In the middle of World War II, French-Canadian secret agent Allyre Sirois is recruited by the British secret services to carry out secret operations in occupied France. The young man from Vonda, Saskatchewan, parachuted behind enemy lines in 1944.
It all started in August 1942 when Allyre Sirois joined the Canadian Armed Forces.
The British allies quickly noticed this, as they lacked bilingual agents for their operations across the Channel.
At just 20 years old, Allyre Sirois is recruited by the Special Operations Directorate, a British intelligence agency founded by Winston Churchill to support the resistance in Europe.
The young Saskatchewan native was trained in England in clandestine operations: sabotage, radio operations, weapons handling and unarmed combat.
After completing his training, Allyre Sirois was parachuted behind enemy lines armed with false papers. Then he has a one in two chance of returning from his mission alive.
He was picked up by the French resistance south of Bordeaux and needed six weeks to secretly get to his area of operations in Angoulême.
Open in full screen mode
Allyre Sirois, right, with a member of the French Resistance who greeted him after he parachuted into France. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
By transmitting secret codes via his radio transmitter, the Saskatchewan resident organizes weapons drops to support the resistance. He hides during the day, but when night falls he takes part in acts of sabotage and ambushes.
His efforts continued after the Normandy landings until the complete liberation of France.
Open in full screen mode
After the war, Allyre Sirois became a judge on the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
After the war, Allyre Sirois became a judge on the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan.
He retired in 1998 and died in September 2012 at the age of 89.
With information from Guy Gendron.