Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945

During the Second World War, Canadians found themselves behind enemy lines in Europe and Asia. Not all were ill-fated airmen, shot down in the fury of battle. Some were there by design, as volunteers who risked their lives in extremely hazardous assignments. Almost one hundred Canadians served the Allied forces by passing as locals in occupied countries. At the behest of two British secret services, these men made language and custom their costumes and wove themselves into the social fabric of France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Burma, Malaya, and Sarawak. They risked their lives assisting resistance groups in sabotage and ambush missions or in smuggling Allied airmen out of occupied territories. Quiet heroes of the war, these bold Canadians helped to make the brutal and unrelenting warfare of the underground a potent weapon in the Allied arsenal. Out of print for more than two decades, this bestselling book recognizes the unique contribution of these individuals to the underground war effort. It is also a study of unstinting personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds.