The Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO) was a Second World War Propaganda and Field Intelligence unit set up under the orders of the Allied Land Commander, General Sir Thomas Blamey, on 19 June 1942. FELO became one of four sections of the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) which was established on 6 July 1942 to control and co-ordinate the activities of various intelligence organisations that had been set up after the outbreak of war with Japan.
Far Eastern Liaison Office was a propaganda organisation and was given a non-descriptive cover name to protect its real intelligence purpose. Its objectives were:
While some activity was common to both the Services Reconnaissance Department and FELO the general line of demarcation was that SRD was responsible for sabotage and physical operations while FELO was responsible for propaganda and misdirection.
Specifically the objects of the activities of the FELO were:
In its initial stages FELO was under the control of AIB but in September 1942 operational control was transferred to the three Australian Chiefs-of-Staff and the Senior Officer, Netherlands Forces. It was agreed that FELO’s political activities would be controlled by the Minister for External Affairs through the Political Warfare Division of his Department.
The personnel of FELO were formed from the Australian Services, and the Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service. The organisation, commanded by an executive with its headquarters located in Melbourne with elements stationed in Brisbane, consisted of eight operational sections:
Far from being deskbound professional influencers, FELO operatives performed some of the most hair-raising intelligence operations of the war. Personnel were heavily involved in field operations, often penetrating deep into Japanese-held territory in one or two man teams.
FELO was commanded by CDR J.C.R. Proud RANVR.
Due to the difficulty of deconfliction with other AIB operations, FELO undertook several operations with the Services Reconnaissance Department towards the end of the war.
FELO Field Propaganda Unit Operations