Britain's Secret War 1939-45, Michael Smith., Andre Deutsch, 2011, 64 pp plus removable documents of historical importance, ISBN 978-0-233-00337-5, £30.

Michael Smith is one of the country's foremost writers on defence and intelligence and he has used his considerable experience to produce this gazetteer to British Intelligence in the Second World War.  He covers all the main agencies and includes many chapters on specialist issues, such as "Churchill's Obsession with Intelligence" and "Women in the Secret War".

Several of the subjects have been covered in more detail by Smith himself and by other writers, such as Ben Macintyre, but I have not seen them brought together in this way before.  The book is contained in a sturdy box cover to protect the three sets of high quality facsimiles of original intelligence and security documents from the period.  Having worked briefly in this world nearly thirty years ago I was surprised how little the formats had changed from the wartime period.

The book contains thumbnail sketches of many of the main players in the intelligence and security world and I was pleased to see the inclusion of Sir Vernon Kell from my former Regiment, who founded what was to become MI5 in 1909.  In the pre-Great War era he utilised men he knew and trusted, so it is no surprise that several of them were from the South and North Staffordshire Regiments.  Indeed, as Museum Curator, I was able to give a small measure of help to Michael Smith when he wrote his notable biography of Frank Foley, the "British Schindler".

My only concern about this excellent book is the price, which may put it out of the range of some readers.  However it will make an excellent resource for those teaching the wider aspects of World War 2 and for History libraries.