faren31

Although I watched them in the 80s... they are

The Secret Army, about Belgian resistance fighters in WWII and the German's efforts to suppress them, and The Sandbaggers, about Cold War spying on the Soviets. Both of them memorable.

FernandoinKS

Marky B

The Secret Army came very much from the same stable as Colditz,another popular WWII drama. It starred Bernard Hepton (the commandant in colditz) and Jan Francis as the leaders of Lifeline,which helped escaped POW's to get back to dear old Blighty. It ran from 1977 to 1979 and a sequel came out later called Kessler,which was centred thirty or forty years later and it was about the hunting down of the programme's chief villain Sturmbahnfuhrer Ludwig Kessler (played by Clifford Rose).
The programme has been overshadowed by Allo Allo,the ever popular spoof created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd.
The Sandbaggers starred Roy Marsden,Ray Lonnen and Diane Keen,who were all agents of the SIF - Special Intelligence Force,which I suppose was an alternative name to MI5,the British counter espionage unit.
It was created by Ian McKintosh,who also gave us another excellent 70's drama,Warship. Sadly,Ian Mckintosh disappeared as if his life was echoing the drama from The Sandbaggers. As far as I am aware,the mystery has never been solved.
I hope this of use to you.
Ta Ta
Marky B
marks.bradshaw@ntlworld.com thumbs_u

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

Freddy

Re: Secret Army,
Do you remember one episode purely being without any dialogue. Alfred Lynch was involved and I think the action was set in a factory.
Or was that Manhunt.
Cheers for this
Freddy

The world wags on.

42ndStreetFreak

Used to like "The Secret Army"...and the one-off finale they did to finish off the story after the war finished was good too.

[ 07. October 2004, 02:32: Message edited by: 42ndStreetFreak ]

Moggy

I think I read somewhere The Sandbaggers organisation was supposed to be the secret service that does not really exist - MI6. It is an excellet series that wnet for three seasons but was cancelled mid breath when, as Marky says, Ian MCKintosh disappeared. So, it finished up in the air. His disappearance looks suspicious, but probably is not, and it has never bee solved.

Steve Crook

Didn't the George Smiley books also refer to the Sandbaggers?
Although I don't think they ever made clear exactly what it was. Some group within MI6, but was it a hit squad? Or a group that did bugging operations or trailing people?

Steve

Marky B

Don't be putting ideas into the head of Mohammed Al Fayad.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

Moggy

I must confess I don't know (whether Geo. Smiley refers to Sandbaggers); but would be interesting in knowing .... A quick google search did not reveal a link but did reveal these terms:

Lamplighters, based at Acton, do surveillance. Scalphunters, based at Brixton, are the heavies. The Wranglers are the radio experts and code breakers. The Inquisitors train agents and question defectors.

and on aNOTHER SITE: Le Carré has admitted that the vocabulary used was invented: babysitters, lamplighters, the Circus, the nursery, moles--though he was also amused to discover that real agents had begun to appropriate some of his vocabulary once the stories were published.

As for the term "sandbagger", there does not appear any confirmation on the net that is is an actual spook term. But two online dictionaries say similar thing (and als that it may be a golfing term picking up on the deception angle) and which may explain why McIntosh selected it:

someone who deceives you about his true nature or intent in order to take advantage of you

a: to hit or stun with or as if with a sandbag b: to treat unfairly or harshly c: to coerce by crude means <are raiding the Treasury and sandbagging the government — C. W. Ferguson> d: to conceal or misrepresent one's true position, potential, or intent especially in order to take advantage ofintransitive verb: to hide the truth about oneself so as to gain an advantage over another.

There is a good article on wikipedia:
The Sandbaggers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Crook

I was probably thinking of a combination of lamplighters and scalphunters. Thanks for reminding me of what he actually wrote

Steve

BristolUK

.................................................. ...

BristolUK

ooops wrong place.