Operations PILCHARD, BREWER and CIVETTE:
Henri Clastere and Paul Bodhaine’s sabotage missions in France during the Second World War
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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)
Keywords
Soviet UnionFranceRepublique FrancaiseRFSpecial Operations ExecutiveSOESecret Intelligence ServiceSISBletchley ParkBrickendonbury ManorRingway AerodromeWanborough ManorWinterfoldGumley HallBeaulieuRAF TempsfordRAF HarringtonMeobleparachutageatterrissageparamilitary trainingsabotageRadio ParisRenault CaudronV1 and V2 rocketsSpecial Duties SquadronGaynes HallHowbury HallHenri ClasterePaul BodhaineMaxime GaudinBCRABureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action Militaire