147-638: Milton Hall near Peterborough , is the largest private house in Cambridgeshire , England. As part of the Soke of Peterborough , it was formerly in Northamptonshire . It dates from 1594, being the historical home of the Fitzwilliam family , and is situated in an extensive park in which some original oak trees from an earlier Tudor deer park survive. The house is a Grade I listed building;
294-816: A camp run by SOE in Oshawa in Canada. In early 1942, Donovan's organisation became the Office of Strategic Services . SOE and OSS worked out respective areas of operation: OSS's exclusive sphere included China (including Manchuria ), Korea and Australia, the Atlantic islands and Finland. SOE retained India, the Middle East and East Africa, and the Balkans. While the two services both worked in Western Europe, it
441-555: A defensive wall around the abbey which was dedicated to Saint Peter ; eventually this developed into the form Peterborough. In the 12th century, the town was also known as Gildenburgh , which is found in the Peterborough version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (see Peterborough Chronicle below) and a history of the abbey by the monk Hugh Candidus . The town does not appear to have been a borough until at least
588-506: A blind eye to some of SOE's questionable activities. With other military headquarters and commands, SOE cooperated fairly well with Combined Operations Headquarters during the middle years of the war, usually on technical matters as SOE's equipment was readily adopted by commandos and other raiders. This support was lost when Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten left Combined Operations, though by this time SOE had its own transport and had no need to rely on Combined Operations for resources. On
735-466: A branch office, formally titled " British Security Coordination ," and headed by Canadian businessman Sir William Stephenson . Their office, located at Room 3603, 630 Fifth Avenue , Rockefeller Center , coordinated the work of SOE, SIS, and MI5 with the American FBI and the Office of Strategic Services . As with its leadership and organisation, the aims and objectives of SOE changed throughout
882-529: A change in the nature of crime in the county, with an increase in drink driving offences, knife crime and an international dimension added to activities such as running cannabis factories and human trafficking . The number of foreign nationals arrested in the north of the county rose from 894 in 2003, to 2,435 in 2006, but the report also said that "inappropriately negative" community perceptions about migrant workers often complicate routine incidents, raising tensions and turning them "critical". It also noted there
1029-479: A commando and parachute training school numbered STS 102 at Ramat David near Haifa . This school trained agents who joined SOE from among the armed forces stationed in the Middle East, and also members of the Special Air Service and Greek Sacred Squadron . A commando training centre similar to Arisaig and run by Fairbairn was later set up at Oshawa , for Canadian members of SOE and members of
1176-463: A hamlet in the Middle Ages ), Orton , Paston / Werrington and Castor . The last of these was never built, but a fourth, called Hampton , is now taking shape south of the city. It was decided that the city should have a major indoor shopping centre at its heart. Planning permission was received in late summer 1976 and Queensgate , containing over 90 stores and including parking for 2,300 cars,
1323-470: A large number of training, research and development or administrative centres. It was a joke that "SOE" stood for "Stately 'omes of England" , after the large number of country houses and estates it requisitioned and used. The establishments connected with experimentation and production of equipment were mainly concentrated in and around Hertfordshire and were designated by roman numbers. The main weapons and devices research establishments were The Firs ,
1470-664: A letter to the last Lord Fitzwilliam as "dear old Milton." During the Falklands War , on 30 April 1982, the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis stayed overnight at Milton following an engagement in Sir Stephen's Bedfordshire constituency. The following morning, the PM took a call to tell her that an RAF Vulcan had successfully bombed the airfield at Port Stanley . Milton Hall
1617-582: A major part in MI(R)'s and SOE's early operations. He also put into practice many of the lessons he learned from the IRA during the Irish War of Independence . The organisation of SOE continually evolved and changed during the war. Initially, it consisted of three broad departments: SO1 (formerly Department EH, which dealt with propaganda); SO2 (formerly Section D, operations); and SO3 (formerly MI R, research). SO3
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#17327937294471764-570: A much more efficient process. The market dominance during this period of the London Brick Company , founded by the prolific Scottish builder and architect John Cathles Hill , gave rise to some of the country's most well-known landmarks, all built using the ubiquitous Fletton Brick. Perkins Engines was established in Peterborough in 1932 by Frank Perkins , creator of the Perkins diesel engine. Thirty years later it employed more than
1911-402: A new university campus for the city. The college and the university completed the legal contracts for the creation of a new joint venture company in 2007, marking the culmination of legal negotiations and securing of funds required in order to build the new higher education centre. University Centre Peterborough opened to the first 850 students in 2009. The former public library on Broadway
2058-452: A number of cross-country routes converge: The River Nene , made navigable from the port at Wisbech to Northampton by 1761, passes through the city centre. The Nene Viaduct carries the railway over the river. It was built in 1847 by Sir William and Joseph Cubitt . William Cubitt was the chief engineer of Crystal Palace erected at Hyde Park in 1851. Apart from some minor repairs in 1910 and 1914 (the steel bands and cross braces around
2205-556: A positive impact on development and jobs. In 2008, the BBC broadcast The Poles are Coming! , a controversial documentary on the impact of Polish migration to Peterborough by Tim Samuels , as part of its White Season . The number of languages in use is growing where previously few languages other than English were spoken. As of 2006 , Peterborough offered classes in Italian, Urdu and Punjabi in its primary schools. Christianity has
2352-437: A project to construct 350 apartments, various office spaces as well as a new home for Peterborough City Council with other projects within the development to include a Hilton Garden Inn hotel with a sky bar, a new passport office and various leisure, restaurant and retail opportunities. Other projects within the city include the extension to Queensgate Shopping Centre , The Great Northern Hotel and more recently plans to extend
2499-461: A regional hub. Coupled with vast local clay deposits, the railway enabled large scale brickmaking and distribution to take place. The area was the UK's leading producer of bricks for much of the twentieth century. Brick-making had been a small seasonal craft since the early nineteenth century, but during the 1890s successful experiments at Fletton using the harder clays from a lower level had resulted in
2646-890: A result of his hard work, and appointed Sir Charles Hambro , head of Hambros Bank , to replace him. He also transferred Jebb back to the Foreign Office. Hambro had been a close friend of Churchill before the war and had won the Military Cross in the First World War . He retained several other interests, for example remaining chairman of Hambros and a director of the Great Western Railway . Some of his subordinates and associates expressed reservations that these interests distracted him from his duties as director. Selborne and Hambro nevertheless cooperated closely until August 1943, when they fell out over
2793-630: A sculpture trail, which provides functional, landscape artworks along the Green Wheel route and a Living Landmarks project involving the local community in the creation of local landscape features such as mini woodlands, ponds and hedgerows. Another long-distance footpath, the Hereward Way , runs from Oakham in Rutland, through Peterborough, to East Harling in Norfolk. While cycling within
