SOE F Section timeline
Encyclopedia
Timeline
of events in the history of Section F of the Special Operations Executive
. See also SOE F Section networks
.
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of events in the history of Section F of 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...
. See also SOE F Section networks
SOE F Section networks
These are the networks, also known as circuits, established in France by F Section of the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War...
.
- The relevant modern administrative département numbers are added, after several of the place names, so as to facilitate the tracing of events geographically.
May 1941
- May 5
- Georges BéguéGeorges BéguéGeorges Bégué or George P. Begue was a French engineer and agent in the Special Operations Executive.-Early life:...
was the first SOE agent dropped in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 36IndreIndre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. He set up radio communications and met agents who followed.
- Georges Bégué
July 1941
- July 1
- Brian StonehouseBrian StonehouseBrian Julian Stonehouse MBE was a British painter and Special Operations Executive agent during World War II.He was born in Torquay, England. When his family moved to France, he went to school in Wimereux, Pas-de-Calais...
parachuted into occupied France near the city of ToursToursTours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, 37Indre-et-LoireIndre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, in the Loire ValleyLoire ValleyThe Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
.
- Brian Stonehouse
October 1941
- October 24
- Brian Stonehouse and Blanche Charlet were arrested by MiliceMiliceThe Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
in Chateau Hurlevent near LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, 69Rhône (département)Rhône is a French department located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes. It is named after the Rhône River.- History :The Rhône department was created on August 12, 1793 when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire was split into two departments: Rhône and Loire.Originally, the eastern...
.
- Brian Stonehouse and Blanche Charlet were arrested by Milice
December 1941
- December
- Brian Stonehouse was transferred to Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
, in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Brian Stonehouse was transferred to Fresnes prison
January 1942
- January
- Peter ChurchillPeter ChurchillPeter Morland Churchill DSO Croix de Guerre was an SOE Officer in France during World War II.He was a brother of Group Captain Walter Churchill DSO DFC and Major Oliver Churchill DSO MC who was also an SOE Officer during World War II.-Biography:...
was landed by submarine at MiramarMiramarMiramar is a place name of Spanish origin. It means "sea-view" or "sea sight" from mira and mar .-Places:Asia*Miramar, Panaji, GoaEurope*Miramar, a hamlet in the commune of Théoule-sur-Mer, France...
, 06Alpes-MaritimesAlpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, in France to evaluate the CarteThe Carte OrganisationThe Carte Organisation was a putative organ of French resistance during the Second World War.It was the brainchild of André Girard, an artist who claimed to have at his command a secret army of hundreds of thousands of would-be résistants waiting to rise against the Germans once they were properly...
resistance group.
- Peter Churchill
May 1942
- May
- William Grover-WilliamsWilliam Grover-WilliamsWilliam Charles Frederick Grover-Williams , also known as "W Williams", was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Chestnut network...
was parachuted into France and worked from ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 16ème. On the same plane is Christopher BurneyChristopher BurneyChristopher Arthur Geoffrey Burney MBE was an upper-class Englishman who served in the Special Operations Executive during World War II.-Biography:...
, dropped blind on a different mission.
- William Grover-Williams
July 1942
- July 29/30
- Claude de BaissacClaude de BaissacClaude Denis Boucherville de Baissac, known as Claude de Baissac or by his codename David was a Mauritius-born agent in the Special Operations Executive...
dropped with Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
near Nimes. Peulevé broke leg and had to be left, and de Baissac despite a sprained ankle continued with his mission to set up the Scientist Network and to conduct espionage at BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
.
- Claude de Baissac
August 1942
- August 27/28
- John StarrJohn Renshaw StarrJohn Renshaw Starr , was one of two sons of Alfred Demarest Starr and Ethel Renshaw . He was a grandson of William Robert Renshaw. He was an artist and a soldier during the Second World War. His story is told in a book, The Starr Affair, by Jean Overton Fuller.-Military career:When war broke out...
arrived by parachute in a field near ValenceValence, DrômeValence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, 26DrômeDrôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, in France on his first mission.
