This article lists the clandestine networks, also known as circuits, (réseaux in French) established in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

by F Section of the British

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 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, George Reginald Starr was the organiser of SOE's Wheelwright network and known as "Hilaire" to French contacts in the Resistance and to other SOE personnel. Sixty SOE F Section networks are listed below as operating in France during World War II. Forty-three circuits were no longer existent at the time that France was fully liberated from German control 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 died working to liberate the country during World War II. The memorial was unveiled in the town of Valençay, in the Departments o ...

in Valençay, France lists the names of 91 men and 13 women who were killed, executed, or died in prison while serving as SOE agents. The field agents and networks were supported by F Section headquarters in London. The staff of F Section consisted of 24 people in 1944. Its key members were leader Maurice Buckmaster, assistant Vera Atkins, and deputy Nicholas Bodington. Jacques de Guélis was briefing officer, Gerrard Morel was signals officer, Robert Bourne-Patterson was planning officer, Selwyn Jepson was the recruiting officer, and Leo Marks was in charge of coding and cyphers. F Section headquarters were on

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...

but meetings with agents took place at apartments in Orchard Court. Administration, training, transportation, technology, etc. were handled by other SOE sections. SOE employment totaled about 13,000.

Networks and personnel

All names of networks and dates for the operations of individual networks are from

M. R. D. Foot Michael Richard Daniell Foot, (14 December 1919 – 18 February 2012) was a British political and military historian, and former British Army intelligence officer with the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Foot was the a ...

's ''SOE in France'' (2004), pages 466-467. Dates of network operations are inclusive; some networks had lengthy periods of inactivity within the dates cited. Individual agents may have served in more than one network or during only part of the time the network was operational.

Acrobat (September 1942 to May 1944)

* John Renshaw Starr (1908–1996), organiser * George Donovan Jones, wireless operator * Harry Rée (1914–1991) * Diana Rowden (1915–1944), courier, code name "Paulette" * John Cuthbert Young (1907–1944), wireless operator, code name "Gabriel", executed

Author/Digger (September 1943 to August 1944)

* Jacques Poirier – organiser * Harry Peulevé (1916–1963), wireless operator, organizer * Louis Bertheau (1919–1944), wireless operator

Autogiro (March 1941 to August 1942)

* Pierre de Vomécourt (1906–1986), organiser, code name "Lucas." * Georges Bégué (1911–1993), wireless operator; the first SOE agent to be sent to France, arriving by parachute the night of 5/6 May 1941. * André Bloch (1914–1942), wireless operator * Noel Fernand Rauol Burdeyron (real name, Norman F. Burley), agent * Christopher Burney (1917–1980), assistant * Marcel Clech (1905–1944), wireless operator. code name "Bastien" * Roger Cottin - assistant * Raymond Henry Flower

Bricklayer (November 1942 to February 1944)

* France Antelme (1900–1944), organiser, Code name "Dumontet" * Madeleine Damerment (1917–1944), courier, code name "Solange"

Butler (August 1942 to August 1944)

* Jean Bouguennec (1912–1944), organiser, code name "Max" * Marcel Rousset, wireless operator, code name "Leopold" * Marcel Fox, courier, code name "Ernest"

Carte (September 1941 to May 1943)

* Andée Girard, (1901–1968), organiser

Chancellor (June to September 1944)

* George Millar, organiser

Chestnut (May 1942 to August 1943)

* William Grover-Williams (1903–1945), organiser, code name "Sebastien" * Robert Benoist (1904–1944), code name "Lionel" *

Jean-Pierre Wimille Jean-Pierre Wimille (; 26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a French racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939. He is generally re ...

(1908–1949) * Robert Dowlen (1907–1945), wireless operator, code name "Richard"

Cinema/Photo (January 1943 to February 1944)

* Emile Garry (1909–1944), organiser * Noor Inayat Khan (1914–1944), wireless operator, code name "Madeleine"

Clergyman (October 1943 to August 1944)

* Denise Bloch (1916–1945), courier, wireless operator, code name 'Ambroise"

Corsican (October 1941 to July 1943)

Detective (July 1942 to August 1944)

* Henri Sevenet (1914–1944), organiser * Brian Stonehouse (1918–1998), wireless operator, code name "Celestine"

Digger see Author)

Diplomat (October 1943-August 1944)

* Adher Pierre Arthur Watt, organiser, code name "Geoffroi", survived.