2940-712: A separate gaol for prisoners arrested in the Soke. The abbot formerly held four fairs, of which two, St. Peter's Fair, granted in 1189 and later held on the second Tuesday and Wednesday in July, and the Brigge Fair, granted in 1439 and later held on the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in October, were purchased by the corporation from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1876. The Bridge Fair, as it
3087-444: A tenth of the population of Peterborough, mainly at Eastfield . Baker Perkins had relocated from London to Westwood , now the site of HM Prison Peterborough , in 1903, followed by Peter Brotherhood to Walton in 1906; both manufacturers of industrial machinery, they too became major employers in the city. British Sugar has moved its headquarters to Hampton from Woodston , the beet sugar factory, which opened there in 1926,
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#17327937294473234-520: A traitor, but he was exonerated by a war crimes court, and some have claimed he was acting under secret orders from SOE or MI6. SOE was also far ahead of contemporary attitudes in its use of women in armed combat. Although women were first considered only as couriers in the field, or as wireless operators or administrative staff in Britain, those sent into the field were trained in the use of weapons and in unarmed combat. Most were commissioned into either
3381-555: A tramway joining the northern suburbs with the city centre. The system, which operated under the name Peterborough Electric Traction Company , opened in 1903 and was abandoned in favour of motor buses in 1930, when it was merged into the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company . Today, bus services in the city are operated by several companies including Stagecoach (formerly Cambus and Viscount ) and Delaine Buses . Despite its large-scale growth, Peterborough has
3528-408: A variety of leisure and cultural developments; 338 in three hotels; and a further 4,847 jobs created in offices and other workspaces. Recent relocations of large employers include both Tesco (1,070 employees) and Debenhams (850 employees) distribution centres. A further 2,500 jobs were to be created in the £140 million Gateway warehouse and distribution park. This was expected to compensate for
3675-407: A whole. As part of the government's M11 corridor , Peterborough is committed to creating 17,500 jobs with the population growing to 200,000 by 2020. Future employment will also be created through the plan for the city centre launched by the council in 2003. Predictions of the levels and types of employment created were published in 2005. These include 1,421 jobs created in retail; 1,067 created in
3822-629: Is 24 miles (39 km) east-southeast across the Fens and the university city of Cambridge is 30 miles (48 km) to the southeast. The local topography is flat, and in some places, the land lies below sea level, for example in parts of the Fens to the east and to the south of Peterborough. Human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age , as can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to
3969-402: Is a £7 million "superchurch," KingsGate , formerly Peterborough Community Church, which can seat up to 1,800 worshippers. In comparison with the rest of England, Peterborough has a lower proportion of Christians, Buddhists , Hindus , Jews and Sikhs . The city has a higher percentage of Muslims than England as a whole (9.4% compared to 5% nationally). The majority of Muslims reside in
4116-457: Is also a Milton Hall in Swords, Dublin , Ireland. In Tasmania, Australia, there is Christ Church and Milton Hall, Launceston . 52°35′04″N 0°18′42″W / 52.5845°N 0.3116°W / 52.5845; -0.3116 Peterborough Peterborough ( / ˈ p iː t ər b ər ə , - b ʌr ə / PEE -tər-bər-ə, -burr-ə ) is a cathedral city in
4263-409: Is also a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority , led by the directly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough . The area governed by the city council is the district of Peterborough , which extends beyond the urban area of Peterborough itself to include surrounding villages and rural areas, particularly to the north-west and north-east. Peterborough's city status
4410-503: Is clear from correspondence in later life between du Maurier and the 10th Earl that the happiness and freedom experienced during these childhood visits made an impact on the future writer which she never forgot. She told Lord Fitzwilliam that when she wrote Rebecca 20 years later, the interior of Manderley was based on her recollection of the rooms and 'big house feel' of Milton in the First World War, and referred to Milton in
4557-409: Is forecast to reach 230,000 in 2031 and 240,000 by around 2041. Peterborough's population growth was reportedly the second fastest of any British city over the ten years from 2004 to 2013, driven partly by immigration. According to the 2011 census , 82.5% of Peterborough's residents categorised themselves as white , 2.8% of mixed ethnic groups , 11.7% Asian , 2.3% black and 0.8% other. Amongst
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4704-468: Is formally held by the local government district rather than the urban area. Much of the Peterborough urban area is unparished , but some of the suburbs are included in civil parishes , including Bretton , Hampton Hargate and Vale , Orton Longueville , and Orton Waterville . Peterborough was an ancient parish , which was historically in the Nassaburgh hundred of Northamptonshire . The parish
4851-564: Is not expected to receive its degree awarding powers before 2030 when a review will take place to determine its future as part of Anglia Ruskin University or whether it should become its own entity. There is one main tier of local government covering Peterborough, at unitary authority level, being Peterborough City Council , which meets at Peterborough Town Hall and has its main offices at Sand Martin House on Bittern Way. The city council
4998-641: Is not to be confused with various other buildings, including another Milton Hall in Cambridgeshire at Milton near Cambridge, which is a manor house, now used as office accommodation; Sir Clive Sinclair occupied it prior to the current tenant, Pi Innovo. Others of the name are in Deansgate , Manchester and in Elsecar , Barnsley . Milton Hall Primary School is in Westcliff-on-Sea . There
5145-463: Is now known, granted to the abbey by King Henry VI , survives. Prayers for the opening of the fair were once said at the morning service in the cathedral, followed by a civic proclamation and a sausage lunch at the town hall which still takes place. The mayor traditionally leads a procession from the town hall to the fair where the proclamation is read, asking all persons to "behave soberly and civilly, and to pay their just dues and demands according to
5292-574: Is part of the Thomas Deacon Education Trust. The schools that remain have been extended and enlarged. Over £200 million was spent and the changes on-going to 2010. The King's School is one of seven schools established, or in some cases re-endowed and renamed, by King Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries to pray for his soul. In 2006, 39.4% of Peterborough local education authority pupils attained five grades A* to C, including English and Mathematics, in
5439-555: Is thought to have commissioned Harold Peto to produce plans for a garden within one of the 18th century walled enclosures. The Hall was used by the military during both world wars. In the First World War, an auxiliary hospital was set up in the house. During the Second World War, part of the house and the stable block were occupied by the Czechoslovakian army and later Special Operations Executive who trained in
5586-497: The 2001 census , the workplace population of 90,656 is divided into 60,118 people who live in Peterborough and 30,358 people who commute in. A further 13,161 residents commute out of the city to work. Earnings in Peterborough are lower than average. Median earnings for full-time workers were £11.93 per hour in 2014, less than the regional median for the East of England of £13.62 and the median hourly rate of £13.15 for Great Britain as
