Churchill's White Rabbit by Sophie Jackson

resistance elements and his refusal to aid them in any way, and the situation soon became unmanageable. Also in the mix were the French Communists, with connections to Russia. It was feared that they were working to see the Soviets take control of France. And let’s not forget the Maquis, the men who had fled to various mountainous and forested regions to escape being sent to Germany as forced labour. They lived permanently outdoors and in hiding, but built stocks of weapons and practiced guerrilla warfare.
    Somehow SOE had to bring together these differing groups to form a unified resistance. They didn’t have to like each other, but they must not conflict or hamper each other’s efforts. This would prove the full-time job of RF Section, and would cause a great deal of argument among the politicians back home, not least the Foreign Office, which was trying to keep on reasonable terms with Pétain.
    In warfare, nothing is as simple as it seems.
    Meanwhile, Forest was trying to find his way back into France via the intelligence services. He had been interviewed for employment within MI9 in December 1941 and then shortly after by Captain Strong of MI5. After his chance meeting with Piquet-Wicks he was sent to Boodle’s Club for another interview, this time by Major David Keswick. It was remarked that he gave ‘a favourable impression.’ 3 The resulting papers from the interview reveal revelations about Forest’s personal life and affairs.
    They record that Forest’s wife and two children were still in France and being looked after by his former employer Molyneux; 4 Barbara was unmentioned. Forest listed Lillian’s address as rue de la Pointe and stated that she was the person named in his will. He also gave his religion as Calvinist (a branch of Christianity named after French reformer John Calvin), though later writings and records suggest that he was more inclined towards atheism. Intriguingly he claimed he had no political views, which seems oddly neutral for a man normally so full of opinions, but was perhaps a tactic for ensuring that he wasn’t disqualified from service by favouring the wrong party line.
    Barbara finally received a mention under section 23 – ‘First Person to be informed if you become a casualty’ – where her original surname, Dean, was tactfully written in. Under his personal particulars Forest gave his description as thickset, blue-eyed and fair-haired; he could almost be imagined as having German ancestry. He also mentioned that the third finger on his left hand was ‘defective’ but this did not prevent him from being able to shoot, mountaineer, swim or box, all things that the SOE interview asked if he could do.
    When it came to promoting his usefulness to SOE, Forest was not a shrinking violet and when asked which areas of France he was familiar with he bluntly responded ‘all’. He also made it clear that he had many contacts within France, both personal and professional, which he could use in his secret work. How much of this was accurate and how much was a ploy to ensure that he was employed by SOE is only known to Forest; he was indeed widely travelled and knowledgeable about France, but whether his fashion industry contacts could have been any use to the resistance is debatable. Forest was not afraid to promote his own self-interests if it meant getting into the service.
    He told his new potential employers that he had been approached by MI9 (rather than him approaching them) but had come to the conclusion that he could do more for SOE. This was actually quite true as he was exactly the type of individual the fledgling SOE needed for their work with the resistance. He was therefore already being interviewed with a mind to being placed in the RF Section of the organisation.
    SOE liked the determined and dogmatic Forest, and after a final check into his background run by MI5 they were keen to offer him a place. But as usual in Forest’s life nothing was ever that simple. The