Georges Bégué
Encyclopedia
Georges Bégué or George P. Begue (22 November 1911–18 December 1993) was a French
engineer
and agent in the Special Operations Executive
.
, France
. His father was a railway engineer and the family moved to Egypt
when Bégué was a child. Bégué also trained as an engineer at University of Hull where he learned English and met his wife. He went through his military service as a signaller
.
the Paris correspondent of the BBC who was working in SOE's F section. It was suggested that Bégué be parachuted into France.
on the night of May 5, 1941 with a heavy transmitter in a suitcase. He was the first SOE agent in France. He contacted socialist Max Hymans
in Valencay
and eventually convinced him that he was not a trap.
Bégué settled in Châteauroux
with his transmitter and sent the first message to London May 9, 1941. SOE sent three other agents, including Pierre de Vomécourt
, to join him. During the following six months Bégué helped to establish resistance network and agents in France and arranged arms drops. Bégué was the main contact to SOE in London and sometimes transmitted three times a day.
, would be used to overtly send pre-arranged coded messages (messages personnels) was accepted and led to widespread use, in the style of There is a fire at the insurance agency. This was to reduce radio traffic from SOE correspondents in France, and would even be used to tell SOE agents the sex of children born to their wives back in England. This culminated in the line from a French poem Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne blessent mon cœur d’une langueur monotone which explicitly warned Resistance
agents of the imminent invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The Germans knew what it meant, having earlier tortured a Resistance member, but (fortunately for the invasion's success) undue bureaucracy got in the way of propagating the message through to more-relevant commanders.
, the Vichy France
police, arrested him at Limoges
on October 3, 1941. His arrest led to more arrests and eventually to Bégué who was arrested October 24 in a Marseilles safe house
. He was sent to join other SOE agents in the Beleyme prison in Périgueux. They were later transferred to prison camp in Mauzac
on March 1942, thanks to intervention of the American Consul-General Hugh Fullerton. Bégué managed to create a duplicate key and the group escaped July 16, 1942, and transmitted from the camp which had left to the escape.
Bégué and others hid in Mauzac in the middle of a forest and continued to Lyon on July 23 in separate groups. They contacted Vic escape network and eventually walked to neutral Spain over the Pyrenees
. Bégué was interned at Figueres
and sent to Miranda de Ebro
prison camp
but were later released to continue his way to Britain. He managed to get to London in October 1942.
. He stayed in England, and having invaluable experience of being an SOE agent, he was not sent on any more operational duties. He was also awarded Military Cross
.
George Bégué died December 18, 1993 in Falls Church, Virginia
.
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...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and agent in 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...
.
Early life
Georges Bégué was born November 22, 1911 in PérigueuxPérigueux
Périgueux is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.Périgueux is the prefecture of the department and the capital of the region...
, 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...
. His father was a railway engineer and the family moved to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
when Bégué was a child. Bégué also trained as an engineer at University of Hull where he learned English and met his wife. He went through his military service as a signaller
Signaller
In the armed forces, a signaller or signaleer is a specialist soldier or seaman or airman responsible for military communications. Signallers, aka Combat Signallers or signalmen or women, are commonly employed as radio or telephone operators, relaying messages for field commanders at the front line...
.
Second World War
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Bégué was recalled to his unit. Because of his knowledge of English he was assigned to liaison with the British troops. He eventually escaped to Britain during the Dunkirk evacuation. After the surrender of France, he joined the Royal Signals as a sergeant, meeting Thomas CadettThomas Cadett
Thomas Cadett OBE, CBE was a Times journalist and later a BBC Radio correspondent based in Paris who worked for the Special Operations Executive.-Life and times:...
the Paris correspondent of the BBC who was working in SOE's F section. It was suggested that Bégué be parachuted into France.
SOE
In 1940 SOE recruited Bégué to the new French section, and gave him the alias Georges Noble. After a short training course, he was parachuted to IndreIndre
Indre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
on the night of May 5, 1941 with a heavy transmitter in a suitcase. He was the first SOE agent in France. He contacted socialist Max Hymans
Max Hymans
Max Hymans , was a notable leftist French politician, member of the resistance, and director of Air France.-Gallery:...
in Valencay
Valençay
Valençay is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-Geography:Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon.-History:...
and eventually convinced him that he was not a trap.
Bégué settled in Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
with his transmitter and sent the first message to London May 9, 1941. SOE sent three other agents, including Pierre de Vomécourt
Pierre de Vomécourt
Pierre de Crevoisier de Vomécourt was, during the Second World War, a Special Operations Executive agent, who founded and headed SOE's first Resistance network in occupied France, the AUTOGIRO network....
, to join him. During the following six months Bégué helped to establish resistance network and agents in France and arranged arms drops. Bégué was the main contact to SOE in London and sometimes transmitted three times a day.
Messages personnels
His suggestion that the BBC overseas service from 1940–44, Radio LondresRadio Londres
Radio Londres was a radio broadcast from 1940 to 1944 from the BBC in London to Nazi occupied France. It was entirely in French and was operated by Free French Forces who had escaped the German occupation...
, would be used to overtly send pre-arranged coded messages (messages personnels) was accepted and led to widespread use, in the style of There is a fire at the insurance agency. This was to reduce radio traffic from SOE correspondents in France, and would even be used to tell SOE agents the sex of children born to their wives back in England. This culminated in the line from a French poem Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne blessent mon cœur d’une langueur monotone which explicitly warned 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...
agents of the imminent invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The Germans knew what it meant, having earlier tortured a Resistance member, but (fortunately for the invasion's success) undue bureaucracy got in the way of propagating the message through to more-relevant commanders.
Arrest
One SOE agent Gerry Morel went off his own way to recruit resistance members and MiliceMilice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
, the Vichy France
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...
police, arrested him at Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
on October 3, 1941. His arrest led to more arrests and eventually to Bégué who was arrested October 24 in a Marseilles safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
. He was sent to join other SOE agents in the Beleyme prison in Périgueux. They were later transferred to prison camp in Mauzac
Mauzac
Mauzac may refer to:* Mauzac , a grape variety mainly grown in the Gaillac region southeast of Bordeaux in France* Mauzac, Haute-Garonne, a commune of the Haute-Garonne département in France...
on March 1942, thanks to intervention of the American Consul-General Hugh Fullerton. Bégué managed to create a duplicate key and the group escaped July 16, 1942, and transmitted from the camp which had left to the escape.
Bégué and others hid in Mauzac in the middle of a forest and continued to Lyon on July 23 in separate groups. They contacted Vic escape network and eventually walked to neutral Spain over the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. Bégué was interned at Figueres
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
and sent to Miranda de Ebro
Miranda de Ebro
Miranda de Ebro is a city on the Ebro river in the province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located in the north-eastern part of the province, on the border with the province of Álava and the autonomous community of La Rioja...
prison camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
but were later released to continue his way to Britain. He managed to get to London in October 1942.
Return to Britain
Bégué was appointed Signals Officer in the F section under Maurice BuckmasterMaurice 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...
. He stayed in England, and having invaluable experience of being an SOE agent, he was not sent on any more operational duties. He was also awarded 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....
.
Emigration to the United States
After the war Bégué emigrated to the United States. He worked in a number of menial jobs before he could officially become an electronics engineer. He also took US citizenship.George Bégué died December 18, 1993 in Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
.