During World War II Bedfordshire played a key role in the propaganda war. Different types of propaganda were employed to effect the morale of the German troops and disrupt their will to carry on. The two main forms were leaflet drops and radio broadcasts. At Milton Bryan a recording studio was constructed to transmit 'black propaganda' into Europe. 'Black propaganda' was so called because it did not indicate its British origin and sought to give the impression that it was being broadcast from inside Germany or elsewhere in Europe. The propaganda team was led by Denis Sefton Delmer, a former correspondent of the Daily Express newspaper and German correspondent.

The building is now owned by the Ampthill and Woburn District Scouts.

Sources:

• The Black Game, British subversive operations against the Germans during the Second World War by Ellic Howe (1982, Michael Joseph)

Further Reading - Websites:

• Sefton Delmer; The story of  World War 2 secret "Black Propaganda Operations" against the Nazis
• WWII Secret Intelligence Activities around Milton Keynes

Related Items on the Virtual Library

• Woburn - The Propaganda War

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Second World war Recording Studio, by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2004

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Page last updated: 3rd February 2014