List of SOE Establishments - Experimental Stations

Experimental Stations

• Station VI - Bride Hall near Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire - the weapons acquisition section.
• Station VIIa - Bontex Knitting Mills, Beresford Avenue, Wembley - Wireless Section Production
• Station VIIb - Yeast-Vite factory, Whippendell Road, Watford - Wireless Section, packing and dispatch
• Station VIIc - Allensor's joinery factory, King George's Avenue, Watford - Wireless Section Research
• Section VIId - Kay's garage, Bristol Street, Birmingham - Wireless Section Production
• Station IX - The Frythe estate near Welwyn Garden City, which began as a wireless research unit (Special Signals), then became a weapons development & production centre, then a research and development station. Now a factory belonging to GlaxoSmithKline
• Station IXa - P O Box 1, Ashford, Middlesex - Submersibles work at Staines reservoir.
• Station IXc - Fishguard Bay Hotel, Goodwick, Pembrokeshire - Submersibles work in Fishguard Bay.
• Station XI - Old Gorhambury House near St Albans, Hertfordshire - Accommodation.
• Station XII - Aston House near Stevenage, Hertfordshire - Production, packaging and dispatch.
• Station XIV - Briggens, near Roydon, Essex, contained the Forgery Section.
• Station XV - The Thatched Barn - road house on the Barnet bypass at Borehamwood, Hertfordshire - Camouflage Section. Much of the work of this station involved the final equipping of agents who came through the Thatched Barn prior to going to France. Typical of the work was reproducing French clothing which was copied from newspaper photographs, catalogues etc. and had to be perfect down to the last stitch and button. Maps were hand sewn into silk underwear, agents were made up with false humped backs etc. to enhance their disguise. Strict anonymity was observed. The station was also concerned with the development of booby traps including very original devices such as bicycle pumps which were swapped and exploded when used. Other work included packing hand grenades into tins labelled as fruit. The labels were reproduced by skilled artists to look like the real thing. Plaster of Paris was moulded and painted to resemble a log and inside was a Sten Gun.
• Station XVa - 56 Queen's Gate, Kensington, London SW7 - Camouflage Section - prototypes.
• Station XVb - The Demonstration Room, Natural History Museum in London. Camouflage Section - A training centre for agents and for briefing officials
• Station XVc - 2-3 Trevor Square, Knightsbridge, South Kensington - Camouflage Section, photographic and make-up section.
• Station XVII - Brickendonbury, Brickendon, Hertford - Explosive trials
• Station unknown - Spartan factory, North Circular Road, Wembley - Unknown