History's Secret Heroes

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

12. Flying High With Johnny Smythe

20240401

20240715 (R4)

In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying flights, will his good fortune run out?

Producers: Suniti Somaiya and Elaina Boateng

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Johnny Smythe, one of the first West African RAF airmen, navigates a terrifying flight.

In Sierra Leone, Johnny Smythe joins the Royal Air Force. As the navigator of a Stirling bomber, he faces a series of terrifying flights over Germany.

13. Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold

20240401

20240722 (R4)

Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski across enemy lines and over the deadly Carpathian mountains, into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British. Churchill would later call her his favourite spy.

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Thrill-seeker Christine Granville becomes Britain's first female spy during the war.

Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski over the deadly Carpathian mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British.

14. The Unbreakable Navajo Code

20240401

20240729 (R4)

A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war?

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

A group of Native American soldiers devise a secret code for the Allies.

15. Josefina Guerrero: The Maid Of Manila

20240401

20240805 (R4)

After contracting Hansen's Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila.

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

How did Josefina Guerrero's leprosy lead her to become a brilliant spy?

16. Raymond Gur\u00eame: Escape Artist

20240401

20240812 (R4)

A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

A young circus performer dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

A young circus performer from a travelling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

17. Charles Drew And The Blood Bank

20240401

20240513 (R4)
20240819 (R4)

Charles Drew, an American doctor, led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime. But while he worked around the clock to save lives, he would be dragged into a battle on a different front: the battle for civil rights and racial equality in the United States.

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

How did an African-American doctor come to lead the blood bank effort during the war?

Doctor Charles Drew led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime.

18. Andree De Jongh And The Comet Line

20240401

20240520 (R4)

A 24-year-old Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain. Can Andrée de Jongh save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen?

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Can a daring young Belgian woman save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen?

A young Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain.

Virginia Hall's Great Escape

20230531

20230821 (R4)

How did the American spy Virginia Hall mastermind an astonishing prison break, leading her to become the Gestapo's most wanted target?

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Amie Liebowitz

How did Virginia Hall mastermind one of World War Two's most astonishing prison breaks?

Charity Adams And The 6888

20230531

20230607 (R4)
20230828 (R4)

Major Charity Adams, the first African American woman to be commissioned in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, arrives in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producers: Clem Hitchcock and Elaina Boateng

Major Charity Adams arrives in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem.

Ghost Army

20230531

20230614 (R4)
20230904 (R4)

Bernie Bluestein, Seymour Nussenbaum and George Dramis are part of a secret army unit with one job: to put on a show for an audience who wants to kill them.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Clem Hitchcock

A secret army unit with one job: to put on a show, for an audience who wants to kill them.

Claude, Marcel And The Soldier With No Name

20230531

20230621 (R4)
20230911 (R4)

Two eccentric French artists, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, risk their lives to perform an extraordinary act of resistance on the island of Jersey.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Clem Hitchcock

Two eccentric French artists perform an extraordinary act of resistance.

George Takei And The American Internment Camps

20230531

20230628 (R4)
20230918 (R4)

In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack, then five-year-old George Takei and his family join the 120,000 Japanese Americans who are removed from their homes and imprisoned without trial.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Amie Liebowitz

Why was George Takei and his family imprisoned without trial in 1942?

The Mystery Of Garbo

20230531

20230705 (R4)
20230925 (R4)

His codename was Garbo. The identity of one of World War Two's most successful double agents, a man who diverted the German Army away from the D-Day landings, is finally revealed.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Clem Hitchcock

One of World War Two's most successful double agents is finally revealed.

Bela Hazan And The Jewish Resistance

20230531

20230712 (R4)
20231002 (R4)

Poland, 1941. Bela Hazan, a young Jewish woman, secures an undercover job at the Gestapo headquarters. She is about to go undercover to fight against the Nazis.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Amie Liebowitz

A young Polish woman named Bela Hazan goes undercover to fight against the Nazis.

Skiing Commandos

20230531

20230719 (R4)

Can a team of Norwegian men stop Hitler from obtaining the materials to create an atomic bomb large enough to destroy London?

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Clem Hitchcock

Can a team of Norwegian men on skis destroy a water plant in time to stop a nuclear war?

Jack King And The Fifth Column

20230531

20230726 (R4)
20231009 (R4)

Eric Roberts, a bank worker from Surrey, joins MI5. He is given the alias Jack King and his job is to hunt for British Nazi-sympathisers.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Amie Liebowitz

A bank worker from Surrey joins MI5. His job is to infiltrate British Fascists.

Arslan Rezniqi And The Besa Code

20230531

20230802 (R4)
20231016 (R4)

Albania was one of the few European countries to have a larger Jewish population at the end of the war than it had at the beginning. What role did Arslan Rezniqi, a Kosovan Albanian merchant, play in this?

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Amie Liebowitz

How did Arslan Rezniqi, an Albanian merchant, save hundreds of Jewish refugees?

