Edwardian country house seized by Churchill during WW2 to train spies for secret sabotage missions in heart of Nazi-occupied Europe sells for £6m

• Grade-II listed Poundon House, in Buckinghamshire, was requisitioned in 1940
• Special Operations Executive (SOE) trained agents there for action in Europe 

An Edwardian country home that served as a training base for British spies during the Second World War has sold for £6million.

Grade-II listed Poundon House, in Buckinghamshire, was requisitioned by the Government in 1940 and became a hub for the top-secret Special Operations Executive (SOE).

The unit was formed under orders from Winston Churchill to ‘set Europe ablaze’ by helping resistance movements in occupied Europe and carrying out sabotage missions. 

SOE Agents were trained at Poundon, which also served as a radio base and is just 20 miles from the far more famous Bletchley Park, where the team including genius Alan Turing cracked the Nazis’ Engima code. 

Poundon House boasts 12 bedrooms and five bathrooms and is surrounded by more than 11 acres of landscaped gardens and paddocks.

An Edwardian country home that served as a training base for British spies during the Second World War has sold for £6million. Grade-II listed Poundon House, in Buckinghamshire, was requisitioned by the Government in 1940

British troops are seen based at Poundon House after the Second World War, when the Government retained the house for secretive use until the 1970s

It was built in 1908 during the reign of King Edward VII by Eton-educated cricketer John Heywood-Lonsdale.

The family lived very comfortably, as proved by records from the 1911 census, which show that they had a retinue of 14 staff.

It remained the home of the Heywood-Lonsdale family until 1940, when members of the SOE moved in.

Very nearby are the remains of Poundon listening station, which, as Station 53C – as it was then known – snooped on German communications and passed on material to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park.

After Poundon House was requisitioned, wooden huts were built in the grounds.

The home suffered a near miss one night during the war when a bomb dropped from a German plane and aimed at the property only damaged the gateposts.

After the war had ended, the Heywood-Lonsdale family hoped to move back but were informed by the Government that it was still needed for intelligence gathering amid the ongoing Cold War.

Poundon was built in 1908 during the reign of King Edward VII by Eton-educated cricketer John Heywood-Lonsdale. Above: A sitting room in the home

The dining room boasts original features including the fireplace and cornicing on the ceiling

The huts remained in the grounds until 1976.

The home’s current owner, Antony Roscoe, bought it in 1979 and turned it into an exclusive private retreat. 

Poundon House, which was listed with estate agent Knight Frank, is set across 13,260 square feet and sits at the end of a sweeping driveway lined by lime trees.

As well as the main home, which boasts a library and at least eight reception rooms, there are four flats in the stable yard and a two-bed cottage.

The gardens also feature a swimming pool and tennis court.

SOE recruits were trained in unarmed combat, the use of guns, sabotage and how to use wireless communication radios.

Agents operated in nations that were occupied by the Nazis, including Germany itself, France, Belgium and Italy.

The home’s current owner, Antony Roscoe, bought it in 1979 and turned it into an exclusive private retreat

The large property would be perfect for a family looking for plush surroundings and lots of space

The home has been restored to its original splendour by its current owner. Above: The stone hallway

The beautiful home was available for £6million but has now been sold, according to Knight Frank

The kitchen boasts an oil fired Aga and also gives access to former staff ring that has a utility room and boot room

One of the 12 plush bedrooms in the property, which continued to be occupied by the security services until the 1970s

There are six bathrooms in total. Four are on the first floor and two on the second

The stable yard had 12 stables, four flats and extensive garage space

The home is set in 11.5 acres of landscaped gardens, as this stunning image reveals

Also on offer is a swimming pool and tennis court, both of which would be best enjoyed in the summer weather

Its successful operations included the destruction of the Norsk Hydro PLant in Norway in 1943. The unit was disbanded in January 1946. 

During the war, country houses were requisitioned in their thousands and turned into hospitals, schools, maternity units and command headquarters. 

Their use was so extensive that the SOE were nicknamed the ‘Stately ‘Omes of England’. 

Churchill’s own birthplace, Blenheim Palace, was taken over by MI5 after briefly playing host to a school.

The assassination of leading Nazi Reinhard Heydrich in Prague was masterminded fromAddington House in the Vale of Aylesbury, which hosted the headquarters of Czech intelligence.

And Bignor Manor in West Sussex was where the French Resistance were flown to and from the continent. 

What was the Special Operations Executive (SOE)?  

Most of the sneaky espionage tactics used to outwit Brtiain’s opponents were devised by a division known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and their mission was sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines.

Formed on July 22, 1940 by Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton under orders from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to ‘set Europe ablaze’, the SOE operated in every nation in Europe and south-east Asia that was under the rule of an Axis power.

SOE agents came from all walks and included a former chef, an electrician, several journalists and the daughter of a Brixton motor-car dealer.

Their training included being taught how to kill with their bare hands, how to derail a train and how to get out of a pair of handcuffs with a piece of thin wire and a pencil.

Formed on July 22, 1940 by Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton under orders from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to ‘set Europe ablaze’, the SOE operated in every nation in Europe and south-east Asia that was under the rule of an Axis power

SOE’s first headline success came in June 1941 when agents blew up the Pessac power station in France with a few well-placed explosive charges.

The precision blast crippled work at a vital U-boat base in Bordeaux, and brought the all-electric railways in this region to an abrupt halt.

By D-Day on 6 June, 1944 the SOE had become a feared organisation that could strike the enemy anytime, anywhere.

As well as the quirky inventions it came up with, the unit was also responsible for other key, more conventional items that were commonly used in the war.

One of these was a time pencil, which was a timer that allowed troops to detonate a bomb with a controlled delay to allow them to clear the area – timings typically ranged from 10 minutes to 24 hours.

The SOE commissioned several types of silent pistol, such as the Welrod, which were key for agents trying to keep a low profile.

They also produced two submarines, the Welman and Sleeping Beauty, to place charges on U-boats, but neither were successful.

After the war, the organisation was officially dissolved on 15 January 1946. A memorial to SOE’s agents was unveiled on the Albert Embankment by Lambeth Palace in London in October 2009.

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