| Original caption: “Audience in demolition class.” “Jedburghs” of Special Operations Executive (SOE) at Milton Hall, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Jedburghs were 3-man teams consisting of an American or British officer and radioman paired with a French, Belgian, or Dutch soldier. The continental officers took nom de guerres to protect their families. They were dropped behind enemy lines to coordinate operations with the They are in a demolition training lecture by Colonel George R. Musgrave (September 3, 1909 – 1958) Officer Commanding Milton Hall. Lecture on demolition subject headings were listed on the blackboard: 1.) What is demolition? 2.) Explosive, detonation, initiation 3.) Linking 4.) Calculation 5.) Standard charges 6.) Incendiaries 7.) Conclusions. Demolition classes included practical exercises — blowing up trees and old cars. Selected identifications, in the front row left to right: United Kingdom Royal Army Sergeant John B. “Jock” Lindsey (January 16, 1920 – c. 1967) parachuted into Norway with the Quaver operation, was immediately beset with German soldiers, and was wounded; he escaped with the help of the Norwegian Resistance. United Kingdom Royal Army Sergeant Kenneth Seymour (October 10, 1921 – 2004) parachuted into France as part of Jedburgh Team Jacob on the night of August 12-13, 1944. The French Army team member, Lieutenant Maurice Boissarie (February 21, 1914 – September 4, 1944), nom de guerre “Guy Baraud,” was killed in a gun battle with German troops and Seymour was captured. Team Jacob member United Kingdom Royal Army Captain Victor Gough (September 11, 1918 – November 25, 1944) was captured and executed along with 2 French priests. Next to Seymour is Captain Hugo Hood (August 27, 1915 – August 1, 1968) of the Somerset Light Infantry; he was the officer attached to Team Paul, which parachuted into Dijon on August 18, 1944. There and at Étalante, Team Paul coordinated air drops of arms and ammunition to resistance fighters for over a month. 2nd row center: Captain Giles Maunoury (September 25, 1915 – August 15, 1979) nom de guerre “Bourriot” of Team Desmond, dropped into Côte d’Or on September 4, 1944. Since the Americans had overran their operational area, Team Desmond wasn’t used effectively, and requested relief. Maunoury was seconded to Team Claude, which attempted to prevent the Communist Francs-tireurs et partisans (FTP, “Partisan Irregular Rilfemen”), from seizing Dijon. Team Desmond returned to London on September 17. 3rd Row: United Kingdom Royal Army Captain Godfrey Marchant (September 24, 1910 – April 4, 1945) at left, and United Kingdom Royal Army Sergeant Ivor A. Hooker (November 27, 1923 – July 17, 1988), 4th from left, were the British members of Team Aubrey. Dropped into France within sight of Paris on August 11, 1944, with Lieutenant Adrien Chaigneau (May 19, 1911 – August 27, 1944), nom de guerre “Telmon” was the French Army officer attached to Team Aubrey. Inserted with a substantial cache of weapons and explosives, Team Aubrey moved to the 17th Arrondissement in Paris itself, and then moved to Forfry, where Hooker came down with a mumps infection. After hooker recovered weeks later, Joining a convoy of maquisards in vehicles on the night of August 26, the resistance came under fire from a tank and armored car in Oissery at 0900 Hours the next day. The resistance and the Jedberghs killed an estimated 45 Nazi German soldiers, but they took no prisoners and killed twice as many maquisards. Chaigneau was killed helping a nurse escape down a riverbed. Marchant and Hooker were separated; Marchant hid in the river for 8 hours. They reunited at Forfry, their previous base of operations. The surviving members of Team Aubrey returned to London on September 6. Marchant was killed in action in Burma. Next to Hooker is United States Army Captain Philip W. Donovan (July 2, 1922 – March 28, 2007) of Team Jim. Jumping on September 16, 1944, with French Army Lieutenant José de Francesco (October 9, 1920 – July 26, 2004), nom de guerre “Jean Lavige,” and United States Army Technical Sergeant Michael F. Henely (May 7, 1923 – May 1, 2012), Team Jim landed a few miles from Reugney in the early morning of September 16, 1944. After connecting with the 36th Division, 7th Army to search for Team Jacob, Team Jim left de Francesco in Paris and returned to the United Kingdom on October 5. 4th Row: United Kingdom Royal Army Sergeant Neville Wood (November 23, 1923 – June 1994) of Team Gilbert at left. Jumping on July 9, 1944, with United Kingdom Royal Army Captain Christopher Blathwayt (January 8, 1912 – April 3, 1990) and French Army Captain Paul Carron de la Carrière (March 4, 1920 – March 12, 1987) nom de guerre “Pierre Charron,” they exited their “Carpetbagger” Consolidated B-24 Liberator too fast and too low, without injury but smashing their radios and equipment. After a frustrating 10 days passing messages through other Jedburgh teams, Gilbert was able to coordinate devastating attacks on Nazi German columns at Bénodet, Concarneau, Audierne, and more. Hundreds of Nazi Germans were killed by loosely coordinated attacks between the Forces françaises de l’Intérieur (FFI – “French Forces of the Interior”) and American armor. The Americans pulled back reconnaissance elements, leaving the maquis exposed, which frustrated the FFI and the Jedburghs. This culminated in a friendly fire incident on September 3, when American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Martin B-26 Marauders bombed Talgruc, which was already occupied by the Allies, killing 60 Americans, 25 maquis, and 20 civilians. Effective Nazi German resistance in Brittany ceased with the fall of Brest on September 18. The next day, de la Carrière was seriously injured and Wood was slightly injured in a car accident. The French officer was obliged to spend 2 months in hospital, while Wood and Blathwayt returned to London via Paris by September 28. 4th from left: United Kingdom Royal Army Sergeant Alan de Ville (December 3, 1923 – still living as of June 2024) of Team Arnold. With French Army Captain Michel Gaultier de Carville (September 26, 1913 – October 27, 1982) nom de guerre “Coudray,” and United Kingdom Royal Army Lieutenant James Monahan (December 16, 1912 – November 23, 1985), Team Arnold, wearing civilian clothes, dropped into Igny-Comblizy on August 25, 1944, to make contact with resistance groups organizing escape routes for Allied aircrews. While their weapons caches were recovered, their personal gear and radio crystals were lost. They armed the local maquisards, but found that the Allied advance outpaced their efforts to organize the FFI. By September 19, Team Arnold visited de Carville’s home in Normandy before returning to Paris on September 24, and to London on September 27, where they reported they achieved nothing of import by their own admission. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0423.jpg |
| Image Size | 769.98 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2916 x 2304 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of Strategic Services |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1944 |
| Location | Milton Hall |
| City | Peterborough |
| State or Province | Cambridgeshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-226-FPL-MH(48) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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