rejoined his family. Silver Star (United States) of the British Empire, Officer’s degree The PCB then asked him to help the clandestine press, (Great Britain) but, due to his activities, he had to flee Brussels in June Order of the Red Star (Soviet Union) 1941 and went into hiding with former colleagues from the International Brigade. Together with Victor Tonet he Count Pierre Charles Clerdent raised the Corps des Partisans de Charleroi. Raoul led several sabotages against the enemy and commanded the After a year of law studies in Paris and obtaining a Doctor Corps des Partisans of the region of Hainaut and Brussels of Laws degree from the University of Liège in 1934, in 1943. Now known to the Germans, he moved to the Pierre Clerdent (Figure 7) became the associate of Paul Ardennes and supported the Allies with his resistance Tschoffen, Minister of Colonies, and registered as a lawyer organization, especially the American troops in the south at the Court of Appeal of Liège (1934-1945). On election of Belgium, during the liberation. At the end of the war night 1939, Antoine Delfosse was appointed Minister of he became the National Commander of the Partisan Army Communications and chose Clerdent as secretary. When and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the resistance. World War II broke out, Clerdent was assigned to the minister, directing the INR (National Institute for Radio Baligand was demobilized on May 30, 1945 (Figure 6). Broadcasting) and its Permanent Committee. A refugee in Raoul was elected a member of parliament for the PCB in , he returned to Belgium in July 1940. In October 1946. He remained a member of the Central Committee 1940, on the initiative of Antoine Delfosse, he co-founded of the PCB from 1946 to 1951, and again from 1960 until the resistance organization Armée de la Liberation (the he passed away on December 28, 1981. Liberation Army), and became its national leader. The Armée de la Liberation had some 25,000 members and List of the awards to Raoul Baligand: was particularly strong in the Liège area. In 1943 he was appointed director of the Belgian National Radio in the Commander of the Order of the Crown with Palm occupied areas by the Belgian government in London. In and Croix de Guerre with Palm that position he used all of his influence for clandestine Armed Resistance medal operations and organizing the secret construction of seven World War II Commemorative Medal with Crossed transmitters, one of which (Brussels) was on the air the Swords day after the liberation. Chevalier Légion d’Honneur (France) Clerdent was later promoted to Colonel and President

Figure 7: Count Clerdent and a selection of his awards.

8 JOMSA of the National Council of Resistance. After the war the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Clerdent was appointed Governor of the Province of Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (The Luxembourg (1946-1953) and Liège (1953-1971). He Netherlands) maintained a very good relationship with the French Grand Officer of the Order of Merit (Italy) Government in Paris which presented him the Grand Grand Officer of the Order of the Polar Star Cross of the Legion d’Honneur at the end of his career. (Norway) He later served as president of the Belgian section of the Grand Officer of the Order of the Phoenix de Legion d’Honneur association. Count Clerdent passed Hohenlohe (Greece) away at Chaudfontaine on June 11, 2006. Grand Officer of the Order of Merit (Senegal) Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star Awards presented to Count Clerdent: (Großes Goldenes Ehrenzeichen mit Stern) (Austria) Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown Commander of the Order Polonia Restituta Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (Poland) Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Golden Stripe Robert Leclercq Croix De Guerre 1940 with Palm Civil Cross 1st Class Robert Leclercq (Figure 8), alias “Vanderlinden,” was Armed Resistance medal the co-founder of the sabotage group G, later Groupe Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur (France) Général de Sabotage de Belgique.6 Together with Jean Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit Burgers, Richard Altenhoff, Henri Neuman and Hélène (France) Burgers, he initiated the resistance organization at the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with Palm (France) Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). The organization Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order consisted primarily of intellectuals and technicians of (Great Britain) the ULB. Starting as amateurs, the group became a Order of the British Empire, Officer’s degree well-organized sabotage unit after mission Mandanus (Great Britain) of parachuted agent, Major André Wendelen, which Silver Star (United States) made it possible that all operations were organized in Grand Merit Cross of the Federal Republic of cooperation with Special Operations Executive (SOE) Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und and the Belgian authorities in London. Explosives and Schulterband) other material followed and, with the help of several SOE Grand Officer of the Order of the Oak Crown of sabotage instructors who were parachuted into Belgium,

Figure 8: Robert Leclercq and the naming on the reverse of his Silver Star.

Vol. 66, No. 1 (January-February 2015) 9 “G” focused on well prepared sabotage against the energy World War II Commemorative medal with Crossed sector, railway facilities, and waterways. Several members Swords of “G” were sent by Major Wendelen to Great Britain; five Officer Légion d’Honneur (France) of them returned to Belgium as SOE agents. In an allied Silver Star (United States) press release to the BBC, General Eisenhower’s staff Officer Order of the British Empire (Great Britain) mentioned “G” group’s brave acts before and after the D-Day landings. “G” had 4046 members in ten regions, Jean del Marmol divided in different sectors depending on their size. After the arrest of Jean Burgers in March 1944, Robert Leclercq Jean del Marmol (Figure 9) was called for military service took over the general command, with Hélène Burgers- on June 8, 1923, went into active service on October 15, Leva (wife of Jean Burgers) as Deputy Chief, until the 1923, was promoted Sous-lieutenant de reserve on June dissolution of “G” late 1944. 26, 1926, and trained at the Cavalry School. He joined the 2nd Guides Regiment. List of awards presented to Robert Leclercq: From the beginning of the World War II he served as a Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold member of the secret “Belgian Legion.” In July 1942, in Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm his hometown of Falaën (near Namur, in the Ardennes), he Armed Resistance medal arranged a meeting with Colonel Bastin (the commander

Figure 9: Lt. Jean del Marmol (in the chair) at the headquarters of the “Secret Army” at Rosières (July 1944) with, in the middle, Lieutenant General J. Pire, Commander of the Secret Army, and at the left hand side Major De Ridder and Pierre Stasse. At the top is the citation for his Silver Star and to the right his Silver Star and Military Cross (courtesy of the del Marmol family).

10 JOMSA