The origins of the clandestine Anglo-American 'special relationship' during the first desperate years of the Second World War continue to fascinate historians. Yet until recently the scholarly focus has been on the institutional history of the alliance, and the role Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill played in fostering early covert initiatives. Now the emphasis is shifting to how the two leaders' directives were adapted and codified by ordinary members of the Anglo-American secret services - a sort of cloak-and-dagger social history. This essay explores how British and American operatives transformed their leaders' exhortations to work together into a feasible modus operandi at 'Massingham', a major clandestine training centre established west of Algiers after the Allied TORCH landings in November 1942.