30 Facts About Noel Wild

Noel Wild is notable for being second in command of the deception organisation 'A' Force as well as head of Ops.

Noel Wild served with the 11th in England and Egypt before being posted home - first for training and then to teach at Bovington camp.

Noel Wild spent some time trying to return to his regiment, but was unsuccessful.

Whilst in Cairo, disheartened by his situation, Noel Wild ran into Dudley Clarke, an old friend.

Noel Wild spent around eighteen months at 'A' Force, and was appointed an OBE for his work, before Clarke volunteered him to head a similar department in England.

Noel Wild accepted the position in December 1943 and was briefed on Operation Bodyguard, the cover plan for the impending Allied invasion of Europe.

Theoretically Noel Wild held a lot of power in this new role, but a combination of his own limitations and clashes with David Strangeways made his contribution smaller than it could have been.

However, Noel Wild remained involved in secret work until the 1970s.

Noel Wild joined the Territorial Army Royal East Kent Regiment as a second lieutenant, before being transferred to the 11th Hussars.

In 1933 the 11th was posted to Egypt, where Noel Wild was appointed Technical Adjutant.

Noel Wild was disappointed by this turn of events, wishing to serve active duty with the 11th Hussars.

Noel Wild spent some time trying to return to his regiment, taking courses and eventually transferring to the Staff College at Camberley.

Noel Wild was left in charge of 'A' Force in his stead and oversaw Operation Treatment, part of the cover for the Second Battle of El Alamein.

On 14 October 1943 Noel Wild was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Shortly after Christmas, Noel Wild was appointed the new head of Ops and promoted to full colonel.

Noel Wild joined the committee and was tasked with coordinating all of the information disseminated by the agents.

Noel Wild organised Ops along the lines of 'A' Force and began planning Operation Fortitude, the key segment of the Bodyguard Plan.

For Bodyguard he was commanding R Force, and did not approve of the plan or of Noel Wild and took every opportunity to criticize both.

Noel Wild was left in charge of the "special means"; double agents and propaganda.

However, in the aftermath of D-Day, Noel Wild regained control of deception planning, particularly the use of double agents, for the campaign in France.

Noel Wild responded by dispatching a contingent of his staff across the Channel.

Noel Wild retired from the army on 12 June 1950, although he continued to be involved in deception work into the next decade.

In 1971, Noel Wild became involved in a plagiarism dispute centred on Sefton Delmer's book The Counterfeit Spy, an account of Operation Fortitude.

Much of the material was taken from a government report by Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh; it appeared that Noel Wild had passed Hesketh's work on to Delmer.

In 1980, Noel Wild wrote an introduction to David Mure's Master of Deception.

Noel Wild held that this stemmed from a lack of leadership in the Church and an anarchist attitude in the media.

Noel Wild was particularly concerned about the slanted versions of the news he thought that the BBC broadcast.

Noel Wild was not well liked by many within the services.

Jack Corbett, who met him in 1947 during a trip to London to examine British deception in the postwar era, found Noel Wild to be a reluctant collaborator.

The Americans, in particular, perceived it as a slight and indication that Noel Wild did not trust men on the ground.