Donkeyman (July 1942 to August 1944)

* Marguerite Knight (1920–2004), courier, code name, "Nicole" *

Odette Sansom Odette Marie Léonie Céline Hallowes, (née Brailly; 28 April 1912 – 13 March 1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Sansom, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in ...

(1912–1995), courier

Facade/Tilleul (August 1941 to August 1944)

Farmer (November 1942 to September 1944)

* Michael Trotobas (1914–1943), organiser

Farrier (December 1942 to May 1944)

* Henri Dericourt, air operations officer, code name "Gilbert" * Juliane Aisner, courier, code name Clair * Rene Clement, assistant

Fireman (March 1944 to September 1944)

* Patricia O'Sullivan, wireless operator, code name "Simonet"

Footman (January to September 1944)

* George Hiller — organiser * Cyril Arthur Watney -- code name "Eustache," wireless operator, survived

Freelance (April 1944 to September 1944)

* Nancy Wake, courier, code name Helene, survived.

Greenheart (July 1942 to August 1943)

Headmaster (September 1942 to August 1944)

* Charles Sydney "Soapy" Hudson, organiser * Francisque Eugene Bec (1905-1944), instructor * Sonya Butt, courier, code name "Blanche" * Pierre-Raimond Glaesner, instructor * George Jones, wireless operator * Brian Dominic Rafferty (1919-1945), courier, organiser, code name "Dominique"

Heckler/Saint (September 1941 to August 1944)

* Virginia Hall, courier, code names "Marie" and "Diane"

Historian (April 1944 to August 1944)

* George Alfred Wilkinson, organizer, code name "Etienne", executed. * Lilian Rolfe, courier, code name "Nadine", executed.

Inventor (September 1942 to December 1943)

* Vera Leigh, courier, code name "Simone", executed. * Marcel Clech (1905-1944), wireless operator, code name "Bastien"

Jockey (March 1943 to September 1944)

* Francis Cammaerts, organiser, code name "Roger" * Christine Granville, courier, code name "Pauline" * Cecily Lefort, courier, code name "Alice."

Juggler (July 1942 to August 1944)

* Jean Alexandre Worms, organiser, code name "Robin", executed. * Sonia Olschanezky, courier, code name "Tania", executed.

Labourer (April to June 1944)

* Elisée Allard (1906–1944), courier, code name "Baudouin" * Odette Wilen, code name "Sophie", wireless operator, survived

Marksman (July 1942 to September 1944)

* Elizabeth Devereux-Rochester, courier, code name "Elizabeth"

Minister (March to September 1944)

* Dennis John Barrett (1916-1944), wireless operator, code name "Honore" * Yvonne Fontaine, courier, code name "Mimi"

Monk (June 1943 to March 1944)

* Eliane Plewman, courier, code name "Gaby"

Monkeypuzzle (July 1942 to August 1943)

* Marcel Clech (1905-1944), wireless operator, code name "Bastien"

Musician (November 1942 to August 1944)

* Gustave Biéler (1904-1944), organiser, code name "Guy" * Yolande Beekman, courier, code name "Yvonne"

Parson (June 1943 to February 1944)

* François Vallée (1912-1944), organiser, * George Clement (1917-1944), wireless operator, code name "Edouard" * Henri Gaillot (1896-1944), code name "Ignace"

Permit (July to September 1944)

* Robert Bruhl – assistant * Gerard Dedieu – organiser * Ginette Jullian, wireless operator, code name "Adele" * Charles Ronald Shearn. Arrived in France 8 August 1944. Killed in Burma, 1945.