- John Starr
- August
- Peter Churchill went to MontpellierMontpellier-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, 34HéraultHérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, in France to organize the Spindle network.
- Peter Churchill went to Montpellier
September 1942
- September 24
- Andrée BorrelAndrée BorrelAndrée Raymonde Borrel was a French heroine of World War II.-Early life:Andrée Borrel was born into a working-class family in Louveciennes, Yvelines in the suburbs of Paris, growing up an active girl who liked hiking and most other outdoor activities...
and Lise de BaissacLisé de BaissacLise 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...
arrived by parachute at a field near MerMer, Loir-et-CherMer is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.-External links:*...
, Loir-et-CherLoir-et-CherLoir-et-Cher is a département in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher.-History:Loir-et-Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Orléanais and...
, not far from the Loire River
- Andrée Borrel
November 1942
- November
- Gilbert NormanGilbert NormanGilbert Maurice Norman was born 1914 in Saint-Cloud,Hauts-de-Seine to an English father and a French mother and was educated in France and England....
arrived in France, to join the Prosper Network in Paris.
- Gilbert Norman
- November
- George StarrGeorge Reginald StarrGeorge Reginald Starr DSO MC was a British mining engineer and one of the Special Operations Executive's best secret agents during World War II.-Early life:...
and Odette SansomOdette SansomOdette Sansom Hallowes GC, MBE, Chevalier de la légion d'honneur was an Allied heroine of the Second World War.-Early years:...
arrived by boat near CannesCannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, 06Alpes-MaritimesAlpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, on the Mediterranean coast of France. The return voyage carried John Starr out of France following his uneventful first mission, taking with him reports collected by Peter ChurchillPeter ChurchillPeter Morland Churchill DSO Croix de Guerre was an SOE Officer in France during World War II.He was a brother of Group Captain Walter Churchill DSO DFC and Major Oliver Churchill DSO MC who was also an SOE Officer during World War II.-Biography:...
.
- George Starr
December 1942
- December
- Jack AgazarianJack AgazarianJack Charles Stanmore Agazarian was a British espionage agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France...
arrived in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to join the Prosper Network
- Jack Agazarian
January 1943
- January 22
- Henri DericourtHenri DericourtHenri 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:...
arrived in France and went to Paris as the section's air movements officer.
- Henri Dericourt
March 1943
- March
- Peter Churchill returned to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with Henri FragerHenri FragerHenri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
by Westland LysanderWestland LysanderThe Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
flight. On the inward flight Francis CammaertsFrancis CammaertsFrancis Charles Albert Cammaerts DSO was an outstanding Special Operations Executive agent who organised French Resistance groups to sabotage German communications in occupied France.-Early life:...
arrived to take Churchill's place in HéraultHéraultHérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
.
- Peter Churchill returned to England
April 1943
- April 15
- Peter Churchill arrived back in St Jorioz France.
- April 16
- Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom were arrested by Hugo BleicherHugo BleicherHugo Ernst Bleicher was a German senior non-commissioned officer of the Abwehr who worked against French Resistance in German-occupied France....
.
- Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom were arrested by Hugo Bleicher
May 1943
- May
- John Starr and his wireless operator John Young arrived by parachute at Lons-le-SaunierLons-le-SaunierLons-le-Saunier is a commune and capital of the Jura department in eastern France.-Geography:The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the "premier plateau" of the Jura massif...
, 39, in the Jura mountains of eastern France.
- John Starr and his wireless operator John Young arrived by parachute at Lons-le-Saunier
- May 13
- Vera LeighVera LeighVera Leigh was a British spy during World War II who assisted the French Resistance. In 1944 she was captured by the Germans and executed.-Early life:...
, Julienne Aisner, Sidney JonesSidney JonesJames Sidney Jones , usually credited as Sidney Jones, was an English conductor and composer, most famous for producing the musical scores for a series of musical comedy hits in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods....
and Marcel Clech arrived by Lysander at a location in the Cher Valley, near ToursToursTours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, 37Indre-et-LoireIndre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
and were met by F Section's air movements officer Henri Dericourt. The return flight carried Francis SuttillFrancis SuttillMajor 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...
