The most highly decorated Old Wrekinian of the Second World War to be killed.

Jacques was born in Wales in 1907 and held dual French and British nationality, a circumstance which obliged him to complete French national service. He fulfilled this requirement by serving with the French Cuirassiers during the 1930s. After graduating from Oxford University, Jacques pursued a career in the advertising industry, working in both London and Paris. In 1938, he married Beryl Richardson. Professor MRD Foot, who later worked with him during the war, described Jacques as a "charmer...keenly interested in French politics, brave, adroit, and energetic".

Service at the Outbreak of War

With the declaration of war on 3^rd September 1939, Jacques was called up for service with the French Army and returned to Orléans. The following month, he was appointed liaison officer to the British II Corps in France, serving on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, General Viscount Gort VC. Jacques managed to escape via Dunkirk in May 1940 and was secretly returned to France on 12^th June, via Cherbourg, with orders to assist others in escaping. When France surrendered on 22^nd June 1940, Jacques travelled south to Marseille and then crossed into Spain via the Pyrenees. He was arrested by the Spanish authorities and detained in an internment camp, but was later released thanks to the intervention of the British government. Travelling by sea, Jacques eventually returned to Britain, landing in Glasgow in March 1941.

Special Operations Executive and Missions in Occupied France

In April 1941, Jacques was granted a ‘special’ commission in the British Army within the General Service Corps. He was recruited by Major Lewis Gielgud, the brother of actor Sir John Gielgud, to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as part of the French Section, under the leadership of Maurice Buckmaster. During the recruitment process, Jacques was personally interviewed by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. His primary duties included imparting his knowledge of occupied France to F Section’s wireless operators and saboteurs preparing for missions. On 6^th August 1941, Jacques himself was parachuted into Vichy France with his radio operator. Typically, SOE staff were not sent on clandestine missions due to the risk of capture and interrogation, but an exception was made in his case due to the urgency and importance of the mission.

The objectives of Jacques’s mission were to recruit additional agents, establish contact with agents already operating in France, and procure specimens of ration cards and travel documents for forging in England. After accomplishing these tasks, he signalled England, and was soon collected by an RAF Lysander of the Special Duties Flight, which flew him back to RAF Tangmere. The success of this operation led to Jacques being posthumously awarded the MBE, an honour promulgated on 9^th August 1945 and dated 9^th March 1942.

Leadership and Heroism in North Africa and Corsica

By 1942, Jacques had attained the rank of Major and was deployed to Algeria to head the French section of the SOE in November that year. In 1943, he landed in Corsica and distinguished himself through acts of heroism during operations against the Germans. After their surrender and withdrawal, Jacques returned to London in October 1943. He was awarded the Croix-de-Guerre with palms, and received the same high honour again in early 1944 for his invaluable assistance in preparations for the invasion of France on D-Day.

Final Missions in France

Jacques was parachuted into France once more in July 1944 as the leader of an Allied mission in the south-western region of the country. He established relations with the local French Resistance, and his leadership and organisational skills contributed significantly to the successes of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). He coordinated numerous resupply drops by the RAF and frequently exposed himself to mortal danger to ensure operational success.

Jacques was often involved in direct combat with German forces. He played a prominent role in the fighting at Égletons in mid-August, where the German garrison had fortified themselves in a concrete building. Negotiations for surrender failed and the FFI attackers faced intense bombing and machine-gun fire. During the siege, Jacques set out for Ussel, around 30 kilometres to the north-west, travelling through enemy-occupied roads and carrying supplies of grenades, Bren guns, and ammunition for the local Resistance. Arriving as the fighting in Ussel concluded, he returned to Égletons, which had been abandoned due to German reinforcements. Determined to prevent enemy success, Jacques arranged for an RAF attack by a squadron of de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito fighter-bombers, forcing a German retreat. He then coordinated continued harassment of the withdrawing German forces, inflicting numerous casualties.

SOE Members in Southern France  - 1944: Major Jacques Vaillant de Guelis - back row, fourth from the left

Post-Liberation Efforts and Final Days

After the liberation of France, Jacques was seconded to the Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force (SAARF) to help coordinate the rescue of captured agents, protect them from potential vengeance attacks, and gather essential information about the conditions in POW and concentration camps. His work took him across Europe in search of vital intelligence. During one such mission in Germany, Jacques was involved in a serious car accident near Flossenbürg concentration camp on 16^th May 1945. He was flown to Paris for surgery and later repatriated to a hospital in Burtonwood, Staffordshire. Unfortunately, after further unsuccessful operations, Jacques lost his life on 7^th August 1945.

He was finally returned to his widow in Cardiff for burial where he now lies in the shade of a tree in a quiet corner of Cathays Cemetery.

After his death his SOE superior wrote of him “he was already in the hard early days of the Resistance in the occupied countries, an outstanding figure. He rendered service that few could emulate and none exceed.”

Medallic Recognition

London: 21^st February 1946: “For his courageous leadership, outstanding organising ability and devotion to duty” the King has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the Military Cross in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the field. This related to his action in the battle at Égletons.

Paris: 4^th October 1947: the Croix-de-Guerre with silver star “Has completed numerous missions in France and Italy. Parachuted 9^th July in Corréze and wounded during the Tilleul Mission. On the 17^th and 18^th August has taken active part in the Egletons battle (Corréze)”.

Drafted by Colonel Rivier, Commandant la 5e Région French Forces of the Interior.
Signed by Captain Guery, Chef de la Section Chancellerie du Cabinet de l'Etat-Major de la Defense Nationale.

Both awards were conferred posthumously.

Husband of Beryl Vaillant de Guelis [neé Richardson] since 1938: son of Raoul Vaillant de Guelis & Marie Vaillant de Guelis of Cardiff, South Wales.

Tragedy had also struck years earlier in 1934 when his sister, Jacqueline, was tragically killed on a dark December evening at the age of 22, after being knocked down by a van. After the accident she was immediately taken to a nearby doctor’s surgery where she died a short time later. She lies in the same cemetery, close by her brother.
 

A copy of Jacques's story is available for download here.

Revised: November 2025