From 1917 to 1923, Thackthwaite attended St Paul's School[1] in Hammersmith before going up to read physiology at Corpus Christi, Oxford, he graduated in 1927 and was awarded his BA in 1928 and an honorary MA in 1965.
Prior to the start of WWII, Thackthwaite worked in the Beaminster area of Dorset as a teacher/translator, the 1939 National Registration Act (NRA) taken in September of that year shows him with his wife living at his parents house along with his French mother-in-law and her daughter.
Colonel Pierre Fourcaud [alias Sphère] had been scheduled to accompany the team but had broken a leg during training, he joined the group on 8 February 1944, landing at LZ (Landing-zone) Orion.
[13] The objective of this operation was to assess and co-ordinate the organisation of the local maquis forces in the Vercors covering the three départments of Isère, Drôme and Savoie.
In addition to the resident population, Thackthwaite found about 3000 maquisards, 500 of which were lightly armed and "[who] could be organised into a HQ company supplied with Vickers, mortars and Piats".
[15][16] Thackthwaite was exfiltrated on 3 May 1944 from the LZ Aigle to the north west of Manziat near Maçon, there is a memorial on the side of the road commemorating the use of the landing zone.
The pick-up was performed by RAF Squadron 161 using a Lockheed Hudson aircraft piloted by F/L Affleck, amongst others collected was Paul Riviere [alias Marquis].
The withdrawal of Thackthwaite is highly significant; having two senior RF Section members in the field, one captured, presented a huge security risk.
He arrived in Paris on VE day, 8 May 1945 and was able rejoin Thackthwaite and José Dupuis at the British Officer's Club in the rue du Faubourg St Honoré for dinner.
Beyond that, it became a hot political potato with issues of pensions, compensation payments for widows, awards and medals for fighters, the re-establishment of normal post war life in France etc.