, leader of the Prosper Network, back to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
- Vera Leigh
June 1943
- June
- William Grover-Williams, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, was arrested by the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
.
- William Grover-Williams, Paris
- June
- William Grover-Williams was moved to Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
.
- William Grover-Williams was moved to Sachsenhausen concentration camp
- June 16
- Diana RowdenDiana RowdenDiana Hope Rowden MBE was a Special Operations Executive member who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Noor Inayat KhanNoor Inayat KhanAssistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan / Nora Baker, GC, MBE , usually known as Noor Inayat Khan was of Indian Muslim origin...
, and Cecily LefortCecily LefortCecily Lefort was a British SOE agent, during World War II.-Early life:Born as Cecily Margot MacKenzie in London of Scottish ancestry, she lived on the coast of Brittany in France from the age of 24 with her French husband, Dr...
arrived by air at a location north-east of AngersAngersAngers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, 49Maine-et-LoireMaine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....
, in the Loire ValleyLoire ValleyThe Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
, where they were met by Henri Dericourt. - Jack Agazarian returned from working in Paris, France to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
- Diana Rowden
- June 20
- Frank PickersgillFrank PickersgillFrank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill is a Canadian hero of World War II....
and John Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth Macalister was a Canadian hero of World War II.Ken Macalister graduated the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and from the University of Toronto, then as a Rhodes Scholar studied at Oxford University...
were parachuted into France. They were met by Yvonne RudelattYvonne RudelattYvonne Rudelatt was a member of the Special Operations Executive during World War II and worked as a courier for the French Section.-Early life:...
, but were captured after a skirmish with waiting GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
.
- Frank Pickersgill
- June 23
- Andrée Borrel, Francis SuttillFrancis SuttillMajor 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 Gilbert NormanGilbert NormanGilbert Maurice Norman was born 1914 in Saint-Cloud,Hauts-de-Seine to an English father and a French mother and was educated in France and England....
were arrested
- Andrée Borrel, Francis Suttill
July 1943
- July 18
- John Starr was captured and placed in the custody of the SicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
in Dijon, 21Côte-d'OrCôte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
.
- John Starr was captured and placed in the custody of the Sicherheitsdienst
- July 22
- Nicholas BodingtonNicholas BodingtonNicholas 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:...
and Jack Agazarian returned to France to investigate the fate of the Prosper Network.
- Nicholas Bodington
- July
- Jack Agazarian was arrested at a rendezvous in the rue de Rome near the Gare Saint-LazareGare Saint-LazareParis Saint-Lazare is one of the six large terminus train stations of Paris. It is the second busiest in Paris, behind the Gare du Nord, handling 274,000 passengers each day.-History:...
, which was a trap set by the GermansNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
- Jack Agazarian was arrested at a rendezvous in the rue de Rome near the Gare Saint-Lazare
August 1943
- August
- John Starr was transferred from Dijon, 21Côte-d'OrCôte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
, to Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
.
- John Starr was transferred from Dijon, 21
- August 2
- William Grover-WilliamsWilliam Grover-WilliamsWilliam Charles Frederick Grover-Williams , also known as "W Williams", was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Chestnut network...
was captured and arrested in the Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
, in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
- William Grover-Williams
September 1943
- September
- John Starr was transferred from Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
, to 84 Avenue Foch84 Avenue FochNumber 84 Avenue Foch was a building in Paris used by the Gestapo during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.The location is found on Avenue Foch, a wide residential boulevard in the XVIe arrondissement which connects the Arc de Triomphe and the Porte Dauphine.During the German...
.