5733-699: The Allied invasion of Italy , personnel from Massingham established forward stations in Brindisi and near Naples . A subsidiary headquarters, initially known as "Force 133," was later set up in Bari in Southern Italy , under the Cairo headquarters, to control operations in the Balkans, including Greece , and Northern Italy . An SOE station, first called the "India Mission," and subsequently known as "GS I(k),"
5880-746: The Axis powers , except where demarcation lines were agreed upon with Britain's principal Allies , the United States and the Soviet Union . SOE made use of neutral territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis. The organisation directly employed or controlled more than 13,000 people, of whom 3,200 were women. Both men and women served as agents in Axis-occupied countries. The organisation
6027-466: The City of Peterborough district in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire , England. For centuries, the city and many of its surrounding villages formed the Soke of Peterborough , in the historic county of Northamptonshire . The Soke of Peterborough had an independent county council , based in the city, between 1889 and 1965. After the Soke of Peterborough was abolished in 1965, the city formed part of
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6174-581: The East Coast Main Line , 45–50 minutes' journey time from central London, with high-speed intercity services from King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley operated by the London North Eastern Railway at around a 20-minute frequency. It is the northern terminus of slower commuter services from Horsham , via Gatwick Airport and central London, operated by Govia Thameslink Railway . It is a major railway junction where
6321-1064: The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) or the Women's Auxiliary Air Force . Women often assumed leadership roles in the field. Pearl Witherington became the organiser (leader) of a highly successful resistance network in France. Early in the war, American Virginia Hall functioned as the unofficial nerve center of several SOE networks in Vichy France . Many women agents such as Odette Hallowes or Violette Szabo were decorated for bravery, posthumously in Szabo's case. Of SOE's 41 (or 39 in some estimates) female agents serving in Section F (France) sixteen did not survive with twelve killed or executed in Nazi concentration camps. Most of
6468-477: The General Certificate of Secondary Education , lower than the national average of 45.8%. The city has two colleges of further and higher education , Peterborough College (established in 1946 as Peterborough Technical College) and City College Peterborough (known as Peterborough College of Adult Education until 2010). By 2004, Peterborough College attracted over 15,000 students each year from
6615-623: The Government Code and Cipher School , until in November 1940 it was decided that it was unwise to conduct codebreaking and explosives experiments on the same site. The establishment moved to Aston House near Stevenage in Hertfordshire and was renamed Station XII . It originally conducted research and development but from 1941 it became a production, storage and distribution centre for devices already developed. Station XV, at
6762-571: The Millfield , West Town and New England areas of the city, where two large mosques (including the Faidhan-e-Madina Mosque and Husaini Islamic Center-Peterborough) are based. Peterborough also has both Hindu (Bharat Hindu Samaj) and Sikh (Singh Sabha Gurdwara) temples in these areas. The Anglican Diocese of Peterborough covers roughly 1,200 square miles (3,100 km ), including the whole of Northamptonshire, Rutland and
6909-728: The Partisans and Chetniks . However, in 1944 SOE and OSS successfully pooled their personnel and resources to mount Operation Jedburgh , providing large scale support to the French Resistance following the Normandy landings . SOE had some nominal contact with the Soviet NKVD , but this was limited to a single liaison officer at each other's headquarters. After working from temporary offices in Central London,
7056-829: The Prince of Wales in Church End, Tempsford, Bedfordshire , close to the site of the former RAF Tempsford . The organisation was formed from the merger of three existing secret departments, which had been formed shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Immediately after Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss ) in March 1938, the Foreign Office created a propaganda organisation known as Department EH (after Electra House , its headquarters), run by Canadian newspaper magnate Sir Campbell Stuart . Later that month,
7203-614: The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6) formed a section known as Section D (the "D" apparently standing for "Destruction") under Major Lawrence Grand, to investigate the use of sabotage, propaganda, and other irregular means to weaken an enemy. In the autumn of the same year, the War Office expanded an existing research department known as GS (R) and appointed Major J. C. Holland as its head to conduct research into guerrilla warfare . GS (R)
7350-650: The Thatched Barn near Borehamwood , was devoted to camouflage , which usually meant equipping agents with authentic local clothing and personal effects. Various sub-stations in London were also involved in this task. Station XV and other camouflage sections also devised methods of hiding weapons, explosives or radios in innocuous-seeming items. Agents also needed identity papers, ration cards, currency and so on. Station XIV, at Briggens House near Roydon in Essex,
7497-428: The patron saint of workers Saint Joseph (San Giuseppe). By 1991, over 3,000 christenings of second-generation Italians had been carried out there. In 1996, it was estimated that the Italian community of Peterborough numbered 7,000, making it the third largest in the UK after London and Bedford . The 2011 Census recorded 1,179 residents born in Italy. In the late twentieth century the main source of immigration
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#17327937294477644-678: The railway station and long stay car park to facilitate more office space in the city centre and further parking. In 2020 planning permission was granted for a new university, ARU Peterborough , which subsequently opened its doors in September 2022 on Bishops Road, a five-minute walk from the City Centre. It is an employment focused university run by Anglia Ruskin University with four faculties: Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Creative and Digital Arts and Sciences; Agriculture, Environment and Sustainability; Health and Education. The new university took its first cohort of students in 2022, expecting to recruit up to 12,500 by 2028. ARU Peterborough
7791-471: The 12th century. Peterborough and its surrounding areas around have been inhabited for thousands of years because it is where permanently drained land in The Fens is created by the River Nene . Remains of Iron Age settlement and what is thought to be religious activity can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the city centre. The Romans established a fortified garrison town at Durobrivae on Ermine Street , five miles (8.0 km) to
7938-414: The 6,000 job losses as a result of the decline in manufacturing, anticipated in a report cited by the cabinet member for economic growth and regeneration in 2006. With traditionally low levels of unemployment, Peterborough is a popular destination for workers and has seen significant growth through migration since the postwar period. The leader of the council said in August 2006 that he believed that 80% of
8085-408: The 65,000 people who had arrived in East Anglia from the states that joined the European Union in 2004 were living in Peterborough. To help cope with this influx, the council put forward plans to construct an average of 1,300 homes each year until 2021. Peterborough Trades Council, formed in 1898, is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress . Peterborough railway station is a principal stop on
8232-416: The A1(M) has led to Peterborough being proposed as the site of a 334 acres (1.35 km ) rail-road logistics and distribution centre to be known as Magna Park. The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is a 50-mile (80 km) network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways which provide safe, continuous routes around the city with radiating spokes connecting to the city centre. The project has also created
