Like so many, my husband would never talk about his war years but I did know he was in MI9 and as to the rest, he left me some clues: 
a testimonial
an extraordinary badge
an authority to interview

Also, two scrappy bits of paper:
one with army units written over it,
the other, a shopping list with clothes and cocoa to be sent at once.
And even more scrappy bits of paper with some very interesting addresses on.

This site documents what I have discovered about my husband, James (Jimmie) Smith's secret war and increasingly sheds light on some of those who were with him.

Where it all started, a testimonial from J. M. Langley, Jimmie's Commanding Officer and author of Fight Another Day and MI9 Escape and Evasion

Three Witches badge - attributed to IS9 WEA embroidered in bullion wire. Does anyone know of another one of this shape in existence, we have only heard of rectangular ones embroidered in cotton/rayon?

Authority to Interview Escapers and Evaders dated just after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen - many members of the golf club said he put these interviewing skills to good use in future committee meetings!

All this has led my daughter and me to the fascinating world of Intelligence School 9 (IS9) a small unit that was responsible for setting up escape lines, collecting intelligence and developing and delivering hidden aids to help evaders and escapers to get back home.

The testimonial led to a search for J M Langley on the internet leading us to a book on MI9 Escape and Evasion (currently being updated by Dr Helen Fry) and I realised that this book had sat in a small bookcase by Jimmie's chair for many years.  Folded inside this book was the Times obituary for Pat O'Leary, founder of the PAT Escape Line and a note saying please give this book to our friend in MI9.  And so I started reading   and came across a whole world of names, places and events that I had heard my husband refer to in passing over the years; Room 900, Metropole Buildings, Wilton Park, Bletchley Park and then a mention of three witches, of compasses hidden in buttons and collar studs, all of which I had in his things.

We have gathered everything onto this website and now other families are finding it and adding more pieces to the jigsaw.   Our research and this site have to date been self-funded and we would very much like to expand the site further. 
If you are able to help us by making a small donation, please just click here to open our fundraising page. 

SHAEF Badge

21st Army Group Badge

The white paint on the collar stud could be scratched off to reveal a compass.

The collar stud found in Jimmie's things.

A button with a compass inside.