Claude de Baissac
Encyclopedia
Claude Denis Boucherville de Baissac, known as Claude de Baissac or by his codename David (born 28 February 1907, Curepipe
, Mauritius
- died 22 December 1974) was a Mauritius
-born agent in the Special Operations Executive
(SOE). He organised the important French Resistance
network SCIENTIST, in south-west France from August 1942 to March 1943 and in Britanny from February 1944 onwards. His elder sister Lise
was also an SOE agent.
near Nîmes
to set up and head the SCIENTIST network. However, they were dropped from too low an altitude and landed badly - de Baissac broke his ankle and Peulevé was so badly hurt he had to return to England. In the following months, de Baissac developed the SCIENTIST network in the Bordeaux region, receiving reinforcements in the form of Roger Landes
(codenamed Stanislas, his new radio operator, dropped on 2 November) and Mary Herbert (codenamed Marie-Louise, his liaison officer, landed by boat on 8 November). Certain resistance group concentrated their efforts for a joint attack on the submarine pens in the port and other operations in the Landes countryside.
De Baissac worked closely with Francis Suttill
and his Prosper-PHYSICIAN network in Paris, before briefly returning to London on the night of 17/18 March 1943 in a Lysander
to announce that the network had 11,000 men at its disposal.
In May 1943, Suttill warned de Baissac that he thought Henri Déricourt
, a member of SCIENTIST, was working for the Germans just before de Baissac was parachuted back in at the full moon with new instructions. The parachute drops of men and supplied intensified, but on 23 June the Gestapo captured Suttill and hundreds of other agents and Resistance workers from Prosper-PHYSICIAN and other networks and attached groups. The SCIENTIST network was caught up in PHYSICIAN's fall and on the night of 16/17 August, Claude, Lise and Nicholas Bodington
returned to England by Lysander
, with Roger Landes
(Aristide) replacing Claude at the head of SCIENTIST until November 1943.
In February 1944 de Baissac was parachuted in to Mayenne
with an all-Mauritian team made up of his sister Lise, captain Jean-Marie Renaud-Danticolle (codenamed René) and the radio operator Maurice Louis Larcher (code named Vladimir). His new mission was to amalgamate, arm and energise the Resistance groups in the region stretching from Caen to Laval. When D-Day came, he joined George Starr and his WHEELWRIGHT network in the south-west.
Curepipe
Curepipe is a town centrally situated in Mauritius, an island country in the southwest Indian Ocean. It is second in size and importance to Port Louis, the capital....
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
- died 22 December 1974) was a Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
-born agent in the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE). He organised the important French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
network SCIENTIST, in south-west France from August 1942 to March 1943 and in Britanny from February 1944 onwards. His elder sister Lise
Lisé de Baissac
Lise Marie Jeanette de Baissac was born in Mauritius of French descent and British nationality. She was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War, a special agent who risked her life running her own operations, but was denied a gallantry award after the war.-Escape...
was also an SOE agent.
Life
His first mission came on 30 July 1942, when he and his radio operator Peulevé were parachuted in from a HalifaxHandley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
near Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
to set up and head the SCIENTIST network. However, they were dropped from too low an altitude and landed badly - de Baissac broke his ankle and Peulevé was so badly hurt he had to return to England. In the following months, de Baissac developed the SCIENTIST network in the Bordeaux region, receiving reinforcements in the form of Roger Landes
Roger Landes
Roger Landes, MC & Bar was an agent and radio operator in the Special Operations Executive , F section...
(codenamed Stanislas, his new radio operator, dropped on 2 November) and Mary Herbert (codenamed Marie-Louise, his liaison officer, landed by boat on 8 November). Certain resistance group concentrated their efforts for a joint attack on the submarine pens in the port and other operations in the Landes countryside.
De Baissac worked closely with Francis Suttill
Francis Suttill
Major Francis Alfred Suttill DSO was a British special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Physician network, better known by his own code name Prosper...
and his Prosper-PHYSICIAN network in Paris, before briefly returning to London on the night of 17/18 March 1943 in a Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
to announce that the network had 11,000 men at its disposal.
In May 1943, Suttill warned de Baissac that he thought Henri Déricourt
Henri Dericourt
Henri Dericourt was a French agent for Special Operations Executive. There is ambiguity as to whether he became a double agent for the Sicherheitsdienst , or was working under British instructions.-Life and work:...
, a member of SCIENTIST, was working for the Germans just before de Baissac was parachuted back in at the full moon with new instructions. The parachute drops of men and supplied intensified, but on 23 June the Gestapo captured Suttill and hundreds of other agents and Resistance workers from Prosper-PHYSICIAN and other networks and attached groups. The SCIENTIST network was caught up in PHYSICIAN's fall and on the night of 16/17 August, Claude, Lise and Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Redner Bodington OBE was, during the Second World War, a head of F section of the Special Operations Executive. He took part in 4 missions to France.-Pre-war:...
returned to England by Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
, with Roger Landes
Roger Landes
Roger Landes, MC & Bar was an agent and radio operator in the Special Operations Executive , F section...
(Aristide) replacing Claude at the head of SCIENTIST until November 1943.
In February 1944 de Baissac was parachuted in to Mayenne
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
with an all-Mauritian team made up of his sister Lise, captain Jean-Marie Renaud-Danticolle (codenamed René) and the radio operator Maurice Louis Larcher (code named Vladimir). His new mission was to amalgamate, arm and energise the Resistance groups in the region stretching from Caen to Laval. When D-Day came, he joined George Starr and his WHEELWRIGHT network in the south-west.
Medals/Honours
- UK: DSODistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
- France: Knight of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
; Croix de guerre 1939-1945
External links
- Special Operations Executive Agents in France - Profile of Claude de Baissac
- Photographs of Claude de Baissac on the Special Forces Roll of Honour site
- Spartacus Educational
Sources
- Michael Richard Daniell Foot, SOE in France. An account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France, 1940-1944, London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1966, 1968 ; Whitehall History Publishing, in association with Frank Cass, 2004.
- Guy Penaud, Histoire secrète de la Résistance dans le Sud-Ouest, Éditions Sud-Ouest, 1993