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This article lists the clandestine networks, also known as circuits, (réseaux in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
) established in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
by F Section of 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 p ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The SOE agents assigned to each network are also listed. SOE agents, with a few exceptions, were trained in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
before being infiltrated into France. Some agents served in more than one network and are listed more than once. The clandestine networks and agents were "dedicated to encourage and aid resistance" to the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
occupation of the country. Activities included gathering intelligence, organizing and supplying indigenous resistance groups, and sabotaging transportation, communications, and industrial facilities. A typical SOE network had three agents: (1) Circuit organiser: leader, planner, and recruiter of new members. 2) Wireless Radio Operator: send and receive wireless messages to and from SOE headquarters in London, encode and decode messages, maintain wireless sets. (3) Courier or messenger: travel between organiser, wireless operator, and resistance groups to deliver and receive messages, and, on occasion, deliver explosives and other equipment. Large networks sometimes had more than one courier and wireless operator. Each network was given a name and each agent belonging to the network had one or more code names and aliases which he used in France. For example, SOE organiser
George Reginald Starr George Reginald Starr (6 April 1904 – 2 September 1980), 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 ...
was the organiser of the Wheelwright network and known as "Hilaire" to French contacts in the Resistance and to other SOE personnel. Nearly 50 SOE networks were operating in France when the country was liberated from German control in 1944. Forty-three circuits were no longer existent at that time of which 31 had been destroyed by the Germans. Approximately 470 SOE agents served in France during World War II. The
Valençay SOE Memorial The Valençay SOE Memorial is a monument in France to the members of the Special Operations Executive F Section who lost their lives working to liberate the country during World War II. The memorial was unveiled in the town of Valençay, in the ...
in
Valençay Valençay () is a commune in the Indre department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley. It sits at the end of a plateau. on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon. Va ...
, France lists the names of 91 men and 13 women who were killed, executed, or died in prison while serving as SOE agents.


Networks, operations, and personnel


Asymptote

Operation Asymptote was mounted in February 1944, while the Operational Instructions were quite clear, the disguised objective was to rescue two agents Émile Bollaert and Pierre Brossolette who had been captured on 2 February 1944 while trying to leave Brittany by boat.
F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas Wing Commander Forest Frederick Edward Yeo-Thomas, (17 June 1902 – 26 February 1964), known as "Tommy", was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in the Second World War. Codenamed "Seahorse" and "Shelley" in the SOE, Yeo-Thomas ...
(alias Shelley, alias Asymptote alias Cheval) and Maurice Lostrie (alias Trieur) were dropped on the night of 24 February 1944 by a RAF Halifax of 161 Squadron on DZ (Drop-zone) Sarrall, 16 km NE of Montluçon, Allier. Yeo-Thomas was captured by the Gestapo on 21 March 1944. Brossolette died while trying to escape the next day.


Autogiro

The first SOE network, organised in Paris by
Pierre de Vomécourt Pierre de Crevoisier de Vomécourt (1 January 1906, Chassey-lès-Montbozon, Haute-Saône – 1986), code name Lucas, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to condu ...
in May 1941, but destroyed in May 1942 after being betrayed by Mathilde Carre. *
Georges Bégué Georges Pierre André Bégué (22 November 1911 – 18 December 1993),Social Security Death Index code named Bombproof, was a French engineer and agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine organization, the Special Operations Executive (SO ...
– wireless operator; the first SOE agent in France, arriving by parachute the night of 5/6 May 1941. * Noel Fernand Rauol Burdeyron (real name, Norman F. Burley) – agent, single-handedly derailed German supply train by pulling up a rail, Autogiro's only successful attack *
Christopher Burney Christopher Arthur Geoffrey Burney MBE (1917 – 18 December 1980) was an upper-class Englishman who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Biography In 1941, Pierre de Vomécourt organized AUTOGYRO, one of the ...
– assigned to assist Burdeyron * Marcel Clech – wireless operator * Raymond Henry Flower *
Pierre de Vomécourt Pierre de Crevoisier de Vomécourt (1 January 1906, Chassey-lès-Montbozon, Haute-Saône – 1986), code name Lucas, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to condu ...
– organiser


Headmaster

* Sonya Butt – courier * Pierre-Raimond Glaesner – instructor * Charles Sydney "Soapy" Hudson – organiser * George Jones – wireless operator * Brian Rafferty - organiser


Permit

Operated from July to September 1944 * Robert Bruhl – assistant * Gerard Dedieu – organiser * Ginette Jullian – courier * Charles Ronald Shearn. Arrived in France 8 August 1944. Killed in Burma, 1945.


Physician

Also known as Prosper. Operated in northern France from October 1942 to June 1943. SOE's most important network during that time. Agents continued to be sent to the Prosper network for some time after it came under control of the Germans in June 1943. * Francine Agazarian – courier *
Jack Agazarian Jack Charles Stanmore Agazarian (27 August 1915 – 29 March 1945), code name Marcel, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in France during World War II. The purpose of SOE was ...
– wireless operator *
Andrée Borrel Andrée Raymonde Borrel (18 November 1919 – 6 July 1944), code named Denise, was a French woman who served in the French Resistance and as an agent for Britain's clandestine Special Operations Executive in World War II. The purpose of SOE was ...
– courier * Jacques Bureau – radio technician * George William Darling – group leader *
Henri Dericourt Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mon ...
, air operations officer *
Noor Inayat Khan Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The purpose of S ...
, wireless operator. Captured, executed 13 Sep 1944 at Dachau. *
Gilbert Norman Gilbert Maurice Norman (7 April 1915 – 6 September 1944) was a British Army officer who served in the Special Operations Executive in France during World War II. Norman was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine, to an English father and a Fre ...
– wireless operator *
Francis Suttill Francis Alfred Suttill DSO (born, France, 17 March 1910 – executed, c. 23 March 1945), code name Prosper, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in World War II. Suttill was the crea ...
—organiser. Arrived in France on 2 October 1942. Captured, executed. * Madeleine Tambour * Germaine Tambour


Silversmith

* Henri Borosh - organiser.Foot, M. R. D. (1966), ''SOE in France'', London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 374. *
Madeleine Lavigne Madeleine Lavigne (born, Lyon, February 6, 1912 - died, Paris, February 24, 1945), code name ''Isabelle'', was a member of the French Resistance and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization duri ...
– courier and wireless operator


Map of networks as of June 1943

The map below shows the major SOE F Section networks which existed in France in June 1943, based on the map published in Rita Kramer's book "Flames in the Field" (Michael Joseph Ltd, 1995). Note: The map does not show the correct location of the original
Autogiro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
network, which operated in the Paris area and did not exist after the spring of 1942. However the network was later revived by
Francis Suttill Francis Alfred Suttill DSO (born, France, 17 March 1910 – executed, c. 23 March 1945), code name Prosper, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in World War II. Suttill was the crea ...
, organiser of Prosper.


See also

* List of SOE Agents * List of Female SOE Agents *
SOE F Section Codenames & Aliases This is an incomplete list detailing the codenames and aliases used by F Section agents of the Special Operations Executive. A * Achille - Roland Dowlen * ACROBAT - John Starr * ACTOR - Roger Landes * Adele - Lisé de Baissac * ADMINISTRATOR ...
*
Timeline of SOE's Prosper Network The Prosper Network, also called the Physician Network, was the most important network in France of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in 1943. SOE was a secret British organization in World War II. The objectives of SOE were to conduct espio ...


References

{{reflist Special Operations Executive