Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers: The Gold Coast in World War II [Hardcover]

The fall of France in June 1940 left the Gold Coast surrounded by potentially hostile French colonies that had rejected de Gaulles call to continue the fight, signaling instead their support for Marshall P?tains pro-German Vichy regime. In Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers, Nancy Lawler describes how the Gold Coast Regiment, denuded of battalions fighting in East Africa, was rapidly expanded at home to meet the threat of invasion. Professor Lawler also shows how the small airport at Takoradi was converted into a major Royal Air Force base and came to play a vital role in the supply of aircraft to the British Eighth Army in North Africa. The importance of the Gold Coast to the Allied war effort necessitated the creation of elaborate propaganda and espionage networks, the activities of which ranged from rumor-mongering to smuggling and sabotage. The London-based Special Operations Executive moved into West Africa, where it worked closely with de Gaulles Free French Intelligence. Lawler presents a vivid account of SOEs major triumphmasterminding the migration of a substantial part of the Gyaman people from Vichy C?te dIvoire to the Gold Coast. As she looks at the plethora of military and civil organizations involved in the war, Lawler throws light on decision making in Brazzaville, London, and Washington. This is an account of World War II in one colony, but the story is firmly set within the wider context of a world at war.

The Gold Coast became important to the Allied war effort in WWII, necessitating the creation of elaborate propaganda and espionage networks, the activities of which ranged from rumor-mongering to smuggling and sabotage.

“In the author’s engaging style,Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperersprovides a clearer picture of the history and political relations of the Gold Coast during the Second World War. It tells the story of the Takoradi resupply mission and British espionage and intelligence misl2