The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.
John Ashford Renshaw Starr, code names Emile and Bob, was a British artist and an agent in France of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II. He was the organiser (leader) of the Acrobat network which operated in Dijon. The purpose of SOE in occupied France was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
George Reginald Starr, code name Hilaire, was a British mining engineer and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organisation in World War II. He was the organiser (leader) of the Wheelwright network in southwestern France from November 1942 until the liberation of France from Nazi German occupation in September 1944. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents in France allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
The SOE F Section timeline lists the significant events in the history of Section F of the Special Operations Executive. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a clandestine organization of the United Kingdom during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Section F was responsible for many of SOE's activities in France which was occupied by Nazi Germany.
Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II in which three-man teams of operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Free French Bureau central de renseignements et d'action and the Dutch and Belgian armies in exile were dropped by parachute into occupied France, the Netherlands and Belgium. The objective of the Jedburgh teams was to assist allied forces who invaded France on 6 June 1944 with sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and leading local resistance forces in actions against the Germans.
André Dewavrin DSO, MC was a French officer who served with Free French Forces intelligence services during World War II.
Harry Alfred Rée, DSO, OBE was a British educationist and wartime member of the Special Operations Executive. Of the more than 400 SOE agents who worked in France during World War II, M.R.D. Foot, the official historian of the SOE, named Rée as one of the half-dozen best male agents.
Casque d'Or is a 1952 French historical drama film directed by Jacques Becker. It is a Belle Époque tragedy, the story of an ill-fated love affair between characters played by Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani. The story was loosely based on an infamous love triangle between the prostitute Amélie Élie and the Apache gang leaders Manda and Leca, which was the subject of much sensational newspaper reporting during 1902.
L'Étoile du Nord is a 1982 French film directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre and based on a novel by Georges Simenon, starring Simone Signoret, Philippe Noiret, Fanny Cottençon and Julie Jézéquel. It won a César Award for Best Adaptation and Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for Best Actress, Most Promising Actress and Best Editing.
The Confession is a 1970 French-Italian film directed by Costa-Gavras starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret.
Valentine Blanche Charlet MBE (1898–1985), code named Christiane, served in France as an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents in France allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Charlet was a courier. She was arrested and imprisoned by the Germans occupying France but escaped and returned safely to England.
Henri 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. He was betrayed to the Germans, deported and executed.
Le Chat is a 1971 French-language drama film directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre and based on Georges Simenon's 1967 novel The Cat. It recounts the story of an elderly married couple, Julien Bouin, a former typographist, and his wife Clemence, who used to perform in a circus, who have been loathing each other for years. They hardly talk to each other in their small house, soon to be demolished. Their only form of communication being occasional notes on scraps of paper. A stray cat being the only one he still gives affection to, the cat becomes the object of Clemence's anger. However, they are soon to understand that they cannot live without each other. The storyline of The Cat is speculated to have originated from Georges Simenon's difficult relationship with his mother.
Manèges is a French film directed by Yves Allégret and released in 1950. The film stars Simone Signoret, Bernard Blier and Jane Marken. It is shot in black-and-white in film noir style, with extensive use of flashback and the voiceover of characters' unspoken thoughts. Manèges is noted for the exceptionally harsh and cynical manner in which Allégret delineates the characters of his two female leads, and has been accused of being misogynistic in tone.
Thérèse Raquin is a 1953 French-Italian drama film directed by Marcel Carné and starring Simone Signoret, Raf Vallone and Jacques Duby. The story is loosely based on the 1867 novel of the same title by Émile Zola but with the setting updated to 1953. It was shot at the Neuilly Studios in Paris and on location in Lyon. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Bertrand. It was screened at the 14th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Silver Lion.
Maurice Southgate, code named Hector, was an officer in the Royal Air Force and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Operation Mardonius was a military operation directed against German ships in occupied Norway, planned and carried out in 1943 by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). The outcome of the operation was sinking of two ships in the harbour of Oslo, Ortelsburg of Hamburg and Tugela.
Elaine Marie Madden aka Meeus, aka Iomgen was a Belgian-born British agent of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. She was born in Poperinghe, Belgium and attended the British Memorial School in Ypres. She died in 2012 in Pont-Saint-Esprit, France.
