Back to Main Collection Webpage - Cette page en français
Last update: 18 January 2024    -    Dernière mise-à-jour: 18 janvier 2024




Michael Trotobas
1914 - 1943


This site is dedicated to the memory of Michael Trotobas.

Michael (Alfred) Trotobas was born on May 20th 1914 in North Place, Brighton, to a French father and Irish mother.

Michael Trotobas was recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the UK. On 6th September 1941, Trotobas and Victor Gerson were dropped by parachute into occupied France. After being met by SOE's advance party in Chateauroux he toured France to help assess the possibility of organizing subversive networks in the country.

On his return to London he suggested to the SOE that he should build a network in the Lille area. On 28th November, 1942, Trotobas and Gustave Biéler, were dropped in northern France. Over the next few months Trotobas established the Farmer Network.

In February, 1943, Trotobas and his group achieved its first successful train derailment. Forty trucks were badly damaged and the Lens-Bethune line was closed for two days.

On 27th June he was back in Lille and leading a group of twenty men he attacked the locomotive works at Fives, one of the largest and most important in France. During operation four million litres of oil were destroyed and twenty-two transformers damaged and the works were out of action for two months.

In October the Farmer Network caused four derailments in five days. The following month he also successfully sabotaged several factories in Lille. On 28th November, the Gestapo managed to arrest one of the leaders of the group. After being tortured he gave the address where Trotobas was living. That night the flat was raided and during the gun battle that followed Michael Trotobas was killed.

Sources of information and photos:
  1. S.O.E. Archives File on Michael Trotobas at the UK's National Archives;
  2. "Michael Trotobas and SOE in Northern France" by Stewart Kent and Nick Nicholas (2015 - ISBN 978-1-47385-163-4);
  3. Sabotage in France During World War Two by Bernard O'Connor - (2015 - ISBN 1291592334);
  4. Story of War Hero Michael Trotobas" which is an article from "The Argus"
We can find numerous publications with entries which describe the distinguished service and ultimate sacrifice by Michael Trotobas:
  1. Wikipédia entry for Michael Trotobas (in French);
  2. Book titled "Scarlet to Green by R.S. Elliot - (1981 - ISBN 096905470X).
Here is an excerpt from issue #49 of "After the Battle" on both Michael Trotobas and Guy Biéler:


In 1966, it was disclosed by the British authorities that the numerous derailments in that area of northern France were the work of two SOE resistance networks: FARMER operating under its British-born leader Michael Trotobas, codenamed "Michel", and MUSICIAN led by Gustave Biéler, codenamed "Guy". Both had been dropped in France in November 1942, Michel settling in Lille and Guy further south at Saint-Quentin. As their area of operations straddled the important supply routes to the coast of northwestern France, the intended invasion area, railways were to be their special targets. FARMER achieved its first successful derailment in February 1943 when forty railway trucks were destroyed on the Lens-Béthune line which was closed for two days. By mid-summer the network was causing up to twenty derailments a week while the MUSICIAN group were cutting the Lille-Saint-Quentin line about once a fortnight, one of Guy's favourite forms of sabotage being the supply of abrasive grease to his railwaymen friends.

More than a thorn in the side of the Germans, Michael Trotobas was killed during a dawn raid on his lodging on November 28 - the street in Lille now being renamed "Rue du Capitaine Michel". Although more arrests followed, FARMER managed to remain intact. In mid-January 1944 Gustave Biéler was arrested (he was later executed at Flossenbürg) and the MUSICIAN network shattered. FARMER was able to carry on with the sabotage operations right up to D-Day.






  Collection - Display - Michael Trotobas  


Display Shelf 2   Display Shelf 2  

In the left photo, on display is Michael Trotobas' personal log/journal covering early military training including personal photos.



If you have questions or suggestions, please email Richard at his spytools@sympatico.ca email address.

Any content (original photos or text) which is displayed herein is for the strict viewing and educational enlightenment for those who visit this website. Other sites can link to content of this website or parts therein and must do so with appropriate and clear accreditation. The whole or any portions of photos and/or text herein or local to this website (i.e. which extend from www.ultrasecret.ca) must not be copied nor reproduced without the explicit consent of the author Richard Brisson at his spytools@sympatico.ca email address.



Copyright © 2002-2024
Tous droits réservés © 2002-2024

Back to Main Collection Webpage - Retour à la page principale