Code Name: Lise

by Larry Loftis

Churchill gave the organization two directives: (1) to create and foster a spirit of resistance in Nazi-occupied countries, and (2) to establish an underground body of operatives who would perform acts of sabotage and assist in liberation when British forces landed.

People who are unfamiliar with the SOE sometimes expect that Odette would be doing what Churchill had described above: setting Europe ablaze with sabotage. But only a portion of SOE operatives were saboteurs. Peter Churchill was a circuit “organizer” (leader), Odette was a courier, and Arnaud Rabinovich was their radio operator. Their job was not to sabotage, but to recruit locals for the Resistance, and call in ammo drops to London (among other things). And, for the record, the “soft” job of courier was far more dangerous than being a saboteur. What was the most dangerous job for the Allies in WWII? Bomber Command, 45 percent fatality rate. Number two? SOE courier: 42 percent fatality rate.