Albania was one of the few European countries to have a larger Jewish population at the end of the war than it had at the beginning. Why?

The Extraordinary Cook Sisters

20240401

20240708 (R4)

How did Ida and Louise Cook, two opera-loving sisters from England, help dozens of Jewish people escape Nazi Germany?

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

How did two English opera-loving sisters help dozens of Jews escape Nazi Germany?

Helena Bonham Carter shines light on extraordinary stories from World War II.

Flying High With Johnny Smythe

20240401

20240408 (R4)
20240715 (R4)

Producers: Suniti Somaiya and Elaina Boateng

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Johnny Smythe, one of the first West African RAF airmen, navigates a terrifying flight.

In Sierra Leone, Johnny Smythe joins the Royal Air Force. As the navigator of a Stirling bomber, he faces a series of terrifying flights over Germany.

Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold

20240401

20240415 (R4)
20240722 (R4)

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Thrill-seeker Christine Granville becomes Britain's first female spy during the war.

Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski over the deadly Carpathian mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British.

The Unbreakable Navajo Code

20240401

20240422 (R4)
20240729 (R4)

A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war?

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

A group of Native American soldiers devise a secret code for the Allies.

Josefina Guerrero: The Maid Of Manila

20240401

20240429 (R4)
20240805 (R4)

After contracting Hansen's Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila.

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

How did Josefina Guerrero's leprosy lead her to become a brilliant spy?

Raymond Gur\u00eame: Escape Artist

20240401

20240506 (R4)
20240812 (R4)

A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

A young circus performer dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

A young circus performer from a travelling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.

Andree De Jongh And The Comet Line

20240401

20240826 (R4)

Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

Can a daring young Belgian woman save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen?

A young Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain.

The Enigmatic Emily Anderson

20240401

20240527 (R4)
20240902 (R4)

Emily Anderson led a double life. This shy musicologist from Galway was also a top codebreaker for the British, whose work would play a crucial role in Allied victory.

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

How Britain's top female codebreaker played a crucial role in Allied victory.

Manfred Gans And X Troop

20240401

20240603 (R4)
20240909 (R4)

Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis with advanced fighting and counterintelligence skills. But can he save his own family?

Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader

An elite secret unit of Jewish commandos take on the Nazis.

Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis. But can he save his own family?

