Rodrigues, George
| George Rodrigues | |
|---|---|
| 25 November 1918 – 26 May 1945 | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service/branch | Canadian Army |
| Rank | Signalman |
Early Life
Service
Signalman Rodrigues enlisted in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals in May 1941 and in November 1942 he volunteered for service with M.I. 9. Having received instruction in England and Algeria he was expected to be dropped onto the island of Corsica to provide a radio link for an excape line to Algiers. When this plan was abandoned, he parachuted into France in August 1943. After two months of service with an escape network in Paris, he was arrested on 15 October 1943. After being tortured, he was sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp in late 1943 or early 1944. After having survived for more than a year under deplorable conditions, he was hurriedly evacuated by the Germans ahead of the Russian advance. He died in an Allied field hospital near Schwerin on 26 May 1945.[1]
He receive a posthumous Mentioned in Despatches in June 1946.[2] When the French head of his circuit visited London following the liberation of France, he reported that "he was unable to find words adequate enough to describe his admiration for Rogrigues. From a technical point of view he gave complete satisfaction, but what was far more important, in spite of terrible treatment at the hands of the Gestapo, he never disclosed any compromising information about his organization."[1]
Memorials
Signalman Rodrigues, having no known grave, is commemorated at the Groesbeek Memorial.
Rodrigues Lake
Signalman Rodrigues has a lake named in his honour in the Northwest Territories ().[3]
Related Pages
Related Items
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MacLaren, Roy. Canadians Behind Enemy Lines 1939-1945. Vancouver and London: University of British Columbia Press. 1983. ISBN 0774811005.
- ↑ 'The London Gazette, Supplement 37595. 4 June, 1946. Page 2742.
- ↑ http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/a-place-of-honour/#tab-id-1