8379-432: The Axis and occupied nations, such as Operation Anthropoid , the assassination in Prague of Reinhard Heydrich . In general also, SOE's objectives were to foment mutual hatred between the population of Axis-occupied countries and the occupiers, and to force the Axis to expend manpower and resources on maintaining their control of subjugated populations. Dalton's initial statement about outline of methods to be used by SOE's
8526-414: The Axis. It employed known homosexuals, people with criminal records (some of whom taught skills such as picking locks), those with bad conduct records in the armed forces, Communists, and anti-British nationalists. Some of them might have been considered a security risk, but no known case exists of an SOE agent wholeheartedly going over to the enemy. The Frenchman, Henri Déricourt , is widely regarded as
8673-441: The Dog-in-a-Doublet lock was built five miles (8.0 km) downstream in 1937. The A1/A1(M) primary route (part of European route E15 ) broadly follows the path of the historic Great North Road from St Paul's Cathedral in the heart of London, passing Peterborough (Junction 17), and continuing north a further 335 miles (539 km) to central Edinburgh . In 1899 the British Electric Traction Company sought permission for
8820-449: The Hall, the third Earl engaged Lord Rockingham's architect Henry Flitcroft to begin the process, and a new south front was added. Following the death of the third Earl in 1756, the work on the Hall was completed by Sir William Chambers for his son William, the fourth Earl , in 1773. In 1782, however, the fourth Earl succeeded to Wentworth Woodhouse on the death of his uncle the second Lord Rockingham, and this became his principal seat,
8967-435: The Middle East and Balkans were controlled from a headquarters in Cairo , which became notorious for poor security, infighting and conflicts with other agencies. It was eventually named, in April 1944, "Special Operations (Mediterranean)," or SO(M). Shortly after the Allied landings in North Africa , a station code named "Massingham" was established near Algiers in late 1942, which operated into Southern France . Following
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#17327937294479114-472: The Parliamentary soldiers were in Peterborough, however, they ransacked the cathedral, destroying the Lady Chapel , chapter house , cloister , high altar and choir stalls, as well as mediaeval decoration and records. Among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the Soke of Peterborough , a liberty within Northamptonshire . This afforded it administrative and judicial independence from
9261-555: The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia (which has its seat at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist , Norwich) and is served by Saint Peter and All Souls Church , built in 1896 and decorated in the Gothic style. The Greek Orthodox Community of Saint Cyril , Patriarch of Jerusalem was established in 1991 under the Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain . Peterborough has one independent boarding school: The Peterborough School at Westwood House, founded in 1895. The school caters for girls and now boys up to
9408-402: The Roman period, providing Nene Valley Ware that was traded as far away as Cornwall and the Antonine Wall , Caledonia. Peterborough is shown by its original name Medeshamstede to have possibly been an Anglian settlement before AD 655, when Sexwulf founded a monastery on land granted to him for that purpose by Peada of Mercia , who converted to Christianity and was briefly ruler of
9555-432: The Soke of Peterborough. The parts of the city that lie south of the river, which were historically in Huntingdonshire , fall within the Diocese of Ely , which covers the remainder of Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk. The current Bishop of Peterborough has been appointed Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Ely, with pastoral care for these parishes delegated to her by the Bishop of Ely . The city falls wholly within
9702-553: The UK and abroad and was ranked in the top five per cent of colleges in the UK. Greater Peterborough University Technical College is a new education facility set to open in September 2015. The city is currently without a university, after Loughborough University closed its Peterborough campus in 2003. Consequently, it became the second largest centre of population in the UK (after Swindon ) without its own higher education institution. In 2006, however, Peterborough Regional College began talks with Anglia Ruskin University to develop
9849-510: The UK's fifth largest co-operative society, was also based in Peterborough, where it was established in 1876. The combined society began trading as Central England Co-operative in 2014. Designated a New Town in 1967, Peterborough Development Corporation was formed in partnership with the city and county councils to house London's overspill population in new townships sited around the existing urban area. There were to be four townships, one each at Bretton (originally to be called Milton,
9996-400: The UK. This is mainly as a result of labour recruitment in the 1950s by the London Brick Company in the southern Italian regions of Apulia and Campania . By 1960, approximately 3,000 Italian men were employed by London Brick, mostly at the Fletton works. In 1962, the Scalabrini Fathers , who first arrived in 1956, purchased an old school and converted it into a mission church named after
10143-662: The age of 18. Peterborough's state schools have recently undergone significant change. Five of the city's fifteen secondary schools were closed in July 2007, to be demolished over the coming years. John Mansfield (now an adult learning centre), Hereward (formerly Eastholm, now City of Peterborough Academy, sponsored by the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust) and Deacon's were replaced with the flagship Thomas Deacon Academy , designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank which opened in September 2007. Queen Katharine Academy (previously The Voyager School), which has specialist media arts status, replaced Bretton Woods and Walton Community School. It
10290-421: The chairmanship of Lord Mawhinney , was set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005 to oversee Peterborough's future development. Between 2006 and 2012 a £1 billion redevelopment of the city centre and surrounding areas was planned. The master plan provided guidelines on the physical shaping of the city centre over the next 15–20 years. Proposals are still progressing for the north of Westgate,
10437-425: The city received a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of new cycle lanes in busy streets, plans to connect the villages to the west of Peterborough with a new cycle track have been refused permission and some cycle lane decisions have been reversed in the city centre during easing of the corona virus lockdowns. The City of Peterborough local authority area has a population of 217,705 (2022). It
10584-532: The city. Nationally published cartoonist John Elson, from Peterborough, has provided imagery for many of the events. Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive ( SOE ) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage , sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local resistance movements during World War II . SOE personnel operated in all territories occupied or attacked by
10731-429: The city. Until 2017, PECT organised a yearly 'Green Festival' centered around Cathedral Square, Peterborough, which also benefited local artists and arts organisations through attracting Arts Council funding grants aided by arts facilitator organisation Metal. During the summer of 2018 the last Green Festival was held at Nene Park, in 2019 Peterborough's community environmental projects attracted ministerial attention from
10878-602: The complaints over impropriety at SOE's Cairo headquarters during 1941 and partly because both the supreme command in the Mediterranean and SOE's establishments were split in 1942 and 1943, leading to divisions of responsibility and authority. There was tension between SOE and SIS, which the Foreign Office controlled. Stewart Menzies , the chief of SIS, was aggrieved to lose control of Section D. Where SIS preferred placid conditions in which it could gather intelligence and work through influential persons or authorities, SOE
