Second World War (1939–1945)

A life of charm, high-stakes, and duplicity saw Elvira Chaudoir play cunning role in the Allied victory at D-Day.

14-year-old cabin boy John Giles Hipkin became Britain's youngest Second World War prisoner of war in 1941 after he was captured at sea.

Roger Bushell (1910–1944) was a pilot, prisoner of war (POW), and mastermind of the ‘Great Escape’ from Stalag Luft III in March 1944.

Discover how this guerrilla group played a significant role in opposing Japan and aiding Allied prisoners of war around Hong Kong.

During the Second World War, some British prisoners of war were able to send secret messages and intelligence back home via creative and unusual ways.

This document sets out the laws its signatory nations agreed to follow around the treatment of prisoners of war, those in medical need, and civilians.

Nancy Wake (1912–2011), an agent for the Special Operations Executive, was the most wanted woman in France during the Second World War.

War diaries were historical records created by units in the British Army during wartime. This one is unusual: it contains posters and Christmas cards.

Virginia Hall (1906–1982) was an American who served with the British Special Operations Executive in France in 1941–1942 and built a career in espionage.

This map was provided to soldiers during the first operation by the Chindits, special forces serving in Japanese-occupied Burma during the Second World War.

Christine Granville, Special Operations Executive agent extraordinaire, was Churchill’s favourite spy. How did this document possibly save her life?