Physician/Prosper (June 1942 to August 1943

Also known as Prosper. SOE's most important network in 1942-1943. Agents continued to be sent to the Prosper network for some time after it came under control of the Germans in June 1943. * Francis Suttill (1910-1945), organiser, code name "Prosper" * Francine Agazarian, courier, code name "Marguerite" * Jack Agazarian – wireless operator * James Frederick Amps (1908-1945), deputy, code name "Tomas" * Andrée Borrel (1919–1944), courier, code name "Denise" * Jacques Bureau – radio technician * George William Darling – group leader * Henri Dericourt, air operations officer * Noor Inayat Khan, wireless operator. Captured, executed 13 Sep 1944 at Dachau. * Gilbert Norman – wireless operator * Yvonne Rudelatt, courier, code name "Jacqueline" * Madeleine Tambour * Germaine Tambour

Pimento (July 1942 to August 1944)

* Anthony Brooks, organiser * Lise de Baissac, courier

Plane (April 1942 to August 1943)

* Marie-Thérèse Le Chêne, courier, code name "Adele"

Privet (July 1942 to June 1943)

* Edward (Teddy) Montfort Wilkinson, organiser, code name "Alexandre, executed."

Professor/Pedlar (February 1942 to August 1944)

Prosper (See Physician)

Prunus (April 1942 to April 1943)

Maurice Pertschuk Maurice Pertschuk , LdH, CdeG (31 July 1921 – 29 March 1945) was a French Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War. Early life The son of Jacob Joseph Pertschuk and Ethel Muriel (née Sborowfsky), Russian-born Jews wh ...

, organiser * Marcus Bloom (1907-1944), wireless operator, code name "Urbain" * Philippe de Gunzbourg, courier

Salesman (April 1943 to August 1944)

* Violette Szabo, courier, code name "Louise"

Satirist (July 1942 to March 1944

Scholar (May 1944 to July 1944

* Yvonne Baseden, courier, code name "Odette"

Scientist (July 1942 to August 1944

* Claude de Baissac, organiser * Lise de Baissac, courier. code name "Marguerite" * Mary Katherine Herbert, courier, code name "Claudine" * Roger Landes, wireless operator * Phyllis Latour, wireless operator, code name "Genevieve"

Scullion (April to September 1943)

* Phillip John Amphlett (1921-1945), saboteur

Shipwright (May 1944 to September 1944)

* Amédée Maingard, organiser, code name "Dede", survived. * Ivan Justin (Ian) Woolf, Dakota expert, code name 'Jean Paul", survived.

Silversmith (May to September 1944)

* Henri Borosh - organiser. * Madeleine Lavigne, wireless operator, code name "Isabelle"

Spindle (January 1942 to July 1943)

* Peter Churchill, organiser * Adolphe Rabinovitch, wireless operator *

, courier, code name "Lise"

Spruce/Gardener (September 1941 to August 1944)

* Edward (Ted) Zeff, code named "Georges 53", wireless operator, survived capture Originally published in 1958. List compiled by David M. Harrison.

Stationer (January 1943 to April 1944)

* Maurice Southgate, organiser * Amédée Maingard, wireless operator * Jacqueline Nearne, courier, code name "Jacqueline" * Pearl Witherington, courier, code names "Marie" and "Pauline"

Stockbroker/Judge (April 43 to September 1944)

* Éric Cauchi (1917-1944), arms instructor, code name "Pedro"

Tinker (September 1941 to August 1944)

Urchin (September 1941 to July 1943)

Ventriloquist (May 1941 to November 1942)

* Philippe de Vomécourt, organiser * Muriel Byck (1918-1944), wireless operator, code name "Violette" * Blanche Charlet, courier, code name "Christiane" * Henri Sevenet * Brian Stonehouse, organiser

Wheelwright (November 1942 to September 1944)

* George Reginald Starr, organiser * Claude Arnault, saboteur, code name "Néron." * Denise Bloch, courier, code name 'Ambroise" * Yvonne Cormeau, wireless operator, code name "Annette" * Philippe de Gunzbourg * Charles Ducharlard, saboteur * Dennis Parsons, wireless operator * Anne-Marie Walters, code name "Colette", courier, survived.

Wizard (March 1944 to July 1944)

* Eileen Nearne (1921–2010), wireless operator, code name "Rose", captured, survived.

Woodcutter (July to September 1944)

* Albert Victor Woerther, organizer, code name "Justin", survived.

Wrestler (May 1944 to September 1944)

* Pearl Witherington (1914–2008), organiser, code name "Marie" and "Pauline", survived. * Henri Cornioley

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 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, organiser of Prosper.

References

{{reflist Special Operations Executive