August 2026.

The book explores Ortiz’s OSS missions, his work with the French Resistance, and the extraordinary life of a man who became one of the Allies’ most daring special operations figures of the war.

Pre order now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ortizs-War-Allies-Secret-Against/dp/140025616X

Join us next year as we follow in Ortiz footsteps.
https://soeexpeditions.com/french-alps-op-union

Remember The Heroes

08/05/2026

Join us in September as we follow in the footsteps of legends as we remember the Battle of Leros.

On 12 November 1943, German forces launched Operation Leopard, a fierce airborne and amphibious assault on the island of Leros in the Aegean Sea.

After Italy’s surrender two months earlier, the British saw a chance to seize the Dodecanese Islands and create a new front in the eastern Mediterranean.

A move Churchill hoped might bring Turkey into the war. Leros, with its natural harbour and strong Italian fortifications, was seen as the key to the region.

The garrison on Leros was a mix of British infantry, Italian defenders, and elite Commando and Special Boat Squadron (SBS) troops, many linked to the LRDG network active across the Aegean.

They faced overwhelming odds: isolation, constant Luftwaffe air raids, and a determined German assault led by Fallschirmjäger paratroopers.

At dawn on 12 November, German aircraft bombarded the island before waves of paratroopers and landing craft attacked from air and sea.

Over the next four days, the defenders fought desperately among the rocky hills and coastal batteries. British Commandos and SBS and LRDG raiders launched daring counterattacks, but the superior German air power slowly ground them down.

On 16 November, with ammunition low and communications shattered, Brigadier Robert Tilney surrendered.

More than 3,000 British and 5,000 Italian troops were taken prisoner.

The fall of Leros ended the British Dodecanese campaign, a bold but doomed gamble that Churchill later called “a tragic venture.”

Yet the courage of those who fought there, including the LRDG, SBS raiders, and Italian sailors turned allies, remains one of the lesser-known but most valiant chapters of the Second World War.

Come and learn their story this Sept. With some of the best scuba wreck diving in Greece.

Not to be missed, click link for details.

https://soeexpeditions.com/island-of-leros-sbs

Deposito Di Guerra - Ioannis Paraponiaris Battle of Leros

07/05/2026

This November follow in the footsteps of SAS & LRDG legends on the 85th anniversary.

Join us as we journey through Egypt in the footsteps of the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), exploring iconic World War 2 battlefields and historic Egyptian sites.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience not to be missed.

Our 11-day SAS and LRDG expedition in Egypt includes five-star accommodation in Cairo, along the Nile, in Alexandria, and El Alamein.

You’ll visit key WWII battlefields, museums, and war graves, accompanied by a dedicated WW2 historian and author who will bring these stories to life.

The journey continues deep into the desert to the Oasis of Siwa, where you'll visit the former LRDG headquarters.

Along the way, explore remote SAS raiding sites and spend a couple of nights under the stars. Enjoy a weedram with and just as the legends of old once did.

Reserve yours today and be part of this unforgettable adventure through history.

Click link for details.

https://soeexpeditions.com/north-africa-sas-%26-lrdg

05/05/2026

Operation Anthopoid: The battle in the crypt of the Czech Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, 18 June 1942.

After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich during Operation Anthropoid, Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík and 5 other Czechoslovak paratroopers took refuge inside the cathedral. Anthropoid Mission had succeeded, but the consequences were immediate and severe.

Betrayed by Karel Čurda, their hiding place was revealed after three weeks in the dim, cold crypt. More than 700 Waffen SS and gestapo troops surrounded the building.

The battle unfolded in two stages. Three men fought in the church above, including Jan Kubiš, who was seriously wounded by a gr***de blast and later died of his injuries in the hospital. The other two fighters, Adolf Opálka and Josef Bublík heavily injured rather took their own lives than to surrender do enemy force.

Below, four others, including Josef Gabčík, made their last stand in the crypt.

For hours, the Germans tried to force them out using gunfire, gr***des, tear gas, and by flooding the crypt.

The resistance fighters refused to surrender.

With no escape left, they chose death over capture.

All seven were killed.

The aftermath was severe. The 1500 were executed, and entire villages such as Lidice and Ležáky were destroyed in N**i reprisals.

Yet the operation showed that even senior figures in the N**i regime were not beyond reach.

