BRITISH MILITARY MISSION TO POLAND 1939

The British officers who ran the Polish Section of SOE were among the best friends the Poles had during the Second World War. If ultimately they failed in helping Poland regain its freedom and independence in 1945, it was not for want of trying.

Anthony Massey is a retired journalist with BBC News. In a career lasting 33 years producing daily news on TV and radio, he spent much of his time covering wars and disasters round the world. This experience gave particular poignancy to his many conversations with his father, Lewis, who, along with Anthony's grandparents, had escaped from Poland as a refugee in 1940.