On 28 October 2019, Geoffrey Pidgeon (OC 1936-1940) received France’s highest civil and military honour for his work with MI6 during the Second World War in setting up wireless communications for the D-Day landings.

The French Government has been awarding the Légion d’Honneur for the last five years as a way of honouring those who risked their lives to liberate France during the Second World War. The medal was presented to Geoffrey by French Ambassador Catherine Colonna at Lancaster House, the location where the UK and France signed the Lancaster Agreement in November 2010. This comprises two treaties: defence and security, and nuclear cooperation.

Geoffrey’s time in MI6 included covert missions across the Channel and working in Winston Churchill’s ‘most secret airfield’ in Tempsford. He was part of MI6’s Section VIII, and has since written a book about his unit’s work, The Secret Wireless War.

Click here to see Geoffrey Pidgeon on the Bletchley Park Roll of Honour

Geoffrey is pictured above with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and French Ambassador Catherine Colonna