11025-585: The control of the Allied theatre commands. Relationships with Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in north-west Europe (whose commander was General Dwight D. Eisenhower ) and South East Asia Command (whose commander was Admiral Louis Mountbatten, already well known to SOE) were generally excellent. However, there were difficulties with the Commanders in Chief in the Mediterranean, partly because of
11172-460: The creation of secret armies which would rise up to assist the liberation of their countries when Allied troops arrived or were about to do so. It was recognised that acts of sabotage would bring about reprisals and increased Axis security measures which would hamper the creation of underground armies. As the tide of war turned in the Allies' favour, these underground armies became more important. At
11319-402: The criminal underworld. Some of them were recruited by word of mouth among the acquaintances of SOE's officers, others responded to routine trawls of the armed forces for people with unusual languages or other specialised skills. In most cases, the primary quality required of an agent was a deep knowledge of the country in which he or she was to operate, and especially its language, if the agent
11466-651: The early months of the war, Section D was based first at St Ermin's Hotel in Westminster and then the Metropole Hotel near Trafalgar Square . The Section attempted unsuccessfully to sabotage deliveries of vital strategic materials to Germany from neutral countries by mining the Iron Gate on the River Danube . MI(R) meanwhile produced pamphlets and technical handbooks for guerrilla leaders. MI(R)
11613-489: The east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, Medeshamstede , which later became Peterborough Cathedral . As of the 2021 census the built-up area subdivision had a population of 192,178. In 2021 the Unitary Authority area had a population of 215,671. The population grew rapidly after the railways along with industry,
11760-639: The environment secretary Michael Gove . During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–21 Peterborough's culture and leisure umbrella charity, Vivacity ceased operating. The council and regional development agency have taken advice on regeneration issues from a number of internationally recognised experts, including Benjamin Barber (formerly an adviser to President Bill Clinton ), Jan Gustav Strandenaes ( United Nations adviser on environmental issues) and Patama Roorakwit (a Thai "community architect"). According to
11907-475: The family moving to Milton only in the winter for the hunting. To facilitate this, he commissioned Humphry Repton (1752–1818) to offer advice on improvements to the park in 1791. The fourth Earl died in 1833 at the age of 85 leaving his properties to his only son, Lord Milton. With Wentworth Woodhouse the principal seat of the family, the fifth Earl left Milton to his younger son, George Wentworth-FitzWilliam , in 1857. George lived at Milton until after 1912 and
12054-533: The fastest peak and off-peak travel times for a city of its size in the UK, due to the construction of the parkways. The Local Transport Plan anticipated expenditure totalling around £180 million for the period up to 2010 on major road schemes to accommodate development. The combination of rail connections to the Port of Felixstowe and to the East Coast Main Line as well as a road connection via
12201-1029: The field underwent commando training at Arisaig in Scotland, where they were taught armed and unarmed combat skills by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes , former Inspectors in the Shanghai Municipal Police . Those who passed this course received parachute training by STS 51 and 51a situated near Altrincham , Cheshire with the assistance of No.1 Parachute Training School RAF, at RAF Ringway (which later became Manchester Airport ). They then attended courses in security and Tradecraft at Group B schools around Beaulieu in Hampshire. Finally, depending on their intended role, they received specialist training in skills such as demolition techniques or Morse code telegraphy at various country houses in England. SOE's Cairo branch established
12348-797: The fluted legs) the bridge remains as Cubitts built it. Now a Grade II* listed structure, it is the oldest surviving cast iron railway bridge in the UK. By the Town Bridge, the Customs House, built in the early eighteenth century, is a visible reminder of the city's past function as an inland port. The Environment Agency navigation starts at the junction with the Northampton arm of the Grand Union Canal and extends for 91 miles (146 km) ending at Bevis Hall just upstream of Wisbech. The tidal limit used to be Woodston Wharf until
12495-585: The former diplomat Fitzroy Maclean or the classicist Christopher Woodhouse ) were commissioned only during wartime. Several of SOE's agents were from the Jewish Parachutists of Mandate Palestine , some of whom were émigrés from countries in Europe. Thirty-two of them served as agents in the field, seven of whom were captured and executed. Exiled or escaped members of the armed forces of some occupied countries were obvious sources of agents. This
12642-461: The garden is Grade II*. The gardens and pleasure grounds of Milton Park are about 3 miles (5 km) from Peterborough city centre, off the A47 road , and are about 35 acres (14 ha) to the south of the house. There are views of the park from both sides of the house. The house and grounds are private and not open to the public; however, Peterborough Milton Golf Club has a par 71 parkland course set in
12789-463: The government level, SOE's relationships with the Foreign Office were often difficult. On several occasions, various governments in exile protested at operations taking place without their knowledge or approval, provoking Axis reprisals against civilian populations, or complained about SOE's support for movements opposed to the exiled governments. SOE's activities also threatened relationships with neutral countries. SOE nevertheless generally adhered to
12936-841: The grounds and woods prior to being dropped by parachute behind enemy lines in France in the days leading up to the Normandy landings (see Operation Jedburgh ). After the war, Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam returned to Milton to make it their home. The Earl died in 1979 and the Countess in 1995, at which time the estate passed to Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland, 4th Baronet . Thomas Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 10th Earl Fitzwilliam (28 May 1904 – 21 September 1979) married, in April 1956, Joyce Elizabeth Mary Langdale (1898 – June 1995), eldest daughter and heiress of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Joseph Langdale (1863–1950), OBE, JP, DL, of Houghton Hall, Yorkshire , and formerly
13083-400: The grounds at this time enclosed by a moat and containing courtyards, fishponds, orchards, and gardens. The third Baron was elevated to Viscount Milton and Earl Fitzwilliam, and it was he who added the imposing stables in about 1690, choosing William Talman and John Sturges as his architects. John Fitzwilliam, the second Earl, succeeded in 1719 and the following year completed an extension to
13230-534: The grounds of the estate, with many of the holes being played in full view of Milton Hall. In the Middle Ages, Milton was a hamlet in the parish of Castor . The manor of Milton was bought from Robert Wittlebury in 1502 by Sir William Fitzwilliam , a wealthy merchant from an old Yorkshire family. He was knighted in 1515 and died in 1534. The oldest parts of the Hall were built in the 1590s by William's grandson,
13377-641: The headquarters of SOE was moved on 31 October 1940 into 64 Baker Street (hence the nickname "the Baker Street Irregulars " ). Ultimately, SOE occupied much of the western side of Baker Street. "Baker Street" became the euphemistic way of referring to SOE. The precise nature of the buildings remained concealed; it had no entry in the telephone directories, and correspondence to external bodies bore service addresses; MO1 (SP) (a War Office branch), NID(Q) (Admiralty), AI10 (Air Ministry), or other fictitious bodies or civilian companies. SOE maintained