- John Starr was transferred from Fresnes prison
- September 15
- Cecily LefortCecily LefortCecily Lefort was a British SOE agent, during World War II.-Early life:Born as Cecily Margot MacKenzie in London of Scottish ancestry, she lived on the coast of Brittany in France from the age of 24 with her French husband, Dr...
was arrested by GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in MontélimarMontélimarMontélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
, 26DrômeDrôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, Rhône-AlpesRhône-AlpesRhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...
.
- Cecily Lefort
- September 18
- Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Yolande BeekmanYolande BeekmanYolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
and Harry Despaigne arrived by Lysander near Angers.
- Harry Peulevé
October 1943
- October 13
- Noor Inyat Khan was arrested in Paris.
- October 30
- Vera Leigh was arrested at a café near the Place des TernesPlace des TernesPlace des Ternes is a square in the 8th and 17th arrondissements of Paris, at the junction of Avenue de Wagram, Boulevard de Courcelles, Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré and Avenue des Ternes. It has borne its present name since 1893. In the middle of the square is the Paris Métro Line 2 station Ternes....
in Paris and taken to Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
.
- Vera Leigh was arrested at a café near the Place des Ternes
November 1943
- November 18
- Diana Rowden and John Young were arrested at Clairvaux-les-LacsClairvaux-les-LacsClairvaux-les-Lacs is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-World heritage site:It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site.-References:*...
, 39 near Lons-le-SaunierLons-le-SaunierLons-le-Saunier is a commune and capital of the Jura department in eastern France.-Geography:The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the "premier plateau" of the Jura massif...
.
- Diana Rowden and John Young were arrested at Clairvaux-les-Lacs
- November 19
- Diana RowdenDiana RowdenDiana Hope Rowden MBE was a Special Operations Executive member who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp.-Early life:...
was taken to 84 Avenue Foch84 Avenue FochNumber 84 Avenue Foch was a building in Paris used by the Gestapo during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.The location is found on Avenue Foch, a wide residential boulevard in the XVIe arrondissement which connects the Arc de Triomphe and the Porte Dauphine.During the German...
where she was interrogated for two weeks before being taken to Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
.
- Diana Rowden
- November 25
- Noor Inyat Khan, John Starr and Colonel Leon Faye escape from 84 Avenue Foch84 Avenue FochNumber 84 Avenue Foch was a building in Paris used by the Gestapo during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.The location is found on Avenue Foch, a wide residential boulevard in the XVIe arrondissement which connects the Arc de Triomphe and the Porte Dauphine.During the German...
but are captured in the immediate vicinity.
- Noor Inyat Khan, John Starr and Colonel Leon Faye escape from 84 Avenue Foch
- November 26
- Noor Inyat Khan and Colonel Leon Faye are sent to Germany.
January 1944
- January 13
- Yolande BeekmanYolande BeekmanYolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
and Gustave BielerGustave BiélerGustave Daniel Alfred Biéler DSO MBE was a Special Operations Executive agent during World War II.Gustave Bieler was born in Beurlay in France. At the age of twenty, he emigrated to Canada where he settled in the city of Montreal working as a school teacher and then as an official translator for...
were arrested at the Café Moulin Brulé in Paris.
- Yolande Beekman
February 1944
- February 5
- René Dumont-Guillemet and Henri Diacono were parachuted into Touraine to establish the Spiritualist circuit.
- February 28
- Madeleine DamermentMadeleine DamermentMadeleine Zoe Damerment was a World War II spy.-Biography:...
, France AntelmeFrance AntelmeMajor Joseph Antoine France Antelme OBE was one of 14 Franco-Mauritians who served in the Special Operations Executive , a World War II British secret service that sent spies, saboteurs and guerrilla fighters into enemy-occupied territory.After spying in Vichy-held Madagascar ahead of the allied...
and Lionel Lee arrived by parachute into a field near ChartresChartresChartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, 28Eure-et-LoirEure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...
, and were immediately arrested by waiting GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
.
- Madeleine Damerment
March 1944
- March 2/3
- Eileen NearneEileen NearneEileen Mary "Didi" Nearne MBE, was a member of the UK's Special Operations Executive during World War II. She served in occupied France as a radio operator under the codename "Rose".-Early life and career:...
lands near Les Lagneys Indre.
