British War Medal 1939-45, awarded to Captain Michael Trotobas, Special Operations Executive (SOE)

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. Trotobas was wounded in the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940, for which he received the Mentioned in Despatches oakleaf on this medal ribbon. After the evacuation from France he 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.