C & T Auctioneers is running an online auction through February 14 that includes a collection of authentic "Q" gadgets from the Second World War and beyond that were used by spies behind enemy lines and to help Allied POWs escape and evade capture.During the Second World War, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) was tasked by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to "set Europe ablaze" by dropping agents behind Axis lines to carry out espionage and sabotage as well as coordinating resistance movements. But they didn't go unarmed.
Thanks to Charles Fraser-Smith (Ian Fleming's inspiration for the character Q), SOE agents were equipped with gadgets to help them in their clandestine work. At the C&T auction, five of the eight items on sale were made for the SOE. more
