The 80th Anniversary of the Telecommunications Research Establishment moving to Malvern College was marked by an event organised by MRATHS (Malvern Radar and Technology History Society) on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th May in the Science Centre at Malvern College. During the events Dr Phil Judkins (visiting Fellow at the University of Leeds and soon to take up a Fellowship at Cambridge) gave a talk titled: ‘Using intelligence: Enigma, Spies and Radar against Hitler’s missiles’. Dr Judkins is an internationally acknowledged expert on the history of radar, interception and cryptography, and electronic warfare, with his work is featured in The Times, the Daily Mail, on television and in films and his talk did not disappoint.
The second talk was given by best-selling author, Damien Lewis who was launching his new book,
The Flame Of Resistance. The research for this book led him to discover new stories about the French support for Operation Biting, an operation during which British Joint Force stole a German Wurzburg Radar from Northern France in one of WWII’s most daring raids, in the first airborne mission launched from British soil. Vital to the success of ‘Operation Biting’ was the work of the French resistance, who risked all to gather the crucial information that enabled the intimate planning of this high-stakes snatch-and-grab raid, one that had the potential to change the course of the war. Damien then went on to give an account of his research for The Flame Of Resistance, where he reveals the story of the superstar of stage, screen and song, Josephine Baker, and her little-known clandestine role in WWII as a daring spy for the Allies. As with the Wurzburg raid, her spying, directed from London, helped change the course of the war.
