He was a highly intelligent student with a deep interest in social justice and a gifted linguist from an early age, he learned to speak perfect French and then German and Spanish.

[2][3] Skepper had deeply held political views from a relatively early age being a serious socialist and after deep consideration over a long period he decided that he was an atheist.

[11] He became deeply interested in modern art and purchased paintings by Da Silva, Max Ernst and Edouard Cortes, his collection was stolen from the family home at Rueil-Malmaison near Paris during the Second World War.

On the final leg of his journey Skepper sailed from Honolulu on 8 April 1937 aboard the U.S. ocean liner President Hoover to disembark at Shanghai.

[16] In 1939 Skepper volunteered for military service and was appointed to run the propaganda broadcasting station of the British Ministry of Information in Shanghai.

[20] In late summer 1942 he applied to join the Special Operations Executive citing Morris Ginsberg LSE "Martin White Professor of Sociology" as a referee and passing stringent examination and "vetting" he was accepted for "F" (French) Section despite being near the top of the upper age limit.

[23] To make his position more certain for official purposes on 16 June 1943 he became lieutenant[24] on the British Army "General List" of "non-regimentally employed" officers with the military service number of 270156 With several codenames, including "Henri Edouard Truchot" and "Bernard", Skepper was landed in France by an RAF Special Duties Westland Lysander of No.

Skepper was flown in with a fellow agent Diana Rowden by the specialist covert operations pilot Flying Officer Jimmy McCairns DFC and 2 Bars MM.

Located at L'Estaque three oil tanks were destroyed and six damaged, he also led the mission to block an important rail tunnel near the Italian border by derailing a train inside the tunnel between Cassis and Aubagne and blew up the cement works used by the German military at Fos-sur-Mer[31] In between these major operations he blew up railway tracks, power lines and damaged railway engines whenever possible[32][33] On the night of 13–14 August 1943 a new agent Eliane Plewman parachuted in to Jura to join their team.

[34] In the first two weeks of January 1944 Skepper's "Monk circuit" was responsible for damaging 31 railway locomotives, during February 1944 he organised 5 parachute drops of arms, ammunition and explosives and on 6 March 1944 met Jack Sinclair as he parachuted in to join the network before they organised and led a mission which resulted in damaging over 30 railway locomotives in a single day on 15 March 1944.

On the next day his radio operator Arthur Steele was arrested as was one of his agents Eliane Plewman code name "Gaby" and several French members.

[43] It is noted that SS-Obersturmführer Ernst Dunker (born 27 January 1912 in Halle) was tried post-war in France for his crimes and executed on 6 June 1950 in Marseille.

According to his SOE file postwar interviews with the French national who arrested him and with the two Gestapo officers based at Marseille produced no relevant information.

Skepper's death was officially recognised by the War Office on 28 October 1946, where it was recorded as 'Presumed died while in enemy hands on or shortly after 1 April 1944'.

[52] His fate was still unclear to the War Office in December 1945 and he was mentioned in the London Gazette as a lieutenant on the General List still in receipt of pay and allowances (effective 1 November 1945).

[citation needed] See also SOE F Section networks Mrs Mary Skepper (mother of Charles) was appointed an OBE in the Birthday Honours List 1950.