SOE F Section networks
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These are the networks, also known as circuits, (or réseaux to their French participants) established in France by F Section of the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. See also SOE F Section timeline.
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Acrobat
- John Starr - organiser
- Jean Simon - organiser following Starr's arrest
- John Young - wireless operator
- Diana Rowden - courier
- Harry Rée - worked with Acrobat before taking charge of Stockbroker
Archdeacon
A network which was meant to be established by Frank Pickersgill and John Kenneth Macalister, who were both captured in June 1940 immediately upon arrival in France. The network became an operation run by the Germans.
Joseph Placke, an assistant in the wireless section at 84 Avenue Foch, impersonated Pickersgill, and Macalister's captured radio and codes were used to transmit false messages to London, arranging parachute drops of supplies, which of course fell into German hands. The fake operation continued until May 1944 and resulted in the capture of a sabotage instructor and six other agents sent to join the network.
Autogiro
A network which was organised in the Paris area by Pierre de Vomécourt, but which had been destroyed by the spring of 1942.
- Pierre de Vomécourt - organiser
- Georges Bégué
Donkeyman
A network organised following the collapse of Autogiro and built on the remnants of Carte. It had small groups over the whole of France.
- Henri Frager - organiser
- Vera Leigh - liaison officer
Farrier
An operation to organise aircraft landings and the reception of agents sent by such means.
- Henri Dericourt - organiser
- Julienne Aisner - courier
Inventor
A sub-circuit of the Prosper network.
- Sidney Jones - organiser and arms instructor
- Marcel Clech - wireless operator
- Vera Leigh - courier
Jockey
A network in the south-east
- Francis Cammaerts - organiser
- Pierre Reynaud - sabotage instructor
- Christine Granville - courier
- Cecily Lefort
Juggler
A sub-circuit of Prosper, operating from Châlons-sur-Marne, east of Paris. It also had headquarters in the rue Cambon, near the Place de la Concorde
- Jean Worms - organiser
- Jacques Weil - second in command
- Gustave Cohen - wireless operator
- Sonia Olschanezky - courier, administrator
Known also as Robin.
Marksman
Musician
A network in eastern Picardy.
- Gustave Biéler - organiser
- Yolande Beekman - wireless operator
Phono
- Emile Henri Garry - organiser
- Noor Inyat Khan - wireless operator
Prosper
- Francis Suttill - organiser
- Jack Agazarian - wireless operator
- Gilbert Norman - wireless operator
- Francine Agazarian - courier
- Andrée Borrel - courier
- Jacques Bureau - radio technician
Robin
An unofficial name for Juggler.
Scientist
A network in the area of Bordeaux.
- Claude de Baissac - organiser
- Harry Peulevé
Spindle
A network based in Montpellier.
- Peter Churchill - organiser
- André Girard
Spiritualist
- René Dumont-Guillemet - organiser
- Henri Diacono - wireless operator
Statione
A network with activities in the in the south and center of France, from Châteauroux to the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Stockbroker
- Harry Rée - organiser
Wheelwright
A network in the area of Toulouse.
- George Starr - organiser
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.