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

GENERAL

Correspondence with (the late) Gervase Cowell MBE, and Duncan Stuart CMG, successively former SOE Advisors to the British Governments Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, England.

Personal interviews (conducted by the author, Tony Kemp or Alain Antelme):

Alain Antelme, UK and Mauritius, 2000 2004

Pearl Cornioley, France, 2003

Vronique Dalais and Louis-Rn Dalais, France, 2003

Jean-Franois Maurel, France, 2003

(The late) Jean Larcher, Mauritius 2001 2005

Sir Harry Tirvengadum, Mauritius 2001

(The late) Sir Ren Maingard, Mauritius 2001 2005

(The late) Pierre Hirsch, France 2003

Business Magazine , Mauritius, 23 July 2003.

www.intnet.mu news and information service for Mauritius.

www.memorial-genweb.org French genealogical and memorial website.

The Jedburghs: A Short History (unpublished) by Arthur Brown.

The Geneology of the Maingard Family (unpublished) by Veronique Dalais via Louis R. Dalais.

ARCHIVES

Community Archives of Chteauroux, France (Archivist Jean-Louis Cirs): photographs; extracts from the book by Michel Jouhanneau, Mmoire dune poque. Indre 1940-1944 , published 1995; notes from Maurice Nicault, Resistance historian.

Archives Service, Tarbes, France (Archivist Sandrine Braun): extracts and photographs from Rsistance en Bigorre by Maurice Bnzech; municipal records and documentation.

Muse dEguzon, Indre, France: photographs and conversations.

National Archives (Public Record Office), Kew, Surrey, England:

AIR 27/956 Operations Record Book of 138 (Special Duties) Squadron

HS1/82 interview of Major Maingard for Far East duties

HS6/515 debriefing of Major Maingard by Major Angelo, 14 November 1944, and final report of Major Maingard after second mission

HS6/526 operational report of Jedburgh team HUGH

HS6/527 operational report of Jedburgh team IAN

HS6/569 report of Lieutenant Jacques Dufour to SOE F Section

HS 6/572 debriefing of Jacques and Pierre Hirsch

HS6/579 report by Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate

HS 6/587 and HS 6/568 report by Flight Officer Pearl Witherington

SOE Personnel files:

HS9/976/9 Major Amde Maingard

HS9/1395/3 Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate

HS9/1089/4 Lieutenant Jacqueline Nearne

HS9/293/5 Auguste Chantraine

HS9/1011/4 Lieutenant J. Andy Mayer

HS9/1195/1 Ensign Eliane Plewman

HS9/1238/1 Captain Charles Rechenmann

HS9/1240/3 Captain Harry Re

HS9/1331/1 Lieutenant Alexandre Schwatschko (aka A. Shaw)

HS9/1568/1 Major Valentine Whitty

Lieutenant Elise Allard (served as Lieutenant Charles Montaigne): Henrique.

Major John Farmer: Hubert.

Lieutenant Pierre Geelen (served as Lieutenant Pierre Garde): Pierre, Pierre Grandjean .

Captain Donovan Jones: Lime, Isidore.

Lieutenant Marcel Leccia (served as Lieutenant Georges Louis): Baudouin.

Major Philippe Liewer (served as Major Charles Staunton): Hamlet, Salesman .

Major Amde Maingard: Shipwright, Samuel/Sam, Guy Marguery, Amde Maingrot.

Sergeant Ren Mathieu: Manufacturer, Aime, Roger Milhaud, Ren Marie Millou.

Lieutenant Pierre Mattei: Huntsman, Gaetan.

Lieutenant (James) Andrew Mayer: Sexton, Franck, Jacques Andr Mallet .

Lieutenant Jacqueline Nearne: Designer, Jacqueline, Josette Norville.

Captain Brian Rafferty: Michel, Dominique.

Captain Charles Rechenmann: Julien, Rover, Charles Raymond, Claude Rolland.

Captain Harry Re: Csar, Henri.

Lieutenant Alexandre Schwatschko (served as Lieutenant Alexandre Shaw): Olive.

Lieutenant Allyre Sirois: Gustave.

Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate: Stationer, Philippe, Hector, Maurice Leblanc, Robert Moulin.

Ensign Nancy Wake: Witch, Hlne.

Ensign Odette Wilen: Sophie.

Flight Officer Pearl Witherington: Wrestler, Marie, Pauline, Madame Cornioley.

SOE LOCALLY-RECRUITED HELPERS

Pilar Alvarez: Irene.

P.L. Berg: Tutur, Adrien.

Jacques Dufour: Anastasie.

Jacques Hirsch: Artur, Arthur, Jacques dAllemand, Franois.

Jeanne Hirsch: Nenette.

Pierre Hirsch: Popaul, Pierrot, Pierre dAllemand, Pierre dHamblemont.

RESISTANCE/MAQUIS/FFI

Auguste Chantraine: Octave, Octraine.

Colonel R.F. Chne: Cyclamen, Bernard, Commandant/Colonel Bernard.

Armand Mardon: Le Vigneron.

Camille Olivet : La Chouette.

[Authors note some measure of Dds reticence to speak of his active service can already be gauged in late 1944 during this formal SOE debriefing. The record of the interview is to be found in Britains National Archives, file reference HS6/515.]

Mission

W/T operator to Hector

1. A. CLANDESTINE ACTIVITY PRE D-DAY

1. Arrival.

I was parachuted with one other person, supposedly to a reception committee. We landed three kilometres away in a wood. We waited for three-quarters of an hour for the reception committee but nobody came so we decided to hide about five kilometres away. We stayed hidden here in a small wood for two days after which I decided to go to the contact address which had been given to me in London in case of emergency. All went well and I was put in touch with the organisation.

The following morning we went to fetch the agent dropped with me and brought him back to the town. The day after this we left as the Germans were looking for others. I went to Chteauroux where Hector came to see me four days later.

2. Cover.

The cover story given me in London was of use for the first two months after which I had to change it. As regards papers, I obtained the necessary papers for my new cover story from a contact I made on the spot. The papers I had were entirely false and were not registered, although in October 1943 I was able to obtain an identity card which was registered. I was once questioned by the Gestapo on the train on this cover story and after half-an-hour it was accepted. (I think that one reason why this cover story was accepted was because my age was 33. Had I been 23 they would have gone into it more closely).

3. Situation in the area.

At the end of my arrival, the FTP were more willing than others to carry out Rsistance work although later on, in September and October, a great improvement all round was noticed. The impression was that most people would have liked to have helped, but to start with they were too fearful.

4. Organisation.

The organisation had only been going for about two months before my arrival and nothing much had been done because we had very few contacts. For details of the set-up of the organisation when it had developed, see attached scheme.

5. Recruits.

We had two contacts from London and these two gave us names of others and thus helped to build up the organisation. If a man was not recommended to us in the first place and we particularly wanted him we would always make full enquiries about him and then would send someone else to recruit him. A person sent to recruit a man would know him beforehand. The recruiting for the sabotage troops was always done by the heads of the groups themselves. We frequently made use of messages over the BBC for convincing people of our bona fides.