Behind Enemy Lines with the SAS: The Story of Amedee Maingard, SOE Agent

309 Pages·2013·3.4 MB·English

by  Mccue

First published in Great Britain in 2007 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright © Paul McCue 2007
9781781594643

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been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Car tout passe
Comme l’ombre d’un rêve
Qui n’a jamais été

For it all passes by
Like a shadowy dream
That never was

By Lieutenant Maurice Pertschuk (served as Lieutenant Maurice Perkins), SOE
‘Prunus’ circuit, Gers region, France 1942 – 3. Arrested April 1943. Executed in
Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, 29 March 1945.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction and Acknowledgements
Foreword
Chapter One - ‘Is there a house in the wood?’
Chapter Two - Family and Childhood
Chapter Three - War
Chapter Four - Special Operations Executive
Chapter Five - To France
Chapter Six - The Circuit
Chapter Seven - Dédé Takes up the Reins
Chapter Eight - The Pace Quickens
Chapter Nine - A Narrow Escape
Chapter Ten - Out of the Shadows
Chapter Eleven - Das Reich
Chapter Twelve - Revenge
Chapter Thirteen - Victory
Chapter Fourteen - Britain’s Gratitude
Chapter Fifteen - New Horizons
Chapter Sixteen - The Trail Today
Chapter Seventeen - The Players
Chapter Eighteen - Legacy
Notes
Appendix 1 - Sources and Bibliography
Bibliography
Appendix 2 - Code Names and False Identities
Appendix 3 - Comparison of Military Ranks (Officers)
Appendix 4 - Debriefing of Major Maingard by Major Angelo, 14 November
1944
Index
Introduction and
Acknowledgements
The impetus to my writing this biography came first and foremost from Alain
Antelme, the nephew of a SOE agent executed by the Germans during the war,
and a former employee and friend of Amédée Maingard.
Alain’s initial approach, from Mauritius, came after I had written of Major
Maingard in my earlier book, SAS Operation Bulbasket, and with the support of
the Maingard family, Alain asked if I would undertake a biography. Although I
declined due to other commitments, I subsequently agreed to carry out the UK-
BASED element of the research.
The writer of the book was then to be Tony Kemp, an established author with
special forces expertise. But the events of 11 September 2001, and the
involvement of special forces in the ensuing conflicts, saw Tony in great demand
so that he regretfully had to withdraw from the project. Having by then amassed
extensive material from official UK sources (this was still prior to the release of
many SOE files into the public domain), I was reluctant to see the project stall
and I agreed to take over.
In one respect I was fortunate in that Tony had not yet put pen to paper when
he had to pull out, which means that neither he nor I need worry over
apportioning blame for errors. Any that exist are unarguably my own. I am
grateful, however, to have been able to use early notes and the tapes from two
interviews conducted by Tony in Mauritius.
Among the many others who have helped, Sue Spencer deserves very special
thanks for taking over the typing at a point when my own limited ability and lack
of speed threatened to extend the book’s gestation period by at least a decade. In
addition, Brenda Ayling proved a master of structure charts, Mick Henson
kindly produced the maps and the close scrutiny of Catherine Parsons as
proofreader was invaluable.
The patience and support of my wife, Alison, and my daughter, Holly, were as
constant as could reasonably be expected and the latter even accompanied her
constant as could reasonably be expected and the latter even accompanied her
father on a number of research trips. As a result, I appreciate that some will find
it unnatural for a six-year-old girl to understand perfectly the concept of
sabotage.
My grateful thanks are also extended to:

Great Britain: Beaulieu Estate; Freddie Clark; (the late) David Dane; Paul
Dawson; David Harrison; Sandra Macniven; Mallaig Heritage Centre; Ron
McKeon; Sophie Moore; Malcolm Poole; Denis Rixson; Special Forces Club;
Brian Spencer; Duncan Stuart; Kenneth Tattersall; Paul Wate; Michael
Wallrock.

France: Sandrine Braun; Paul Chantraine; Jean-Louis Cirès; Pearl Cornioley;
Louis R. Dalais; Veronique Dalais; Albert Dupont; Roger Ford; Maurice
Fuzeau; Pierre Hirsch; Raymond Jovelin; Tony Kemp; Jean-Francois Maurel;
Musée d’Eguzon; Maurice Nicault; Philippe Palancher; Roger Picard; Claude
Pavard; Christian Richard.

Mauritius: Air Mauritius; the late Jean Larcher; Didier Maingard; Jacqueline
Maingard; Jan Maingard; (the late) Sir René Maingard; Sir Harry Tirvengadum;
Zsuzsanna Szemök.

Réunion: James Caratini (Le Collège Bourbon de Saint-Denis); Roxane Le
Guen; Florence Leveneur.

Canada: Dr Antoine Hirsch; David Poissant; Judge Allyre Louis Sirois.

United States: OSS Society; Jenelle Peterson.

I would finally add that I have used the term Mauritius throughout the book,
trusting that my French and Franco-Mauritian friends will understand that I did
not wish to overcomplicate issues by using the more accurate Île de France for
the period 1715 – 1810. Likewise I have used Réunion, though it was once Île
Bourbon.
Paul McCue
Witley, Surrey
The Stationer circuit extended over 500 kilometres, from Châteauroux in central
France to Tarbes near the Spanish border.