As it is 80 years since VE day, we have been looking around for an interesting local story to write about on the blog. Therefore, we were very excited when we stumbled upon Halifax born Mabel Pickles.
Mabel was born in Halifax in 1891 and lived at 54 Savile Park, Halifax. She went to Parkinson Street school and then Halifax Secondary. She then attended the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Music and became a music teacher. Her career as a successful playwright and novelist began in the 1930’s where she wrote under her pen name Elizabeth Burgoyne.
During the war Mabel worked in London for the War Office, BBC, Foreign Office and the Ministry of Information. But further investigation via West Yorkshire Archives Service led to the discovery that Mabel spent much of the war employed by the clandestine Political Warfare Executive.
During the chaos of World War II, Britain wasn’t just fighting on the ground or in the air, it was also fighting a battle for hearts and minds. This lesser-known front was all about psychological warfare, and leading the charge was a secret group called the Political Warfare Executive, or PWE.
Formed in 1941 under the aegis of the Ministry of Information, the PWE was tasked with designing and disseminating propaganda aimed at undermining Axis morale and bolstering resistance movements in occupied Europe. The Executive combined resources from MI6, the Foreign Office, and the BBC to craft carefully calibrated messages delivered via radio broadcasts, forged documents, and black propaganda leaflets.
Black propaganda is a type of propaganda designed to give the false impression that it was created by those it aims to discredit. Unlike grey propaganda, which keeps its source anonymous, or white propaganda, which openly reveals its origins, black propaganda seeks to deceive by misrepresenting its creators. It is often employed to damage or humiliate the target through distortion and falsehoods.
Many well-known figures from academia and the arts were enlisted in the war propaganda effort. This included novelists like Muriel Spark, David Garnett, and Graham Greene; poets such as John Betjeman and Stephen Spender.
PWE's operations were multifaceted, ranging from the famous black radio broadcasts of "Gustav Siegfried Eins" to the distribution of counterfeit German newspapers filled with subtle subversions. But the success of these operations depended not only on bold frontmen but also on the tireless work of a behind-the-scenes team, people like Mabel Pickles.
Work such as drafting of fake letters, fabricated love notes from disillusioned German soldiers, and forged diary entries meant to sow doubt and despair within Nazi ranks. Back room staff were instrumental in the creation of "Operation Periwig," a scheme that involved inventing entire fictional resistance movements in Germany to cause the Gestapo to waste resources chasing ghosts.
One of the lesser known campaigns was Operation Cornflakes, where PWE collaborated with the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to intercept and insert anti-Nazi propaganda into mailbags that were then bombed from the air into occupied territories, simulating real postal drops. They crafted fake stamps, forged postal marks, and even authored letters that convincingly mimicked the personal style of genuine correspondence.
What Mabel exactly did for the PWE is still a mystery but looking through letters (ref: PI59 West Yorkshire Archives Service) available at West Yorkshire Archives here in Halifax gave us some information. Shortly after VE day Mabel received several letters from the PWE command and also from Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War. These letters thank the many staff of the PWE for their hard work and highlighting how their contribution had led to the faster conclusion of the war in Europe.
The letters and many other fascinating documents and photographs from Mabel’s life can be viewed at West Yorkshire Archives at Central Library in Halifax. Several of her books are also available to view or borrow from the library.
Mabel lived in Surrey and then Devon for the rest of her life, writing novels and biographies. She edited two volumes of letters and diaries of the writer and traveller Gertrude Bell in the 1950s. Mabel had a life long interest in The Queen Elizabeth of Romania and wrote a biography called ‘Carmen Sylva, Queen and Woman’ in 1940.
She died on the 13th March 1987 aged 84 at her home in South Molton, Devon, and was cremated at North Devon Crematorium.
Further reading:
Garnett, David (2002). The Secret History of PWE: The Political Warfare Executive 1939–1945. London: St Ermin's Press. ISBN 1-903608-08-2. OCLC 48486537
The Political Warfare Executive, covert propaganda, and British culture, University of Durham archived
