Mission Europe - The Women of SOE who did extraordinary things 

Who were the women behind enemy lines? Historian and broadcaster Dr. Kate Vigurs brings to light the extraordinary true stories of the female agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in her gripping book, Mission Europe. These women were wireless operators, couriers, saboteurs – and resistance heroes whose lives were cloaked in secrecy, danger and extraordinary bravery.

For a thrilling hour, she’ll shares the hidden histories of these wartime heroines who operated in Nazi-occupied Europe, revealing not only their daring missions but the complex lives they returned to, often unrecognised and sometimes forgotten.

Drawing on newly declassified material and vivid firsthand accounts, this is a chance to hear the voices of women whose courage shaped the course of World War II. A perfect event for fans of espionage, history and fearless female trailblazers.

Speaker Bio:

Dr Kate Vigurs FRHistS is an historian, author and researcher.  She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a visiting academic in the department of Political & International Studies at the University of Warwick.  With a PhD in history from the University of Leeds, her first book Mission France – The True Story of the Women of SOE was published in 2021 to critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Polly Corrigan Book Prize and the Society for Army Historical Research first book prize.  

Her second book, Mission Europe, focusses on the women secret agents used across Europe and was helped greatly with funding from the Gerry Holdsworth Special Forces Charitable Trust.  She is also planning several exciting research projects for the future within the field of Second World War studies.

Kate is an experienced and highly respected public speaker and can engage with any audience on her specialist subject of women in WW2 and Special Operations Executive, as well as many other aspects of history. 

Kate is an instructor for Road Scholars and has instructed on the Floating Campus and ‘Pole to Pole’ as well as creating the new ‘Espionage’ cruise for 2026.

Podcast appearances have been frequent and varied. TV includes A House Through Time, D-Day the unheard tapes, Lost female Spies, WWII in Colour: The Road to Victory on Netflix and the BBC’s Time Commanders.

Frequent national and local news items on TV and radio have ranged in subject from the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, SOE, women in WWI, the land girls, and Angela Merkel, to local stories including VE Day, D-day, The Battle of Britain and many more. 

Kate is a tour guide covering the Western Front battlefields, Berlin and Krakow/Auschwitz. She is a licensed guide for the Former Concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, near Berlin.

Date and Time:

Thursday 18th June

11am

Location:

The George Watson Memorial Hall, 65 Barton St, Tewkesbury GL20 5PX

Tickets:

£20