Henri Déricourt: Double or Triple Agent

Frank ’Bunny’ Rymills was an RAF pilot during World War Two. He flew on top secret missions into France from RAF Tempsford, a small airfield about fifty miles from London and half way between Cambridge and Bedford, or from RAF Tangmere on the south coast near Southampton. In his small Lysander aircraft, he carried secret agents and their luggage, landed them in remote fields and returned to England with important passengers. The man often waiting to meet him in France was Henri Déricourt, an enigmatic character who had the responsibility of arranging these flights, ensuring those to be sent back got to the field safely and the arriving agents sent on to their destinations to complete their dangerous missions behind enemy lines. When many of these agents were arrested, suspicion fell on Déricourt. Many thought he was a double or triple agent. Arrested after the war, he was tried and acquitted. This is Rymill’s contribution to the debate.