George Reginald Starr
Encyclopedia
George Reginald Starr DSO
MC
(6 April 1904 - 2 September 1980) was a British
mining engineer and one of the Special Operations Executive
's best secret agents during World War II
.
.
He was educated at Ardingly College
, and at the age of 16, undertook a seven-year apprenticeship as a coal-miner in Shropshire. After studying mining engineering at the Royal School of Mines
, Imperial College London
, he joined the Glasgow
firm of Mavor and Coulson Ltd, manufacturers of mining equipment.
, Belgium
when the German invasion began. He escaped back to England with British forces in the Dunkirk evacuation. He joined the British Army
, being commissioned on the General List. He was subsequently recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for his language skills and give the code name Hilaire. His brother John Renshaw Starr
was also a member of the SOE.
In November 1942, shortly before German forces began their occupation of the Vichy Republic
, he arrived secretly by boat on the Mediterranean coast of France
. Based in Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon
, posing as a retired Belgian mining engineer who had made a fortune in the Congo, he successfully organised a French Resistance
network in the southwest corner of France, between Toulouse
, Bordeaux
and the Pyrenees
, designated by the SOE as the 'Wheelwright Sector'. Starr spied on the German 11th Tank Division near Bordeaux. The group he led also cut telephone
and power line
s and sabotage
d power station
s. He managed to persuade anticommunist and communist resistance member to join forces to fight the German occupiers. One of his team members was Denise Bloch
.
In 1944, before the Normandy Invasion, Starr created an armed group called the "Armagnac Battalion" in Toulouse
. During the invasion, they destroyed communication and transportation lines. When the SS Panzer
division Das Reich tried to reinforce the German forces in Normandy, Starr's troops delayed it so it arrived too late to stop the landings. During the Liberation, Starr's group took control of the Toulouse area. When Charles de Gaulle
visited the region, he got into a spirited argument with Starr and threatened to imprison him, until de Gaulle apparent changed his mind and shook Starr's hand.
He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order
, the Military Cross
, and the Croix de Guerre
Avec Palme. He was also made an Officer of the Légion d'honneur
. The United States
government awarded him the Medal of Freedom
with Silver Bar. He finished the war with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
to direct the re-opening of German coal mines. He later returned to Mavor and Coulson as managing director before retiring to live in France.
Starr died in a hospital in Senlis
, France
in 1980.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(6 April 1904 - 2 September 1980) was a British
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...
mining engineer and one of 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...
's best secret agents during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
He was born in London, one of two sons of American Alfred Demarest Starr and Englishwoman Ethel Renshaw. He was a grandson of William Robert RenshawWilliam Robert Renshaw
William Robert Renshaw was an English industrialist and foundryman.Renshaw was born to an agricultural family in Handforth in the county of Cheshire, England...
.
He was educated at Ardingly College
Ardingly College
Ardingly College is a selective independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present...
, and at the age of 16, undertook a seven-year apprenticeship as a coal-miner in Shropshire. After studying mining engineering at the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
, Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, he joined the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
firm of Mavor and Coulson Ltd, manufacturers of mining equipment.
World War II
In 1940, he was working in LiègeLiège (province)
Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
when the German invasion began. He escaped back to England with British forces in the Dunkirk evacuation. He joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, being commissioned on the General List. He was subsequently recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for his language skills and give the code name Hilaire. His brother John Renshaw Starr
John Renshaw Starr
John Renshaw Starr , was one of two sons of Alfred Demarest Starr and Ethel Renshaw . He was a grandson of William Robert Renshaw. He was an artist and a soldier during the Second World War. His story is told in a book, The Starr Affair, by Jean Overton Fuller.-Military career:When war broke out...
was also a member of the SOE.
In November 1942, shortly before German forces began their occupation of the Vichy Republic
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, he arrived secretly by boat on the Mediterranean coast of France
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...
. Based in Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon
Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon
Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, posing as a retired Belgian mining engineer who had made a fortune in the Congo, he successfully organised a French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
network in the southwest corner of France, between Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, designated by the SOE as the 'Wheelwright Sector'. Starr spied on the German 11th Tank Division near Bordeaux. The group he led also cut telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and power line
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
s and sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
d power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s. He managed to persuade anticommunist and communist resistance member to join forces to fight the German occupiers. One of his team members was Denise Bloch
Denise Bloch
Denise Madeleine Bloch was a French secret agent working with the British Special Operations Executive in World War II.- Early life :...
.
In 1944, before the Normandy Invasion, Starr created an armed group called the "Armagnac Battalion" in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. During the invasion, they destroyed communication and transportation lines. When the SS Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
division Das Reich tried to reinforce the German forces in Normandy, Starr's troops delayed it so it arrived too late to stop the landings. During the Liberation, Starr's group took control of the Toulouse area. When Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
visited the region, he got into a spirited argument with Starr and threatened to imprison him, until de Gaulle apparent changed his mind and shook Starr's hand.
He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
Avec Palme. He was also made an Officer of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government awarded him the Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
with Silver Bar. He finished the war with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
Post-war
After the war, he was sent to Essen in the Ruhr districtRuhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
to direct the re-opening of German coal mines. He later returned to Mavor and Coulson as managing director before retiring to live in France.
Starr died in a hospital in Senlis
Senlis, Oise
Senlis is a French commune located in the Oise department near Paris. It has a long and rich heritage, having traversed centuries of history. This medieval town has welcomed some of the most renowned figures in French history, including Hugh Capet, Louis IX, the Marshall of France, Anne of Kiev and...
, France
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...
in 1980.