Robert Maloubier (2 February 1923 – 20 April 2015) was a French secret agent who worked for the British

Special Operations Executive 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 pu ...

(SOE) in World War II. He received his training at

Wanborough Manor Wanborough Manor is an Elizabethan manor house on the Hog's Back in Wanborough in the Borough of Guildford, Surrey. During World War II the manor house was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to train secret agents and was ...

in Surrey. Following the war, Maloubier went on to become a founding member of the

Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage Service may refer to: Activities * Academic administration, Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benef ...

. He also designed one of the world's first modern

diving watch A diving watch, also commonly referred to as a diver's or dive watch, is a watch designed for underwater diving that features, as a minimum, a water resistance greater than , the equivalent of . The typical diver's watch will have a water resis ...

es, when he saw the need for one that could be seen in muddy waters. He took his and Claude Riffaud's drawings to

Blancpain Blancpain SA () is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, headquartered in Paudex/Le Brassus, Switzerland. It designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells prestige and luxury mechanical watches. Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switze ...

, who then created its ''Fifty Fathoms'' watch that had a water resistance guaranteed for .

References

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
1923 births 2015 deaths People from Neuilly-sur-Seine French Special Operations Executive personnel Members of the Order of the British Empire {{france-bio-stub