- March 21
- Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
and Louis Bertheau were arrested in Brive-la-GaillardeBrive-la-GaillardeBrive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
.
April 1944
- April
- Maurice Southgate was arrested.
- April 5
- Lilian RolfeLilian RolfeLilian Vera Rolfe was an Allied secret agent in World War II.-Early life:...
was dropped near the city of OrléansOrléans-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
, 45LoiretLoiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
, to work with the "Historian" network run by George Wilkinson
- Lilian Rolfe
- April 29
- Nancy WakeNancy WakeNancy Grace Augusta Wake, AC, GM , served as a British agent during the later part of World War II. She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance and was one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen of the war.-Early life:Born in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand in...
parachuted into AuvergneAuvergne (province)Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
to liaise between London and the local MaquisMaquis (World War II)The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
.
- Nancy Wake
May 1944
- May 13
- Vera LeighVera LeighVera Leigh was a British spy during World War II who assisted the French Resistance. In 1944 she was captured by the Germans and executed.-Early life:...
, Andrée Borrel, Odette SansomOdette SansomOdette Sansom Hallowes GC, MBE, Chevalier de la légion d'honneur was an Allied heroine of the Second World War.-Early years:...
, Diana RowdenDiana RowdenDiana Hope Rowden MBE was a Special Operations Executive member who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Yolande BeekmanYolande BeekmanYolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
, Eliane PlewmanEliane PlewmanEliane Plewman was a French SOE agent and member of French resistance.Plewman was born Eliane Browne-Bartroli in Marseille. The daughter of an English father and Spanish mother, she was educated in England and in Spain...
and Madeleine DamermentMadeleine DamermentMadeleine Zoe Damerment was a World War II spy.-Biography:...
were taken from Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
, to 84 Avenue Foch84 Avenue FochNumber 84 Avenue Foch was a building in Paris used by the Gestapo during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.The location is found on Avenue Foch, a wide residential boulevard in the XVIe arrondissement which connects the Arc de Triomphe and the Porte Dauphine.During the German...
, where they were joined by Sonya OlschanezkySonya OlschanezkySonya Olschanezky was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. The daughter of a Russian Jew, Eli Olschanezky, a chemical engineer who worked as a sales representative for a manufacturer of ladies' stockings, she was seven years old when the family moved to Paris, France and her...
. They were all then moved to the civil prison at KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
in GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
- Vera Leigh
- May 24
-
- 2n Lt. Lee G. Johnson was captured by the Gestapo in Paris, France. He remained there until September, 1944. From there he was transferred to Stalag Luft 1, Barth, Germany. He remained there until April. 1945 liberation.
June 1944
- June 6
- The D-Day landings, 14CalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
occurred in NormandyNormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
- The D-Day landings, 14
July 1944
- July
- Eileen NearneEileen NearneEileen Mary "Didi" Nearne MBE, was a member of the UK's Special Operations Executive during World War II. She served in occupied France as a radio operator under the codename "Rose".-Early life and career:...
arrested.
- Eileen Nearne
- July 2
- Henry Frager was arrested by AbwehrAbwehrThe Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
sergeant Hugo BleicherHugo BleicherHugo Ernst Bleicher was a German senior non-commissioned officer of the Abwehr who worked against French Resistance in German-occupied France....
at a rendezvouse arranged by Roger Bardet.
- Henry Frager was arrested by Abwehr
- July 6
- Diana RowdenDiana RowdenDiana Hope Rowden MBE was a Special Operations Executive member who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Vera LeighVera LeighVera Leigh was a British spy during World War II who assisted the French Resistance. In 1944 she was captured by the Germans and executed.-Early life:...