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
	12. Flying High With Johnny Smythe	20240401	20240715 (R4)	In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying flights, will his good fortune run out? Producers: Suniti Somaiya and Elaina Boateng Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Johnny Smythe, one of the first West African RAF airmen, navigates a terrifying flight. In Sierra Leone, Johnny Smythe joins the Royal Air Force. As the navigator of a Stirling bomber, he faces a series of terrifying flights over Germany.
	13. Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold	20240401	20240722 (R4)	Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski across enemy lines and over the deadly Carpathian mountains, into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British. Churchill would later call her his favourite spy. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Thrill-seeker Christine Granville becomes Britain's first female spy during the war. Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski over the deadly Carpathian mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British.
	14. The Unbreakable Navajo Code	20240401	20240729 (R4)	A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war? Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader A group of Native American soldiers devise a secret code for the Allies.
	15. Josefina Guerrero: The Maid Of Manila	20240401	20240805 (R4)	After contracting Hansen's Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader How did Josefina Guerrero's leprosy lead her to become a brilliant spy?
	16. Raymond Gur\u00eame: Escape Artist	20240401	20240812 (R4)	A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader A young circus performer dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. A young circus performer from a travelling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.
	17. Charles Drew And The Blood Bank	20240401	20240513 (R4) 20240819 (R4)	Charles Drew, an American doctor, led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime. But while he worked around the clock to save lives, he would be dragged into a battle on a different front: the battle for civil rights and racial equality in the United States. Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader How did an African-American doctor come to lead the blood bank effort during the war? Doctor Charles Drew led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime.
	18. Andree De Jongh And The Comet Line	20240401	20240520 (R4)	A 24-year-old Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain. Can Andrée de Jongh save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen? Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Can a daring young Belgian woman save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen? A young Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain.
01	Virginia Hall's Great Escape	20230531	20230821 (R4)	How did the American spy Virginia Hall mastermind an astonishing prison break, leading her to become the Gestapo's most wanted target? A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Amie Liebowitz How did Virginia Hall mastermind one of World War Two's most astonishing prison breaks?
02	Charity Adams And The 6888	20230531	20230607 (R4) 20230828 (R4)	Major Charity Adams, the first African American woman to be commissioned in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, arrives in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producers: Clem Hitchcock and Elaina Boateng Major Charity Adams arrives in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem.
03	Ghost Army	20230531	20230614 (R4) 20230904 (R4)	Bernie Bluestein, Seymour Nussenbaum and George Dramis are part of a secret army unit with one job: to put on a show for an audience who wants to kill them. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Clem Hitchcock A secret army unit with one job: to put on a show, for an audience who wants to kill them.
04	Claude, Marcel And The Soldier With No Name	20230531	20230621 (R4) 20230911 (R4)	Two eccentric French artists, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, risk their lives to perform an extraordinary act of resistance on the island of Jersey. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Clem Hitchcock Two eccentric French artists perform an extraordinary act of resistance.
05	George Takei And The American Internment Camps	20230531	20230628 (R4) 20230918 (R4)	In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack, then five-year-old George Takei and his family join the 120,000 Japanese Americans who are removed from their homes and imprisoned without trial. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Amie Liebowitz Why was George Takei and his family imprisoned without trial in 1942?
06	The Mystery Of Garbo	20230531	20230705 (R4) 20230925 (R4)	His codename was Garbo. The identity of one of World War Two's most successful double agents, a man who diverted the German Army away from the D-Day landings, is finally revealed. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Clem Hitchcock One of World War Two's most successful double agents is finally revealed.
07	Bela Hazan And The Jewish Resistance	20230531	20230712 (R4) 20231002 (R4)	Poland, 1941. Bela Hazan, a young Jewish woman, secures an undercover job at the Gestapo headquarters. She is about to go undercover to fight against the Nazis. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Amie Liebowitz A young Polish woman named Bela Hazan goes undercover to fight against the Nazis.
08	Skiing Commandos	20230531	20230719 (R4)	Can a team of Norwegian men stop Hitler from obtaining the materials to create an atomic bomb large enough to destroy London? A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Clem Hitchcock Can a team of Norwegian men on skis destroy a water plant in time to stop a nuclear war?
09	Jack King And The Fifth Column	20230531	20230726 (R4) 20231009 (R4)	Eric Roberts, a bank worker from Surrey, joins MI5. He is given the alias Jack King and his job is to hunt for British Nazi-sympathisers. A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Amie Liebowitz A bank worker from Surrey joins MI5. His job is to infiltrate British Fascists.
10	Arslan Rezniqi And The Besa Code	20230531	20230802 (R4) 20231016 (R4)	Albania was one of the few European countries to have a larger Jewish population at the end of the war than it had at the beginning. What role did Arslan Rezniqi, a Kosovan Albanian merchant, play in this? A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Amie Liebowitz How did Arslan Rezniqi, an Albanian merchant, save hundreds of Jewish refugees? Albania was one of the few European countries to have a larger Jewish population at the end of the war than it had at the beginning. Why?
11	The Extraordinary Cook Sisters	20240401	20240708 (R4)	How did Ida and Louise Cook, two opera-loving sisters from England, help dozens of Jewish people escape Nazi Germany? Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader How did two English opera-loving sisters help dozens of Jews escape Nazi Germany? Helena Bonham Carter shines light on extraordinary stories from World War II.
12	Flying High With Johnny Smythe	20240401	20240408 (R4) 20240715 (R4)	In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying flights, will his good fortune run out? Producers: Suniti Somaiya and Elaina Boateng Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Johnny Smythe, one of the first West African RAF airmen, navigates a terrifying flight. In Sierra Leone, Johnny Smythe joins the Royal Air Force. As the navigator of a Stirling bomber, he faces a series of terrifying flights over Germany.
13	Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold	20240401	20240415 (R4) 20240722 (R4)	Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski across enemy lines and over the deadly Carpathian mountains, into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British. Churchill would later call her his favourite spy. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Thrill-seeker Christine Granville becomes Britain's first female spy during the war. Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski over the deadly Carpathian mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British.
14	The Unbreakable Navajo Code	20240401	20240422 (R4) 20240729 (R4)	A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war? Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader A group of Native American soldiers devise a secret code for the Allies.
15	Josefina Guerrero: The Maid Of Manila	20240401	20240429 (R4) 20240805 (R4)	After contracting Hansen's Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader How did Josefina Guerrero's leprosy lead her to become a brilliant spy?
16	Raymond Gur\u00eame: Escape Artist	20240401	20240506 (R4) 20240812 (R4)	A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader A young circus performer dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. A young circus performer from a travelling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.
18	Andree De Jongh And The Comet Line	20240401	20240826 (R4)	A 24-year-old Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain. Can Andrée de Jongh save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen? Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader Can a daring young Belgian woman save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen? A young Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain.
19	The Enigmatic Emily Anderson	20240401	20240527 (R4) 20240902 (R4)	Emily Anderson led a double life. This shy musicologist from Galway was also a top codebreaker for the British, whose work would play a crucial role in Allied victory. Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader How Britain's top female codebreaker played a crucial role in Allied victory.
20	Manfred Gans And X Troop	20240401	20240603 (R4) 20240909 (R4)	Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis with advanced fighting and counterintelligence skills. But can he save his own family? Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader An elite secret unit of Jewish commandos take on the Nazis. Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis. But can he save his own family?