Espionage and Paperclips: The Women in the Special Operations Executive

From secretarial desks in Baker Street to covert missions in occupied Europe, women played vital – and often overlooked – roles in Britain’s Special Operations Executive. This engaging lecture uncovers their stories, blending tales of daring field agents with the hidden efforts of coders, clerks, and planners. Discover how women shaped Britain’s secret war, both behind the scenes and on the front line. 

Bio

Ashleigh Percival-Borley is a historian of 20th-century wartime intelligence, specialising in how the Special Operations Executive (SOE) has been remembered and mythologised through oral history. A British Army veteran and BBC New Generation Thinker (2025), she is a member of the IWM War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network. Ashleigh has lectured for NATO Joint Force Command and delivered a TED Talk on the legacy of women in combat.