Paul River

Paul River , resisting and politician, Companion of the Release and Commandeur of the Legion of honor, was born on November 22nd, 1912 with Montagny (the Loire) and deceased on December 16th, 1998 with Lyon. It engaged in resistance since 1941, took part in the wars of Indo-China and Algeria. He was deputy and mayor of the Loire of 1962 to 1978.

Activities of resistance

In 1939, it is mobilized and named instructor of the Juniors by Saumur. Wounded at the time of the combat of the Bridge of Genoa, it is demobilized and takes again its post of professor of letters among Jesuits in Lyon.

The Father Chaillet, Jesuit in Lyon, the met then in contact with Henri Frenay and Berty Albrecht at the end of February 1941 and it adheres to the movement " the Small Wings " , then Combat in November 1941. Shortly after the arrival in France of Jean Moulin, which it meets as of on January 12th, 1942, it gives up propaganda for the action and becomes the assistant of Raymond Fassin, liaison officer of Jean Moulin, parachuted at the same time as her radio operator, Joseph (" Hervé") Montjaret.

Thereafter, after a first reception of parachuting, it is arrested by the police force of Vichy and is imprisoned for four months. As of its release, it returns in clandestinity where it will remain until the end of the war.

It then takes an active share with the organization of the services of radio transmission and clandestine air operations in the whole of the Southern zone, within the framework of the Plain Movements of Resistance or WALL.

Left for London in July 1943 in order to follow its training courses of enabling to the functions of chief of air operations, it there learns the arrest from Caluire and is returned urgently to France by the Colonel Passy, chief of BCRA, to reorganize the service which will take the name of " then; Section Landings-Parachutages" (S.A.P.).

It will remain with head of SAP until Release and will be also chief of operations for area the Rhone-Alps, which will lead it to organize among more clandestine big operations of landings and parachutings, which allowed the distribution the secret Armée and the maquis with hundreds of tons of weapons and materials, as well as the routing of million francs to Resistance.

It also organized the transfer of many agents and personalities between France and London. Among them, one can quote: the general Delattre de Tassigny, Vincent Auriol, Albert Gazier, Emmanuel d' Astier of Vigerie, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Maurice Bourges-Maunoury, François de Menthon, Henri Frenay, Claudius-Small Eugene, Jean-Pierre Levy, Daniel Mayer, Christian Pineau, Lucie and Raymond Aubrac.

In May 1944, it will go on a second journey to London. Blocked in England until June 6th because of the " black out" had with the imminence of the unloading, it will meet De Gaulle this same day, before being able to be parachuted in France as of the following day and to finally take again its activities until the release.

After the war

With Genevieve Fassin, her assistant for all the period of the S.A.P. (which will become his wife), like Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Maurice Bourges-Maunoury and some others, it takes part in the creation of Friendly of the Networks Action of Fighting France, association the purpose of which was the mutual aid of the former officers of action and the liquidation of the networks, until the dissolution of this one, in 2002.

It returns in the army in 1947 with the rank of Lieutenant-colonel, whom it will preserve during all his military career! First of all inspector of the armies in metropolis, it is sent for two years in Indo-China in 1953, in Constance in Germany for the year 1955 then approximately 6 months in Algeria in 1956.

From December 1956 at the end of 1959, it is named military attach3e to Tokyo, in Japan.

On its return, it takes the functions of person in charge of the Military security in Algeria until the Accords of Evian.

In November 1962, it is presented to the legislative elections in its department of origin. There will remain appointed 6th district of the Loire until in 1978 and mayor of its native village, Montagny, until 1983. For the same period, it sits at the the Council of Europe.

Pseudonyms during the period of resistance

François
Charles-Henri
Sif (a)
Galvani
Marquis

Decorations

Commander of the Legion of honor
Companion of the Release - decree of March 24th, 1945
Military Cross 39/45 (6 quotations)
Cross of the Military Value (3 quotations)
Medal of Resistance with rivet washer
Colonial Medal with staples " Extreme-Orient"
Cross of the Voluntary Combatant of Resistance
Medal of the Escaped prisoners
Officer about the British Empire
Military Medal (GB)
Officer of the Belgian Crown
Belgian Military Cross with palm
Czechoslovakian Military Cross
Cross of Valiancy Polonaise

External bonds

Biography on the site about the Release
the networks Action of France Fighting on the site of the Foundation of Resistance.
the site of the Center of History of Resistance and the Deportation in Lyon.

Bibliography and files

VERITY Hugh, We landed of night , Paris, France Worsens
Center of History of Resistance and the Deportation, " Funds of files Genevieve and Paul Rivière" - Air operations (landings, parachutings) in southern zone. 1941 - 1944 , deep seas of files of the CHRD, N°1.
NOGUERES Henri, DEGLIAME-FOUCHE Marcel, VIGIER Jean-Louis, History of Resistance in France of 1940 to 1945 , 5 flight, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1967-1981.
VISTEL Alban, the night without shade. History of the plain movements of resistance, their role in the release of south-east , Paris, Beech, 1970.

the whole of the personal records of Paul and Genevieve Rivière were deposited, with their request, by their children and are freely consultable with the CHRD (Center of History of Resistance and the Deportation), in Lyon.

It acts mainly of the whole of the coded cables exchanged between SAP (in France) and the BCRA (in London), concerning the organization of the air operations: sentences BBC, names and situations of the parachuting or landing strips, supplemented by original memories and testimonys, as well as various documents concerning the members of the SAP network.

Random links:

_d'effort_de_milliseconde