, and Andrée BorrelAndrée BorrelAndrée Raymonde Borrel was a French heroine of World War II.-Early life:Andrée Borrel was born into a working-class family in Louveciennes, Yvelines in the suburbs of Paris, growing up an active girl who liked hiking and most other outdoor activities...
were shipped to the Natzweiler-StruthofNatzweiler-StruthofNatzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
, 67Bas-RhinBas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
, concentration camp in the Vosges MountainsVosges mountainsFor the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
of AlsaceAlsaceAlsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
(France) where they were injected with phenolPhenolPhenol, also known as carbolic acid, phenic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid. The molecule consists of a phenyl , bonded to a hydroxyl group. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds...
and disposed of in the crematorium. Their arrival at the camp was witnessed by Brian Stonehouse . - Christine Granville arrived by parachute in France, joining the Jockey network led Francis CammaertsFrancis CammaertsFrancis Charles Albert Cammaerts DSO was an outstanding Special Operations Executive agent who organised French Resistance groups to sabotage German communications in occupied France.-Early life:...
.
- Diana Rowden
- July 31
- Lilian RolfeLilian RolfeLilian Vera Rolfe was an Allied secret agent in World War II.-Early life:...
was arrested in NargisNargisNargis Dutt , born Fatima Rashid but known by her screen name, Nargis, was an Indian film actress. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Hindi cinema. She made her screen debut as a child in Talash-E-Haq in 1935, but her acting carer began in 1942 with Tamanna...
, 45LoiretLoiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
and taken to Fresnes prisonFresnes PrisonFresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, 94Val-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
.
- Lilian Rolfe
August 1944
- August
- Francis CammaertsFrancis CammaertsFrancis Charles Albert Cammaerts DSO was an outstanding Special Operations Executive agent who organised French Resistance groups to sabotage German communications in occupied France.-Early life:...
was arrested by GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
.
- Francis Cammaerts
- August
- Lilian Rolfe was shipped to Ravensbrück concentration campRavensbrück concentration campRavensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
.
- Lilian Rolfe was shipped to Ravensbrück concentration camp
- August
- John Starr was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
.
- John Starr was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp
- August 8
- Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Maurice Southgate, Eliseé Allard, Denis Barrett, Robert BenoistRobert BenoistRobert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.-Early life:Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild's gamekeeper...
, Jean Bouguennec, Pierre CulioliPierre CulioliPierre Culioli , was a French tax officer who, during the Second World War, led the ADOLPH resistance network in the region of Tours, Orleans and Vierzon...
, Angehand Defendini, Julien Detal, Henri FragerHenri FragerHenri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
, Emile-Henri Garry, Frank PickersgillFrank PickersgillFrank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill is a Canadian hero of World War II....
, Pierre Geelen, Marcel Leccia, John Macalister, James Mayer, Pierre Mulsant, Charles Rechenmann, Roméo SabourinRoméo SabourinRoméo Sabourin is a Canadian hero of World War II.Lieutenant Sabourin joined the Canadian Army, serving in the Canadian Intelligence Corps...
, Arthur Steele and George Wilkinson were sent to Neue BremmNeue bremmNeue Bremm was a Nazi torture camp in Saarbrücken, designed to break prisoners who were not destined for extermination. Most prisoners were held for only a few weeks but in this time they were broken and sent on to concentration camps such as Buchenwald. Short term torture camps like Neue Bremm...
transit camp at SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
.
- Harry Peulevé
- August 16
- Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
, Maurice Southgate, Eliseé Allard, Denis Barrett, Robert BenoistRobert BenoistRobert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.-Early life:Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild's gamekeeper...
, Jean Bouguennec, Pierre CulioliPierre CulioliPierre Culioli , was a French tax officer who, during the Second World War, led the ADOLPH resistance network in the region of Tours, Orleans and Vierzon...
, Angehand Defendini, Julien Detal, Henri FragerHenri FragerHenri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
, Emile-Henri Garry, Frank PickersgillFrank PickersgillFrank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill is a Canadian hero of World War II....
, Pierre Geelen, Marcel Leccia, John Macalister, James Mayer, Pierre Mulsant, Charles Rechenmann, Roméo SabourinRoméo SabourinRoméo Sabourin is a Canadian hero of World War II.Lieutenant Sabourin joined the Canadian Army, serving in the Canadian Intelligence Corps...
