Henri Dericourt
Encyclopedia
Henri Dericourt was a French
agent for Special Operations Executive
. There is ambiguity as to whether he became a double agent for the Sicherheitsdienst
(SD), or was working under British instructions.
test pilot. After the defeat of France in 1940 he again became a civilian pilot.
In August 1942, Déricourt deceived local MI9
agents (Escape Service) in Marseilles and got transport to Britain
where he was investigated by MI5
(Security Service) who expressed concerns about him. Nevertheless, it would seem he was subsequently recruited by MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) before eventually having his name and credentials passed to the Special Operations Executive
(SOE). On January 22, 1943, SOE sent him into occupied France with the task of organising secret aircraft landing operations in the Loire district and the transport of SOE agents to and from Britain. His work brought him into contact with the Prosper Network and others transporting over 67 SOE agents in and out of France.
However, in the summer of 1943 the SD arrested several SOE agents and French resistance fighters and it was soon reported to London by some of the remaining agents on the ground that Déricourt had had regular contact with senior SD officers. However, senior SOE people and even Maurice Buckmaster
himself refused to believe the reports and Déricourt continued his work in France until February 1944. Recent evidence makes it clear that Déricourt established secret contacts with the SD straight after SOE parachuted him into France - in January 1943.
Déricourt's seeming duplicity was revealed after the war when war crimes investigators (including Vera Atkins
) received absolute information from German sources that Dericourt had been one of their agents, BOE48, and that the information he provided had led to the arrest and execution of several SOE agents.
After the war French authorities arrested Dericourt in November 1946. At his 1948 trial, a number of witnesses were unavailable to the prosecutors and Déricourt's own testimony was somewhat ambiguous. The prosecution case collapsed when the senior SOE figure Nicholas Bodington testified that he had authorised Déricourt to make and maintain contacts with the Germans. Déricourt was acquitted. This revelation came as a shock to all the other former SOE officers, and so began the mystery behind Bodington's testimony. Had someone authorised Bodington to give such evidence? Who had really authorised Déricourt to make contact with the Germans - and why?
Déricourt himself claimed later that SOE agents were deliberately sacrificed to distract attention from the Allied invasion plans. In fact, evidence has since emerged that Dericourt had been 'run' by MI6 throughout, and that his work for SOE had just been a cover to get him close to the Germans. This scenario was acknowledged by the SOE's Second in Command Harry Sporborg, who investigated Dericourt upon his return from France in February 1944. "There was no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Déricourt was being employed by MI6 for functions which were outside SOE's sphere of operations."
Henri Dericourt was killed in an aircraft accident on November 20, 1962 over Laos
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
agent for Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
. There is ambiguity as to whether he became a double agent for the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(SD), or was working under British instructions.
Life and work
Henri Déricourt was born in France in September 1909. As an adult he first became a civilian pilot and then French Air ForceFrench Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
test pilot. After the defeat of France in 1940 he again became a civilian pilot.
In August 1942, Déricourt deceived local MI9
MI9
MI9, the British Military Intelligence Section 9, was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, part of the War Office...
agents (Escape Service) in Marseilles and got transport to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where he was investigated by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
(Security Service) who expressed concerns about him. Nevertheless, it would seem he was subsequently recruited by MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) before eventually having his name and credentials passed to the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE). On January 22, 1943, SOE sent him into occupied France with the task of organising secret aircraft landing operations in the Loire district and the transport of SOE agents to and from Britain. His work brought him into contact with the Prosper Network and others transporting over 67 SOE agents in and out of France.
However, in the summer of 1943 the SD arrested several SOE agents and French resistance fighters and it was soon reported to London by some of the remaining agents on the ground that Déricourt had had regular contact with senior SD officers. However, senior SOE people and even Maurice Buckmaster
Maurice Buckmaster
Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster OBE was the leader of the French section of Special Operations Executive and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. He was a corporate manager with the French branch of the Ford Motor Company, in the postwar years serving in Dagenham...
himself refused to believe the reports and Déricourt continued his work in France until February 1944. Recent evidence makes it clear that Déricourt established secret contacts with the SD straight after SOE parachuted him into France - in January 1943.
Déricourt's seeming duplicity was revealed after the war when war crimes investigators (including Vera Atkins
Vera Atkins
Vera Atkins, CBE was a British Intelligence Officer during World War II.-Early life:...
) received absolute information from German sources that Dericourt had been one of their agents, BOE48, and that the information he provided had led to the arrest and execution of several SOE agents.
After the war French authorities arrested Dericourt in November 1946. At his 1948 trial, a number of witnesses were unavailable to the prosecutors and Déricourt's own testimony was somewhat ambiguous. The prosecution case collapsed when the senior SOE figure Nicholas Bodington testified that he had authorised Déricourt to make and maintain contacts with the Germans. Déricourt was acquitted. This revelation came as a shock to all the other former SOE officers, and so began the mystery behind Bodington's testimony. Had someone authorised Bodington to give such evidence? Who had really authorised Déricourt to make contact with the Germans - and why?
Déricourt himself claimed later that SOE agents were deliberately sacrificed to distract attention from the Allied invasion plans. In fact, evidence has since emerged that Dericourt had been 'run' by MI6 throughout, and that his work for SOE had just been a cover to get him close to the Germans. This scenario was acknowledged by the SOE's Second in Command Harry Sporborg, who investigated Dericourt upon his return from France in February 1944. "There was no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Déricourt was being employed by MI6 for functions which were outside SOE's sphere of operations."
Henri Dericourt was killed in an aircraft accident on November 20, 1962 over Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
.