Setting France ablaze : the SOE in France during WWII

253 Pages·2015·12.77 MB·English

by  Jacobs

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © Peter Jacobs 2015
ISBN: 978 1 78346 336 7
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PRC ISBN: 978 1 47386 661 4
The right of Peter Jacobs to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1 SOE and France – The First Year
Chapter 2 First Agents
Chapter 3 First Lysander
Chapter 4 Worrying Times
Chapter 5 A French Agent, an English Agent and a German Agent ‘La
Chatte’
Chapter 6 Establishing Circuits
Chapter 7 The Twins
Chapter 8 Women Enter the Fray
Chapter 9 Colonel Henri
Chapter 10 End of PROSPER
Chapter 11 The Disastrous Double Lysander
Chapter 12 Madeleine
Chapter 13 The Man Called Gilbert – Agent, Double-Agent or Triple-
Agent?
Chapter 14 Bad Salesmen, Troublesome Farmers, Dangerous Musicians and
Tinkers
Chapter 15 Stationers, Stockbrokers, Marksmen and Scientists
Chapter 16 The White Rabbit
Chapter 17 Radio Games, Deception and Lies
Chapter 18 An Economic Means of Achieving Strategic Success
Chapter 19 Maximum Effort
Chapter 20 Towards Liberation
Chapter 21 Violette
Chapter 22 To Victory
Bibliography and References
Acknowledgements
M
any excellent books have been written about the Special Operations
Executive over the years. One of the first, and, in my opinion, still one
of the best, is Inside SOE by E. H. Cookridge, written in 1966 as the ‘first full
story of SOE in western Europe during 1940–45.’ But it was following
revelations of German successes in France, made during the late 1950s, that led
to the commissioning of an official history of the SOE in France. Written by
Professor M. R. D. Foot, himself a former member of the SOE, his superb and
authoritative book SOE in France was also published in 1966.
As part of the Government Official Histories series, the aim of Michael Foot’s
book was to produce a history in its own right, compiled by a historian eminent
in the field, who was afforded free access to all relevant material in the official
archives. But SOE in France came under the spotlight when it was published and
immediately prompted controversy. The names of many agents, some of whom
were still alive at the time, were suddenly propelled into the public domain;
whether they wanted to be or not. As a result, a number of pages were rewritten
and the second impression, with amendments, was published in 1968.
Nonetheless, SOE in France is an authoritative piece of work, stretching across
500 pages, and remains the source of reference for historians, researchers and
authors alike, and provides a starting point for us all.
Since then, there have been numerous books written about agents of the SOE,
particularly in recent years since the public release of personnel files. Many are
about the female agents and one of the best is Odette by Penny Starns. In
addition to Penny’s great book, I pay particular tribute to many others: Squadron
Leader Beryl E. Escott for The Heroines of SOE; Robyn Walker for The Women
Who Spied For Britain; Russell Braddon for Nancy Wake; Susan Ottaway for
Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice, a book about Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne;
Shrabani Basu for Spy Princess, the story of Noor Inayat Khan; Sarah Helm for
A Life in Secrets, the story of Vera Atkins and the lost agents of SOE; and to R J
Minney for, perhaps, starting the ball rolling with his legendary book Carve Her
Name With Pride about Violette Szabo. As for the male agents, I can think of no
better books than No Cloak, No Dagger, written by the former SOE agent
Benjamin Cowburn, The White Rabbit by Bruce Marshall about Tommy Yeo-
Thomas, and No Banners, the story of the Newton brothers, by Jack Thomas. All
these, and many more, are excellent books and so anyone wishing to learn more
about a specific individual should take the time to read them. A comprehensive
bibliography at the end of this book will help guide the reader to specific areas
of interest.
I must also thank the staff at The National Archives at Kew. Books like this
would never be possible without the help and support given by all the staff at
this marvellous facility; it really is a national treasure. There are so many who
work tirelessly to help us all at Kew but I must single out Paul Johnson at the
image library for his particular help and understanding. Similarly, I would like to
offer my collective thanks to all the staff at the Imperial War Museum, Air
Historical Branch and the Special Forces Club. All have provided much help
over the years with access to files and other material as well as many images,
some of which you will see in this book.
In addition to these formal institutions and establishments, there are also more
and more websites becoming available. Run by enthusiasts they provide a wealth
of knowledge and amongst these I include John Robertson’s Special Forces Roll
of Honour website (specialforcesroh.com), Nigel Perrin’s website
(nigelperrin.com), where much detail can be found about many SOE agents, and
other websites such as the Tempsford Memorial Trust
(tempsfordmemorial.co.uk). On a similar theme, I would also like to thank all
those who contribute to the online SOE Forum, particularly members such as
Steven Kippax, Mark Seaman and Martyn Cox. These and others contribute
daily on a multitude of subjects relating to the SOE in order to share their
knowledge and to ensure that the work of the SOE is never forgotten. From their
contributions, and those of other members, I continue to learn so much.
During recent years I have been fortunate to spend time with descendants of
some of those who served with the SOE in France and I am grateful to them all
for providing me with material and images to help tell stories such as this. I have
