During the 1939-1945 World War, the Thatched Barn with the designation Station XV was used for the training of agents for duties with the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.). The agents were often refered to as The Baker Street Irregulars, due to the fact that their headquarters was in Baker Street, London; a reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes whose residence was at 221b Baker Street, London. Sherlock Holmes occasionally employed young street-urchins to assist him with gathering information etc. and were known in Conan Doyle's stories as The Baker Street Irregulars.

After training was finished, and armed with their newly acquired skills in sabotage and subterfuge, the selected agents were sent on clandestine missions to the far-east and occupied Europe. The S.O.E. also used the Thatched Barn as a base for the production and testing of various gadgets and devices; including exploding rats, underwater breathing equipment and a shaving cream tube with a secret chamber, which were all intended to fool the enemy. The large swimming pool at the rear of the hotel was utilized with great effect for some of this work which was to prove very successful with the war effort.

Veteran actor Kenneth Griffith who plays Dr.Schnipps in The Girl Who Was Death gave a lengthy talk to the audience of Prisoner enthusiasts; although on the day there was a problem with the P.A. system, but this did not deter Kenneth who was able to project his voice for all to hear!

Later in the day, those wishing to meet the assembled guests were invited to the front of the room to file past them, have a chat, and have photographs and other memorabilia autographed. The guests, whom had all worked on The Prisoner series in some capacity included Len Harris (Camera Operator), Noreen Ackland (Editor), John S.Smith (Editor), J.W.Hayward (Chauffeur), P. Brady (Rigger) and Al Hickey (Sound). Kenneth Griffith was asked by (this) writer how long it had taken him to write his speech which he delivered as The President in Fallout, the final episode of The Prisoner, he told me although it was a long time ago, he recalled it took "an evening".

Earlier in the day a walk-about took place, where Dave Lally led a group of The Prisoner enthusiasts around several nearby The Girl Who Was Death filming locations, including Velda a dress shop in Shenley Road, Borehamwood; at the time of filming this shop was called Lady M, and is the location for the scene where Potter (Christopher Benjamin) has a shoe-shine stand on the pavement just outside the shop as a cover for his meeting with Number Six. When the meeting is over, and as Number Six walks away, Sonia (the daughter of Dr.Schnipps) played by Justine Lord can be seen posing as a mannequin in the Lady M window. The next location, also on the Shenley road is the nearby Magnum record shop (which in reality was the Janes and Adams electrical store) where Number Six goes to receive his instructions, this location was by now a Barnardo's charity shop.