, Arthur Steele and George Wilkinson arrived at Buchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
- Harry Peulevé
- August 25
- General von CholtitzDietrich von CholtitzGeneral der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz was the German military governor of Paris during the closing days of the German occupation of that city during World War II...
the German Military Commandant in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, formally signed an Act of Surrender to the Provisional Government of the French Republic, although some German strongholds remained in the city.
- General von Choltitz
- August 27
- John Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth Macalister was a Canadian hero of World War II.Ken Macalister graduated the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and from the University of Toronto, then as a Rhodes Scholar studied at Oxford University...
, Frank PickersgillFrank PickersgillFrank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill is a Canadian hero of World War II....
and Roméo SabourinRoméo SabourinRoméo Sabourin is a Canadian hero of World War II.Lieutenant Sabourin joined the Canadian Army, serving in the Canadian Intelligence Corps...
, were shipped to Buchenwald concentration camp.
- John Kenneth Macalister
September 1944
- September 6
- Gilbert NormanGilbert NormanGilbert Maurice Norman was born 1914 in Saint-Cloud,Hauts-de-Seine to an English father and a French mother and was educated in France and England....
was executed at Mauthausen concentration camp
- Gilbert Norman
- September 10
- Yolande BeekmanYolande BeekmanYolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
, Madeleine DamermentMadeleine DamermentMadeleine Zoe Damerment was a World War II spy.-Biography:...
, Noor Inayat Khan, and Eliane PlewmanEliane PlewmanEliane Plewman was a French SOE agent and member of French resistance.Plewman was born Eliane Browne-Bartroli in Marseille. The daughter of an English father and Spanish mother, she was educated in England and in Spain...
were transferred to Dachau concentration camp.
- Yolande Beekman
- September 11
- Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment, Noor Inayat Khan, and Eliane Plewman were executed, each by a single shot to the head, and their bodies cremated at Dachau concentration camp.
-
- Eliseé Allard, Robert BenoistRobert BenoistRobert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.-Early life:Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild's gamekeeper...
, Jean Bouguennec, Angehand Defendini, Julien Detal, Emile-Henri Garry, Frank PickersgillFrank PickersgillFrank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill is a Canadian hero of World War II....
, Pierre Geelen, Marcel Leccia, John Macalister, James Mayer, Charles Rechenmann, Roméo SabourinRoméo SabourinRoméo Sabourin is a Canadian hero of World War II.Lieutenant Sabourin joined the Canadian Army, serving in the Canadian Intelligence Corps...
and Arthur Steele were executed at Buchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
- Eliseé Allard, Robert Benoist
October 1944
- October 5
- Denis Barrett, Henri FragerHenri FragerHenri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
, Pierre Mulsant and George Wilkinson were executed at Buchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration campBuchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
- Denis Barrett, Henri Frager
February 1945
- February 5
- Lilian RolfeLilian RolfeLilian Vera Rolfe was an Allied secret agent in World War II.-Early life:...
was executed and her body disposed of in the crematorium at Ravensbrück concentration campRavensbrück concentration campRavensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
.
- Lilian Rolfe
- February 17
- John Starr was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp.
- February
- Violette SzaboViolette SzaboViolette Reine Elizabeth Bushell Szabo, GC, was a Second World War French-British secret agent.-Early life and marriage:...
taken from her cell in Ravensbruck concentration camp and shot in the back of the neck.
- Violette Szabo
April 1945
- April 11
- Harry PeulevéHarry PeulevéHenri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
escaped from SchönebeckSchönebeckSchönebeck is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 14 km southeast of Magdeburg.-International relations:Schönebeck is twinned with:...
concentration camp.
- Harry Peulevé
- April 29
- Brian Stonehouse was liberated from Dachau concentration camp by AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops.
- Brian Stonehouse was liberated from Dachau concentration camp by American