also been pleased to spend time across the Channel in France and, during the
course of my research, I have continued to learn so much from the French
people. But one community, above all others, has been of immense value to me
and so I must say a special thank you to the people of Querrien in Brittany. They
have made me so welcome during my visits and many have contributed personal
accounts or articles, as well as many images, some of which I am pleased to be
able to share in this book.
Finally, I wish to pay a personal tribute to the men and women of the SOE
who bravely went into the field. Without their courage there would be no stories
to be told. My personal thanks also go to the management and staff at Pen and
Sword, particularly Laura Hirst for all her work behind the scenes, to enable this
story to be told.
Introduction
C
ourage comes in many different forms, especially during war, but all
those who went into Nazi-occupied France with the Special Operations
Executive during the Second World War displayed courage in abundance. They
came from all walks of life and were there for varying reasons, but they all went
into the field in the knowledge they would probably receive no recognition for
what they did and knowing that their lives could be cut short in a most miserable
way. But who were these people and why did they do what they so bravely did?
Besides, who or what was the SOE anyway?
Considered to be Britain’s fourth armed service during the Second World
War, the Special Operations Executive, the SOE, was formed in 1940 after the
fall of France when the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, wanted to hit
back at the enemy in Nazi-occupied Europe in whatever way he could. SOE
operations would, he felt, divert vital enemy resources to counter acts of
aggression but Churchill also realized that any act of aggression, no matter how
small, would help raise the morale of those under occupation. In Churchill’s own
words he instructed the SOE to ‘set Europe ablaze’ but the new organization was
to be kept separate from existing military and intelligence organizations, and was
required to work closely with the many resistance movements in occupied
Europe, with F Section (F for French) being responsible for SOE’s operations in
France.
The SOE gained little support from within Whitehall during its early years but
by the time the Allied landings in north-west Europe took place on 6 June 1944,
D-Day, it had reached a peak strength of nearly 13,000 people with F Section
having established circuits all across France, most of them led by British-trained
agents, to pave the way for the liberation of Europe.
Until that point, the Nazi occupation had turned France into something of a
nation of slaves. Millions had been deported or compelled into forced labour and
the Germans had plundered the French countryside to feed their own forces and
population back home. Every day, convoys headed east, taking with them
animals, land produce, raw materials and textiles, leaving the French cold and
hungry. A black market had inevitably appeared as some profited from
collaboration with the Nazis, but for the vast majority of the French there were
endless queues with many basic products – such as coffee, butter or soap –
considered luxuries beyond their reach. Furthermore, many had been kicked out
of their homes to make way for the occupying forces who seemed to have spread
across the towns and communities like a bad rash while blackouts and curfews,
involving the prohibition of road traffic at certain times, had all but ended
ordinary day-to-day life. Many of those who chose to resist the occupiers and
their rules were arrested, often denounced to the Germans by so-called friends.
Then, in turn, many of those arrested would stop at nothing to secure their own
freedom by the denouncing of others.
And so it was against this background that SOE operatives went into Nazi-
occupied France. They all accepted the hardship and risks, yet they went on to
perform great deeds of bravery. Sadly, though, many were caught and after
suffering brutal torture at the hands of their captors, followed by the horrors of
the concentration camps, most had their lives brought to a sudden and tragic end.
The courage and initiative displayed by SOE’s agents during the war has
earned the organization both admiration and respect. Yet it is important to
understand from the outset that only those who were actually there know the
truth behind what went on at the time. It is imperative for authors not to fall into
the trap of making simple accusations or to question individuals about the
decisions they made more than seventy years ago. We are seldom in possession
of all the facts. Furthermore, there was clearly some degree of carelessness
reflected in the treatment of SOE’s records at the end of the war. As the
organization was wound up, there simply was not the staff nor, it would seem,
the appetite, to work through the bundles of paperwork to retain records of
everything that had gone on. Much of the material simply disappeared, either
intentionally or otherwise, and so there are often gaps, which has led to much
post-war speculation about some individuals and events.
But we have to start somewhere and using the files that have been released to
the public at the National Archives, backed up by personal accounts where they
are known to exist, enough has survived to be able to tell the stories of these
incredibly brave people. I suspect, however, that some serious questions will
always remain. We may never know, for example, whether the SOE’s
headquarters in London was infiltrated by the Germans, as has been suggested,
and we may always wonder just how much those in London knew about the
infiltration by German intelligence officers of SOE’s radio networks in France.