Operations PILCHARD, BREWER and CIVETTE:

Operations PILCHARD, BREWER and CIVETTE:

Henri Clastere and Paul Bodhaine’s sabotage missions in France during the Second World War

ByBernard O'Connor

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In September 1941 the Empress of Canada docked in Glasgow after surviving a voyage through the Arctic from the Soviet Union. On board were some French soldiers who were escorted to Old Dean, a training camp near Camberley, Surrey. Interviewed by officers in the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action Militaire, the exiled French Intelligence Service, several were selected to be trained by the Special Operations Executive, a British clandestine warfare organisation, to destroy the Radio Paris station at Allouis, central France. Broadcasting Nazi propaganda and jamming the BBC French news and entertainment programmes, it was an important target. Over the following months Henri Clastere, Paul Bodhaine and Maxime Gaudin were provided with paramilitary, parachute and sabotage training. In early May 1942 they were dropped blind, without a reception committee, and within a few days blew up two of the masts at the wireless station. Making their way south, using forged documents and spending the 800,000 francs they had been given, they avoided capture, paid a guide to help them cross the Pyrenees and managed to return safely to Britain. Using contemporary British sources and translated extracts from French websites, Bernard O’Connor’s documentary history tells the story of this mission and two more they were involved in before the end of the war.

Details

Publication Date
Jun 12, 2025
Language
English
ISBN
9781326388782
Category
History
Copyright
Some Rights Reserved - Creative Commons (CC BY)
Contributors
By (author): Bernard O'Connor

Specifications

Pages
134
Binding Type
Paperback Perfect Bound
Interior Color
Color
Dimensions
A5 (5.83 x 8.27 in / 148 x 210 mm)

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