Philippe Kieffer
| Philippe Kieffer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
24 October 1899 Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Died |
20 November 1962 Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France |
| Allegiance |
 France Free French Forces
|
| Service/branch |
 French Navy Free French Naval Forces
|
| Rank | Capitaine de frégate |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Commander of the Légion d'honneur Compagnon de la Libération[1] Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (4 citations) Military Cross |
Philippe Kieffer MBE MC (24 October 1899 – 20 November 1962), capitaine de frégate in the French Navy, was a French officer and political personality, and a hero of the Free French Forces.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to an Alsatian family, Philippe Kieffer obtained a diploma at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (School of Higher Business Studies) and became a bank director in New York City.
On 2 September 1939, aged 40, he volunteered for military service. He joined the French Navy, in which he was a reserve officer, a week later. He served on the battleship Courbet, and at the headquarters of the Northern Fleet during the Battle of Dunkirk. He left for London on 19 June 1940 and joined the Forces Navales Françaises Libres ("Free French Naval Forces") on 1 July 1940, the day they were founded.
Speaking fluent English, he was asked to serve as a translator and cipher officer. Impressed by the techniques of the new British Commandos, formed in 1940, Kieffer requested authorisation to set up an elite French unit on the same model. In May 1941, he obtained authorisation from Admiral Emile Muselier to found the unit of Fusiliers-Marins Commandos ("Marine Riflemen Commandos"). They undertook extremely harsh selection and training in Achnacarry, in Scotland, where a number of candidates died. The Commando was part of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Kieffer was promoted to lieutenant de vaisseau on 1 July 1942. On 19 August 1942, men of the 1st Company of the 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos were engaged during the Dieppe Raid ("Operation Jubilee").
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