Today, the crypt remains a memorial. Bullet marks are still visible, preserving the memory of one of the most defiant last stands of the Second World War.

Gone but not forgotten. RiP Warriors.

Come and learn their story this Dec. Click link for details.

https://soeexpeditions.com/soe-prague

02/05/2026

May 27, 1942. A quiet morning in Prague.

Reinhard Heydrich, the "Hangman" and a chief architect of the Holocaust, commuted toward Prague Castle in an open-top Mercedes.

He traveled without an es**rt, his arrogance dictating a predictable daily route. He didn't know that in the shadows of a sharp bend in Libeň, history was waiting.

As the car slowed for the curve, Josef Valčík’s, signaled to Jozef Gabčík. He stepped forward and leveled his Sten gun, silence followed the weapon had jammed.

In that heartbeat of panic, Jan Kubiš reacted, hurling a modified anti-tank gr***de.

The blast tore through the vehicle, mortally wounding Heydrich. Despite the chaos, the operatives escaped.

These men weren't just soldiers; they were Czechoslovak patriots, forged by the SOE in the rugged hills of Scotland for this exact moment.

The aftermath was a testament to the weight of their mission. Heydrich died days later, the only senior N**i leader successfully assassinated during the war.

The N**i response was swift and merciless, leaving the scars of Lidice and Ležáky on the soul of the nation.

Today, the curve in Libeň remains, but the true heart of the story lies beneath the stones of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral.

There, in the crypt, you can still see the bullet marks and the marks of the frantic attempts to tunnel to safety during their final stand.

This December, join SOE Expeditions as we trace the footsteps of Gabčík and Kubiš through the streets of Prague.

Stand where they stood, feel the weight of their sacrifice, and witness the defiance that changed the course of the war.

A moment of precision. A legacy of resistance.

Gone but not forgotten RiP warriors.

Come follow in the footsteps of legends this Dec. Click link for details.

https://www.wetravel.com/i/69cb5531d7b22e907d650661 -this-trip

02/05/2026

At the Museum of Military History in Prague, learning about Operation Anthropoid puts a different perspective on WW2.

By 1942, Czechoslovakia wasn’t a land of vast frontlines or thunderous tank battles.

Under N**i occupation, the fight had moved into the shadows, a relentless campaign of covert intelligence, sabotage, and high-stakes defiance.

Operation Anthropoid was the pinnacle of this resistance. Two men, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were dispatched from Britain with a singular, lethal objective: eliminate Reinhard Heydrich.

Known as the "Hangman of Prague," he was a primary architect of the Holocaust and one of the most feared men in the Third Reich.

The mission balanced on a knife-edge. At the critical moment, Gabčík’s Sten gun jammed a nightmare scenario for any operative. Yet, they didn't falter.

A modified anti-tank gr***de was thrown instead, fatally wounding Heydrich and changing the course of the occupation.

Seeing the equipment in the museum makes the history visceral. These weren’t weapons of battlefield dominance; they were tools of desperate stealth.

A simple submachine gun. Improvised explosives. Basic gear carried by men who knew they were likely on a one-way trip.

The assassination didn’t collapse the German war machine, but it shattered the myth of N**i invincibility. It proved that no one was untouchable.

The retaliation was horrific thousands were arrested and the village of Lidice was razed to the ground but the act of defiance resonated across occupied Europe.

Operation Anthropoid reminds us that history isn't always written by the largest armies. Sometimes, it is forged by the grit of a few determined individuals, using limited tools to strike a blow against the dark.

Next Anthropoid weekend starts 4th - 7th Dec. Click link to find out more.

https://soeexpeditions.wetravel.com/trips/prague-operation-anthropoid-soe-expeditions-88311050

01/05/2026

Presale for The Irish Lion is complete.

Nearly half the bottles are already sold and out for distribution. The remainder are now available via our website.

This bottle was created with the blessing of the Mayne family, and in direct collaboration with War Years Remembered. Each element of the label is tied to Blair’s history.

As always, part of each sale goes back to veteran charities:
£5 to War Years Remembered
£1 to Combat Stress

Link in the comments.

For Those in the Arena

SOE Expeditions

12/05/2026

09/05/2026

08/05/2026

07/05/2026

05/05/2026

02/05/2026

02/05/2026

01/05/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category