13524-508: The home of MD1, formerly MIR(C), near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire (although this was not formally part of SOE), and Station IX at The Frythe , a country house (and former private hotel) outside Welwyn Garden City where, under the cover name of ISRB (Inter Services Research Bureau), SOE developed radios, weapons, explosive devices and booby traps . Section D originally had a research station at Bletchley Park , which also held
13671-598: The instigation of newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill , Lord Hankey (who held the Cabinet post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ) persuaded Section D and MI(R) that their operations should be coordinated. On 1 July, a Cabinet level meeting arranged the formation of a single sabotage organisation. On 16 July, Hugh Dalton , the Minister of Economic Warfare , was appointed to take political responsibility for
13818-408: The largest cluster of environmental businesses in the UK. In 1994, Peterborough designated itself one of four environment cities in the UK and began working to become the country's acknowledged environment capital. Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT), an independent charity, was set up at the same time to work towards this goal, delivering projects promoting healthier and sustainable living in
13965-525: The largest following in Peterborough, in particular the Church of England , with a significant number of parish churches and a cathedral. 56.7% of Peterborough's residents classified themselves as Christian in the 2011 Census. Recent immigration to the city has also seen the Roman Catholic population increase substantially. Other denominations are also in evidence; the latest church to be constructed
14112-583: The laws of the realm and the rights of the City of Peterborough". Railway lines began operating locally during the 1840s, but it was the 1850 opening of the Great Northern Railway 's line from London to York that transformed Peterborough from a market town to an industrial centre. Lord Exeter had opposed the railway passing through Stamford, so Peterborough, situated between two main terminals at London and Doncaster , increasingly developed as
14259-410: The modern district was created, being a lower tier non-metropolitan district , with the area also being transferred to Cambridgeshire at the same time. In 1998 the Peterborough district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire (the area governed by Cambridgeshire County Council ) to become a unitary authority, whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire for
14406-470: The new organisation, and a senior civil servant , Gladwyn Jebb , transferred from the Foreign Office to it, with the title of Chief Executive Officer. Campbell Stuart left the organisation, and the flamboyant Major Grand was returned to the regular army. At his own request, Major Holland also left to take up a regular appointment in the Royal Engineers . (Both Grand and Holland eventually attained
14553-536: The new organisation, which was formally created on 22 July 1940. Dalton recorded in his diary that on that day the War Cabinet agreed to his new duties and that Churchill had told him, "And now go and set Europe ablaze." Dalton used the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence as a model for the organisation. Sir Frank Nelson was nominated by SIS to be director of
14700-456: The newly created American organisation, the Office of Strategic Services . A variety of people from all classes and pre-war occupations served SOE in the field. The backgrounds of agents in F Section, for example, ranged from aristocrats such as Polish-born Countess Krystyna Skarbek , and Noor Inayat Khan , the daughter of an Indian Sufi leader, to working-class people such as Violette Szabo and Michael Trotobas , with some even reputedly from
14847-526: The other hand, the Admiralty objected to SOE developing its own underwater vessels, and the duplication of effort this involved. The Royal Air Force, and in particular RAF Bomber Command under "Bomber" Harris were usually reluctant to allocate aircraft to SOE. Towards the end of the war, as Allied forces began to liberate territories occupied by the Axis and in which SOE had established resistance forces, SOE also liaised with and to some extent came under
14994-498: The outbreak of war), the rest were various civil servants , lawyers, or business or industrial experts. Most of the members of the council, and the senior officers and functionaries of SOE generally, were recruited by word of mouth among public school alumni and Oxbridge graduates, although this did not notably affect SOE's political complexion. Several subsidiary SOE stations were set up to manage operations that were too distant for London to control directly. SOE's operations in
15141-412: The purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . Figures plotting growth from 1995 to 2004, revealed that Peterborough had become the most successful economy among unitary authorities in the East of England. They also revealed that the city's economy had grown faster than the regional average and any other economy in the region. It has a strong economy in the environmental goods and services sector and has
15288-569: The question of whether SOE should remain a separate body or coordinate its operations with those of the British Army in several theatres of war. Hambro felt that any loss of autonomy would cause a number of problems for SOE in the future. At the same time, Hambro was found to have failed to pass on vital information to Selborne. He was dismissed as director, and became head of a raw materials purchasing commission in Washington, D.C. , which
15435-565: The rank of major-general .) However, Holland's former deputy at MI(R), Brigadier Colin Gubbins , returned from command of the Auxiliary Units to be Director of Operations of SOE. One department of MI(R), MI R(C), which was involved in the development of weapons for irregular warfare, was not formally integrated into SOE but became an independent body codenamed MD1 . Directed by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Millis Jefferis , it
15582-452: The resistance networks which SOE formed or liaised with were controlled by radio directly from Britain or one of SOE's subsidiary headquarters. All resistance circuits contained at least one wireless operator, and all drops or landings were arranged by radio, except for some early exploratory missions sent "blind" into enemy-occupied territory. SOE wireless operators were also known as "The Pianists". At first, SOE's radio traffic went through
15729-452: The rest of the county, with it having a quarter sessions separate from the rest of Northamptonshire from 1349. In 1576 Bishop Edmund Scambler sold the lordship of the hundred of Nassaburgh , which was coextensive with the Soke, to Queen Elizabeth I , who gave it to Lord Burghley , and from that time until the 19th century he and his descendants, the Earls and Marquesses of Exeter , had
15876-520: The rule, "No bangs without Foreign Office approval." Early attempts at bureaucratic control of Jefferis's MIR(c) by the Ministry of Supply were eventually foiled by Churchill's intervention. Thereafter, the Ministry co-operated, though at arm's length, with Dudley Newitt's various supply and development departments. The Treasury were accommodating from the start and were often prepared to turn
16023-416: The selection and training of agents. Sections, usually referred to by code letters or groups of letters, were assigned to a single country. Some enemy-occupied countries had two or more sections assigned to deal with politically disparate resistance movements. (France had no less than six). For security purposes, each section had its own headquarters and training establishments. This strict compartmentalisation
16170-485: The short-lived Huntingdon and Peterborough until 1974. Though the city has a long history as part of Northamptonshire (from the Middle Ages up to 1965), the city has been part of Cambridgeshire since 1974, and is the largest settlement in that county. The city is 74 miles (119 km) north of London, on the River Nene which flows into The Wash 27 miles (43 km) to the north-east; the cathedral city of Ely
16317-515: The smaller Middle Angles sub-group. His brother Wulfhere murdered his own sons, similarly converted and then finished the monastery by way of atonement . Hereward the Wake rampaged through the town in 1069 or 1070. Outraged, Abbot Turold erected a fort or castle, which, from his name, was called Mont Turold: this mound, or hill, is on the outside of the deanery garden, now called Tout Hill, although in 1848 Tot-hill or Toot Hill. The abbey church
