Rare top-secret WWII manual to call Freo home

A RARE, original copy of a top-secret World War II manual is now calling Fremantle home.

Former head of the United Kingdom’s Special Boat Services Brigadier Jonathan Thomson presented the top-secret Sleeping Beauty motorised submersible canoe operations manual to Western Australian Museum chief executive Alec Coles at a special ceremony at the Maritime Museum recently.

The museum said Brigadier Thomson decided to donate the rare document in recognition of the Maritime Museum’s dedication to describing the work of Allied commando units during the war.

The motorised submersible canoe, which could be seen operating out of Cockburn Sound by the Z Force, was designed to allow a diver to conduct reconnaissance or sabotage missions inside harbours housing the enemy.