Editing Special Operations Executive (section)

===Formation===
On 13 June 1940, at the instigation of newly appointed Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], [[Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey|Lord Hankey]] (who held the Cabinet post of [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]) persuaded Section D and MI(R) that their operations should be coordinated. On 1 July, a Cabinet level meeting arranged the formation of a single sabotage organisation. On 16 July, [[Hugh Dalton]], the [[Minister of Economic Warfare]], was appointed to take political responsibility for the new organisation, which was formally created on 22 July 1940.  Dalton recorded in his diary that on that day the War Cabinet agreed to his new duties and that Churchill had told him, "And now go and set Europe ablaze."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Second World War Diary of Hugh Dalton 1940–45|last=Dalton|first=Hugh|publisher=Jonathan Cape|year=1986|isbn=022402065X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/secondworldwardi0000dalt/page/62 62]|url=https://archive.org/details/secondworldwardi0000dalt/page/62}}</ref> Dalton used the [[Irish Republican Army (1917–22)|Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) during the [[Irish War of Independence]] as a model for the organisation.<ref name=Carr/>{{Sfn|Geraghty|2000|p=347}}<ref>Hugh Dalton letter to Lord Halifax 2 July 1940; quoted in M. R. D. Foot, ''SOE in France'', p. 8</ref>

[[Frank Nelson (British politician)|Sir Frank Nelson]] was nominated by SIS to be director of the new organisation,{{Sfn|Wilkinson|Astley|2010|p=76}} and a senior [[civil service|civil servant]], [[Gladwyn Jebb]], transferred from the Foreign Office to it, with the title of Chief Executive Officer.{{Sfn|Foot|2004|p=22}} Campbell Stuart left the organisation, and the flamboyant Major Grand was returned to the regular army. At his own request, Major Holland also left to take up a regular appointment in the [[Royal Engineers]]. (Both Grand and Holland eventually attained the rank of [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|major-general]].){{Sfn|Foot|2004|p=22}} However, Holland's former deputy at MI(R), Brigadier [[Colin Gubbins]], returned from command of the Auxiliary Units to be Director of Operations of SOE.{{Sfn|Wilkinson|Astley|2010|p=76}}

One department of MI(R), MI R(C), which was involved in the development of weapons for irregular warfare, was not formally integrated into SOE but became an independent body codenamed [[MD1]].{{Sfn|Boyce|Everett|2003|p=9}} Directed by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) [[Millis Jefferis]],{{Sfn|Milton|2016|pp=80–87, 163–167}} it was located at [[The Firs, Whitchurch|The Firs]] in [[Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire]] and nicknamed "Churchill's Toyshop" from the Prime Minister's close interest in it and his enthusiastic support.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tnaoAwAAQBAJ&q=The+Firs%2C+Whitchurch+Major&pg=PT96|title=Winston Churchill's Toyshop: The Inside Story of Military Intelligence|first=Stuart |last=MacRae|publisher=Amberley|year=2011|isbn= 978-1445603704}}</ref>