1939-45 Star, awarded to Captain Michael Trotobas, Special Operations Executive (SOE)

Campaign medal made of copper zinc alloy in the form of a six-pointed star. On the obverse, the royal cypher, 'GRI VI', for King George VI, surmounted by a crown, with a circlet inscribed with, 'The 1939-1945 Star'. The medal is suspended from a dark blue, red and light blue ribbon. This medal was awarded to British and Commonwealth personnel for operational service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.

Michael Alfred Raymond Trotobas (1914-1943) was born of Irish and French parents and spent part of his early life in both Northern France and England. In 1939 he became a regular soldier in the Middlesex Regiment. After the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 Trotobas was recruited to the Special Operations Executive's (SOE) French Section and given a commission in the Manchester Regiment.

Trotobas was recruited to SOE's French Section after escaping from Dunkirk (1940) and given a commission in the Manchester Regiment. In 1941, he was parachuted into the Chateauroux area under the code name 'Sylvestre'. Soon after, he was arrested with nine other agents. However, the following year, he took part in a mass escape from Mauzac prison, going on to establish and lead the Lille-based 'Farmer' circuit. He was killed in November 1943, while trying to evade arrest after the Germans extracted the address of his safe house from a captured agent.