Date of birth:

February 26th, 1905 (Richmond/Surrey, United Kingdom)

Date of death:

April 1st, 1944 (Germany)

Service number:

270156

Nationality:

British

Charles Skepper, a London School of Economics graduate and teacher was an antique dealer, travelling between Paris and China. He volunteered for military service in 1939, being at some point in charge of the propaganda broadcasting station of the British Ministry of Information in Shanghai. After the Japanese invasion he spent some time with Chinese guerillas. Eventually captured and ill treated by the Japanese, he was extradited in an exchange of diplomats between the United Kingdom and Japan in December 1941.
Back in England he volunteered for Special Operations Executive. and flown in by Lysander together with Cicely Lefort. The citations for his MBE and CdG (see below) tell his story from here.
Skepper, who was betrayed by a Frenchman who was called "Bousquet" was one of the few SOE agents whose fate has never been finally resolved. As such he has no known date of death but it was recorded by the war Office as "Presumed died while in enemy hands on or shortly after 1 April 1944". The Commonwealth War Graves Comissions registered April 4, 1944 as his date of death.
He was probably killed in Buchenwald concentration camp, or the Gestapo prison in Hamburg.

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Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Temporary Captain

Unit:

F Section, Special Operations Executive (SOE), British Government

Awarded on:

February 28th, 1946

Citation:
"This officer was landed in FRANCE by LYSANDER on the 16th June 1943 to organise a circuit in the MARSEILLE region. In this area he worked for nine months and built up an effective sabotage group which carried out a number of successful operations against the enemy.
SKEPPER showed great organisation ability, and always personally directed the reception of the parachute deliveries.

Among the many acts of sabotage organised by SKEPPER was an attack on a synthetic oil plant at L'ESTAQUE, where three oil tanks were destroyed and 6 damaged, and the blocking of an important tunnel near the Italian border by the derailment of a train inside it. He also carried out a successful attack on a cement works at FOS SUR MER. In addition, several powerlines and railways were cut, and a number of locomotives damaged.

On the 25th March, 1944, Capt SKEPPER was arrested. He was severely tortured by the Gestapo, and was later transported to FRESNES and then to COMPIEGNE prison. There has been no news of him since.

This gallant officer carried out nine months work in French resistance, and during this time he built up an efficient circuit which caused considerable damage to enemy communications and industrial installations. He showed great courage, endurance and devotion to duty, and it is recommended that he be appointed Member in the Order of the British Empire (Military Division).

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Unit:

F Section, Special Operations Executive (SOE), British Government

Awarded on:

January 16th, 1946

Citation:
"British Officer who volunteered for special missions in occupied territory, landed on 16 Jun 1943 on the sout-west coast of France for cooperation with the resistance. In that period he worked hard to form multiples sabotage groups and reception of arms. He led numerous attacks on communication lines an most notably the destruction of atunnel near Cassis in March 1944.
Having shown excellent organisational qualities and great courage he was arrested in April 1944, tortured and deported to Germany, having sacrified everyting for victory of the Allied cause."




A L'ORDRE DE L'ARMEE

"Officier Brittannique volontaire pour des missions spéciales en territoire occupé, débarqué sur la côte sud-est de la France le 16 juin 1943 pour coopérer avec la résistance. Dès cette époque, s'employa activement à former de multiples équipes de sabotage et de réception d'armes. Dirigea de nombreuses attaques sur les voies de communications ennemies notamment la destruction d'un tunnel près de Cassis, en mars 1944. Ayant fait preuve de belles qualités d'organisateur et d'un grand courage, il fut arrêté en avril 1944, torturé et déporté en Allemagne, ayant tout sacrifié pour le triomphe de la cause commune."

CES CITATIONS COMPORTENT L'ATTRIBUTION DE LA CROIX DE GUERRE AVEC PALME
PARIS, le 16 janvier 1946.

With Palm

• - JOHN GREHAN & MARTIN MACE, Unearthing Churchill's Secret Army, Pen & Sword Military, 2012.
  - Recommendation for Award for Skepper, Charles Milne Rank: Capitaine Service... | The National Archives
  - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37484/supplement/1169
  - LSE History | Telling LSE's story
  - https://www.cwgc.org/
  - Special Forces - Roll Of Honour | Special Forces Roll Of Honour