16464-492: The south bank and the station quarter, where Network Rail is preparing a major mixed use development. Whilst recognising that the reconfiguration of the relationship between the city and station was critical, English Heritage found the current plans for Westgate unconvincing and felt more thought should be given to the vitality of the historic core. In recent years Peterborough has undergone significant changes with numerous developments underway, most notably are Fletton Quays,
16611-433: The stable block and continued the work his father had started on enlarging the park and altering the gardens to the south of the Hall to include the walled enclosures which still survive. John's son William, the third Earl , married Lady Anne Wentworth, daughter of the first Marquess of Rockingham . In 1750, after abortive projects commissioned by his grandfather and father from Talman, Gibbs, and Brettingham for modernising
16758-466: The stewardship of the FitzWilliam estates. He married, in 1980, Lady Isabella Lambton. Elizabeth-Anne's first marriage was dissolved in 1960 and she married, secondly, in 1975, Sir Stephen Hastings (4 May 1921 – January 2005). In 1917 when the hall housed an auxiliary hospital, Daphne du Maurier made the first of several visits to Milton at the age of ten along with her mother and two sisters. It
16905-454: The third William Fitzwilliam and Lord Deputy of Ireland , who also began to lay out grounds. He was succeeded in 1599 by his son, the fourth William, who continued to work on the Hall and possibly developed the landscape. Extracts from his household accounts have been published. On his death in 1618, he was succeeded by his son, later the first Baron Fitzwilliam , whose granddaughter Jane married Sir Christopher Wren . A plan dated 1643 records
17052-432: The town became known for brick manufacture, arrived in the 19th century. After the Second World War, industrial employment fell and growth was limited until its designation as a New Town in the 1960s. The town's main economic sectors are financial services and distribution. The original name of the town was Medeshamstede . The town's name changed to Burgh from the late tenth century, possibly after Abbot Kenulf had built
17199-604: The war between King John and the confederate barons, many of whom took refuge in the monastery here and in Crowland Abbey , from which sanctuaries they were forced by the king's soldiers, who plundered the religious houses and carried off great treasures. The abbey church became one of Henry VIII 's retained, more secular, cathedrals in 1541, having been assessed at the Dissolution as having revenue of £1,972.7s.0¾d per annum. When civil war broke out, Peterborough
17346-460: The war, although they revolved around sabotaging and subverting the Axis war machines through indirect methods. SOE occasionally carried out operations with direct military objectives, such as Operation Harling , originally designed to cut one of the Axis supply lines to their troops fighting in North Africa. They also carried out some high-profile operations aimed mainly at the morale both of
17493-559: The west in Water Newton, around the middle of the 1st century AD. Durobrivae's earliest appearance among surviving records is in the Antonine Itinerary of the late 2nd century. There was also a large 1st century Roman fort at Longthorpe , designed to house half a legion , or about 3,000 soldiers; it may have been established as early as around AD 44–48. Peterborough was an important area of ceramic production in
17640-421: The white population, the largest categories were indigenous groups, those being English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British (70.9%), and other white (10.6%). Those of Pakistani ethnicity accounted for 6.6% of the population and those of Indian ethnicity 2.5.%. The largest black group were those of African ethnicity (1.4%). Peterborough is home to one of the largest concentrations of Italian immigrants in
17787-530: The wife of Henry FitzAlan-Howard, 2nd Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (1883 – 1962), from whom she was divorced in 1955. Joyce Langdale by her first marriage had two daughters. The younger was Elizabeth Anne Marie Gabrielle FitzAlan-Howard (26 January 1934 – 20 March 1997) who married firstly in 1952, Sir Vivyan Edward Naylor-Leyland, 3rd Baronet (1924 – 2 September 1987). Their son and heir, Sir Philip Vivyan Naylor-Leyland, 4th Baronet (born 9 August 1953) succeeded his father in 1987, and his grandmother and mother to
17934-405: Was "industrial and military sabotage, labor agitation and strikes, continuous propaganda, terrorist attacks against traitors and German leaders, boycotts and riots." Dalton's early enthusiasm for fomenting widespread strikes, civil disobedience and sabotage in Axis-occupied areas had to be curbed. Thereafter, there were two main aims, often mutually incompatible; sabotage of the Axis war effort, and
18081-450: Was "little evidence that the increased numbers of migrant workers have caused significant or systematic problems in respect of community safety or cohesion". In 2007, Julie Spence , the then Chief Constable emphasised that the fact that the demographic profile of Cambridgeshire had changed dramatically from one where 95% of teenagers were white four years previously to one of the country's fastest growing diverse populations, and said it had
18228-412: Was also created in 1541, covering the same area as the city. In 1790 a body of improvement commissioners was established to provide public services in the city. In 1874 Peterborough was incorporated as a municipal borough , with the commissioners replaced by an elected council initially comprising a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors . The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 when
18375-665: Was also involved in the formation of the Independent Companies , autonomous units intended to carry out sabotage and guerrilla operations behind enemy lines in the Norwegian Campaign , and the Auxiliary Units , stay-behind commando units based on the Home Guard which would act in the event of an Axis invasion of Britain, as seemed possible in the early years of the war. On 13 June 1940, at
18522-461: Was appointed director, he formalised some of the administrative practices which had grown in an ad hoc fashion and appointed an establishment officer to oversee the manpower and other requirements of the various departments. The main controlling body of SOE was its council, consisting of around fifteen heads of departments or sections. About half of the council were from the armed forces (although some were specialists who were only commissioned after
18669-718: Was closed in 1991. The Norwich and Peterborough (N&P) was formed by the merger of the Norwich Building Society and the Peterborough Building Society in 1986. It was the ninth largest building society at the time of its merger into the Yorkshire Group in 2011. N&P continued to operate under its own brand administered at Lynch Wood until 2018. Prior to merger with the Midlands Co-op in 2013, Anglia Regional ,
18816-579: Was dissolved in 1946. A memorial to those who served in SOE was unveiled in 1996 on the wall of the west cloister of Westminster Abbey by the Queen Mother , and in 2009 on the Albert Embankment in London, depicting Violette Szabo . The Valençay SOE Memorial honours 91 male and 13 female SOE agents who lost their lives while working in France. The Tempsford Memorial was unveiled in 2013 by
18963-589: Was divided between supporters of King Charles I and the Long Parliament . The city lay on the border of the Eastern Association of counties which sided with Parliament, and the war reached Peterborough in 1643 when soldiers arrived in the city to attack Royalist strongholds at Stamford and Crowland . The Royalist forces were defeated within a few weeks and retreated to Burghley House , where they were captured and sent to Cambridge . While
19110-472: Was divided into five hamlets or townships: Dogsthorpe , Eastfield , Longthorpe , Newark and a Peterborough township covering the central part of the parish including the town. Within the Peterborough township was an extra-parochial area known as the Minster Precincts, covering St Peter's Abbey and its close . When the former abbey church became Peterborough Cathedral in 1541, Peterborough
