Lessons 'Operation Mincemeat': "What matters is that we do something useful"

What began in April 2018 as a concept on YouTube by four friends (known professionally as SpitLip) has become a worldwide phenomenon enjoying award-winning runs on the West End and Broadway, and a UK tour due to start in February 2026. Operation Mincemeat tells of the unlikely, but highly successful, British military deception operation during the Second World War. The aim of the operation was to mislead Hitler and conceal the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 through the use of a stolen body given the forged, fictitious identity of Royal Marine Major Wiliam Martin.

This may not sound like the usual blueprint for a musical. However, with the twists and turns of an almost unbelievable true story paired with an incredible soundtrack, multiple rapid-fire costume changes, a cast playing a range of, often gender-bent, characters, sometimes switching roles within seconds and a glitzy finale, Operation Mincemeat really does live up to the hype!

So, why have I selected Operation Mincemeat for my Lessons from the West End series? Well, apart from the fact that I think it deserves to be spoken about and I want to share it with as many people as possible, one song in particular holds a powerful message that resonates far beyond the stage and the context of the show.

‘They did something useful!’

The song is called ‘Useful’ and is sung by Hester Leggatt and Jean Leslie, who were based on two real women working in MI5 during the Second World War, and crucially were two of the unsung heroes of the entire operation. Without giving too much away, Hester and Jean worked diligently within a highly misogynistic system and as a result did not receive the same accolades as their male counterparts (Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu) who were both given MBEs for their efforts. There were "no flowers for Hester and Jean". In the song they realise that this will likely be the case but instead of giving up they "keep on going’ and vow to not work in vain even if people will ‘never see it". What matters most to them is that they "do something useful".

So much of social action, and the work that changes the world, happens quietly and is unrecognised. It is slow, frustrating and unseen and for that reason can feel painful and that our actions don’t make a difference.

But they do!

Progress and making a change is not just driven by elected officials or public figures, but by ordinary people. People who choose to act, show up, and work hard. They do "what they could do" and it isn’t "in vain" even if in the end they don’t get the recognition or credit. What matters more is that desire to want to make the world a better place, especially for those without a voice. These people are always the true unsung heroes, like Hester and Jean, working diligently behind the scenes.

Christian reflections on Operation Mincemeat.

We can find a similar message in the Bible in Hebrews 12:1-3. The main takeaway from this passage is the importance of perseverance. We are called to run the race set before us doing what we can to support and love those around us. It can feel like a struggle and a long road, and we may grow weary, but we must carry on in the spirit of social justice

Like Hester and Jean and the many brilliant agents of change who have gone before us, we must persevere and "do something useful" however that may look in our lives, locally or on a much wider scale. This matters so much more than any recognition as the work is worth doing. So, as Colonel Bevan says in Operation Mincemeat, "you have your orders, now go!".

Lessons from Operation Mincemeat: "What matters is that we do something useful"

‘They did something useful!’

Christian reflections on Operation Mincemeat.