He is also the chap in civilan clothes in the group of officers which includes the Hon David Herbert and Nigel Warrington-Smyth (partly effaced).
J-J Allen and Jean-Jacques Tremayne are one and the same person.
French Naval Officers who joined the Royal Navy after the Fall of France were in double jeopardy. Like de Gaulle himself, they might be condemned to death in absentia by Court Martial in France, but they were also violently disliked by the Gaullists who considered that all patriotic Frenchmen ought to join the Free French Forces. Hence their adoption of British pseudonyms.
J-J’s original surname was Gilbert, but presumably, after his stay in Cornwall, he preferred to adopt “Tremayne” rather than the “Allen” given him by the RN in 1940 when he became one of the officers in ‘Fidelity’.
He was one of the very few survivors when that ship was lost with over 400 crew.
The plan (below)was sent to me by Geoffrey Hudson. The designer of MFV 2023 was Jack Laurent Giles, then working in the Director of Naval Constructors Office in Bath.
The picture of the ship taken from the air shows her at speed during an operation.
SIR BROOKS RICHARDS
Blandford Forum, Dorset
Jack Laurent Giles’ plans for the ‘Angele Rouge’ euphemistically describe her as a Fast Harbour Despatch Boat.
The fishing boat superstructure disguised a high-speed hull with two 500 hp engines and concealed exhausts.
The speed was necessary to place the boat amongst the French fishing fleet at day-break after travelling between Tresco and Britanny under cover of darkness.
This photograph taken by RAF Coastal Command shows MFV 2003 at speed off Tresco
Someone who witnessed the unveiling ceremony on Tresco last summer, writes....
Dear Commodore
During our holdays this year, I was fortunate enough to watch the unveiling of the Special Forces memorial plaque at Braiden Rock on 2 July.
Covert operations and clandestine warfare require a mindset that places a high value on innovation, resourcefulness and a readiness to abandon convention - as well as the courage and determination to succeed.
It was therefore an enormous privilege to be a witness to the simple but moving ceremony that was played out in that understated, almost self-effacing way which is characteristic of many Special Forces operations. Those taking part who were involved in those activities of many years ago - both British and French - behaved with a quiet dignity and modesty which I found salutary and impressive beyond words.
The occasion, though belatedly marking events which occurrred over half a centiury ago, was invested wiith contemporary significance and relevance by the presence of both Sir Michael Rose, the quintessential soldiers’ general, and the Director General of the Imperial War Museum, Mr Robert Crawford. General Rose epitomises the very best of the true spirit and role of the Special Forces, and his attendance confirms that the potential to excel and succeed - so typical of those who were involved in the secret flotillas that sailed from Tresco in the 1940s - exists today as it did then.
We have been coming to Scilly since 1959, and the lifting of the 50-year rule begs a personal question: were some of those seals that swam around our kayaks, as my wife and I canoed around the Eastern Isles, really my former colleagues from the SBS, working under cover? Or - perish the thought - was it the SAS Boat Troop’s subtle way of telling me that the Regiment, not the Marines, are really ‘Number One’ under water?!
As restrictions continue to be lifted, who knows what other secrets Tresco’s past may yield....? Finally, can I say that Sir Brooks Richard’s book ‘Secret Flotillas’ is a splendid read. Buy it while you can.
Yours sincerely
MIKE WILLIAMS Stourbridge, West Midlands
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