Amédée Maingard

Amédée Maingard (21 October 1918 - 1981) was born in Mauritius, then a British colony. During World War II (1939–1945) he served with distinction with the British special services supporting the French resistance, and was awarded medals by the British and French governments. After the war he returned to Mauritius and became a successful businessman.

Wartime career

René Amédée Louis Pierre Maingard de la Ville-ès-Offrans was studying in London in 1939 at the outbreak of the second world war, and volunteered for the British Army .^[1] After an unrewarding period in the infantry, Maingard managed to join the Special Operations Executive F section in 1942. He was parachuted into occupied France in April 1943 to join the 'Stationer' circuit run by Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate, initially as radio operator but soon was second-in-command in the circuit, arranging the delivery of weapons, supplies and personnel to the maquisards of the French Resistance.

Southgate was arrested by the Gestapo in May, 1944, and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Maingard, promoted to Major, took over the running of the circuit (renamed 'Shipwright') and expanded its size and scope of operations, operating between Poitiers and Montluçon. The circuit was especially active in the sabotage that took place on and after D-Day (June 6, 1944), supporting the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur and the arrival of fifty-five men of 1st SAS Regiment for the ill-fated Operation Bulbasket^[2][3] shortly after D-Day.

He continued his vital work until the liberation of central France, managing to keep the peace among the Gaullists, Communists, British and Americans fighting for the French common cause. He earned the Croix de Guerre from the French government in 1944 and the Distinguished Service Order from the British government in June 1945. ^[4]

Later career

Maingard returned to Mauritius and helped develop the island's tourism industry, founding Air Mauritius in 1967.^[5] He became one of his country's most successful post-war businessmen. Amédée Maingard died in 1981 at the age of 62, just before a boom in the tourist industry that he had helped establish.

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