19257-510: Was expected that SOE would be the leading partner. In the middle of the war, the relations between SOE and OSS were not often smooth. They established a joint headquarters in Algiers but the officers of the two organisations working there refused to share information with each other. In the Balkans, and Yugoslavia especially, SOE and OSS several times worked at cross-purposes, reflecting their governments' differing (and changing) attitudes to
19404-631: Was from new Commonwealth countries. The 2011 Census showed that a total of 24,166 migrants moved to Peterborough between 2001 and 2011. The city has experienced significant immigration from the A8 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, and in 2011, 14,134 residents of the city were people born in Central and Eastern Europe. According to a report published by the police in 2007, recent migration had resulted in increased translation costs and
19551-452: Was funded by Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1906; Carnegie was made first freeman of the city on the day of the opening ceremony. Peterborough enjoys a wide range of events including the annual East of England Show , Peterborough Festival and CAMRA beer festival, which takes place on the river embankment in late August. The yearly festivals have attracted arts funding and enabled further community projects within
19698-697: Was intended to create unrest and turbulence, and often backed anti-establishment organisations, such as the Communists , in several countries. At one stage, SIS actively hindered SOE's attempts to infiltrate agents into enemy-occupied France . Even before the United States joined the war, the head of the newly formed Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI), William J. Donovan , had received technical information from SOE and had arranged for some members of his organisation to undergo training at
19845-531: Was involved in the exchange of nuclear information. As part of the subsequent closer ties between the Imperial General Staff and SOE (although SOE had no representation on the Chiefs of Staff Committee ), Hambro's replacement as director from September 1943 was Gubbins, who had been promoted to Major-general . Gubbins had wide experience of commando and clandestine operations and had played
19992-735: Was located at The Firs in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire and nicknamed "Churchill's Toyshop" from the Prime Minister's close interest in it and his enthusiastic support. The director of SOE was usually referred to by the initials "CD". Nelson, the first director to be appointed, was a former head of a trading firm in India, a back bench Conservative Member of Parliament and Consul in Basel , Switzerland, where he had also been engaged in undercover intelligence work. In February 1942 Dalton
20139-558: Was opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982. 34 miles (55 km) of urban roads were planned and a network of high-speed landscaped thoroughfares, known as parkways , was constructed. Peterborough's population grew by 45.4% between 1971 and 1991. New service sector companies like Thomas Cook and Pearl Assurance were attracted to the city, ending the dominance of the manufacturing industry as employers. An urban regeneration company named Opportunity Peterborough, under
20286-619: Was originally the home of STS38, a training facility for Polish saboteurs, who set up their own forgery section. As the work expanded, it became the central forgery department for SOE and the Poles eventually moved out on 1 April 1942. The technicians at Station XIV included a number of ex-convicts. The training establishments, and properties used by country sections, were designated by Arabic numbers and were widely distributed. The initial training centres of SOE were at country houses such as Wanborough Manor , Guildford . Agents destined to serve in
20433-503: Was particularly true of Norway and the Netherlands. In other cases (such as Frenchmen owing loyalty to Charles de Gaulle and especially the Poles), the agents' first loyalty was to their leaders or governments in exile, and they treated SOE only as a means to an end. This could occasionally lead to mistrust and strained relations in Britain. The organisation was prepared to ignore almost any contemporary social convention in its fight against
20580-584: Was quickly overloaded with paperwork and was merged into SO2. In August 1941, following quarrels between the Ministry of Economic Warfare and the Ministry of Information over their relative responsibilities, SO1 was removed from SOE and became an independent organisation, the Political Warfare Executive . Thereafter, a single, broad "Operations" department controlled the Sections operating into enemy and sometimes neutral territory, and
20727-653: Was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century. The Peterborough Chronicle , a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman conquest , written here by monks in the 12th century. This is the only known prose history in English between the conquest and the later 14th century. The burgesses received their first charter from "Abbot Robert" – probably Robert of Sutton (1262–1273). The place suffered materially in
20874-479: Was removed as the political head of SOE (possibly because he was using SOE's phone tapping facility to listen to conversations of fellow Labour ministers, or possibly because he was viewed as too "communistically inclined" and a threat to SIS). He became President of the Board of Trade and was replaced as Minister of Economic Warfare by Lord Selborne . Selborne in turn retired Nelson, who had suffered ill health as
21021-514: Was renamed MI(R) in early 1939. These three departments worked with few resources until the outbreak of war. There was much overlap between their activities. Section D and EH duplicated much of each other's work. On the other hand, the heads of Section D and MI(R) knew each other and shared information. They agreed to a rough division of their activities; MI(R) researched irregular operations that could be undertaken by regular uniformed troops, while Section D dealt with truly undercover work. During
21168-793: Was set up in India late in 1940. It subsequently moved to Ceylon so as to be closer to the headquarters of the Allied South East Asia Command and became known as " Force 136 ." A "Singapore Mission" was set up at the same time as the India Mission but was unable to overcome official opposition to its attempts to form resistance movements in Malaya before the Japanese overran Singapore . Force 136 took over its surviving staff and operations. New York City also had
21315-591: Was so effective that in mid-1942 five governments in exile jointly suggested that a single sabotage organisation be created, and were startled to learn that SOE had been in existence for two years. Four departments and some smaller groups were controlled by the director of scientific research, Professor Dudley Maurice Newitt , and were concerned with the development or acquisition and production of special equipment. A few other sections were involved with finance, security, economic research and administration, although SOE had no central registry or filing system. When Gubbins
21462-443: Was thereafter deemed to be a city . The area originally holding city status was the Peterborough township plus the Minster Precincts. Although made a city in 1541, at that time Peterborough was not a borough (despite including the word in its name). Prior to the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, the abbey had been the manorial owner of the town; that ownership passed to the new cathedral authorities. A Peterborough constituency
21609-474: Was to pass as a native of the country. Dual nationality was often a prized attribute. This was particularly so of France. In other cases, especially in the Balkans, a lesser degree of fluency was required as the resistance groups concerned were already in open rebellion and a clandestine existence was unnecessary. A flair for diplomacy combined with a taste for rough soldiering was more necessary. Some regular army officers proved adept as envoys, and others (such as
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