Eddy Blondeel Lieutenant - Colonel Dr . ( Dent . ) Edouard " Eddy " Blondeel DSO ( January 25 , 1906 – May 23 , 2000 ) was the wartime commander of the Belgian 5th SAS . After the war he was first C . O . of the 1st Regiment of Parachutists . He retired from the army in 1947 to work as an engineer with Wiggins Teape . Early life . Eddy Blondeel was born in Ghent on 25 January 1906 . He initially studied at the Deutsche Schule in Gent but in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I his parents no longer wanted him to be educated at a German school so he left and went to a Belgian state school which was bilingual ( French / Dutch ) . In his youth he had excelled at basketball , fencing and rowing and at the age of 13 he had taken up scouting , which he claimed helped develop his character . Before the Second World War he was appointed Commissioner of Scouts in the Flanders area of Belgium . Later he was to study Engineering at Ghent University and from these differing environments his linguistic abilities were developed . He fulfilled his National Service in an Artillery Regiment , where he was promoted from private to sergeant in under a year . After his time as a conscript he set up practice as an engineer , but felt he wanted to be more involved in serving people . In 1934 he decided to study medicine and specialize in dentistry . Hard work gained him a diploma with distinctions at the University of Brussels , and he won a scholarship that enabled him to continue his medical studies at North Western University near Chicago . He subsequently earned a doctorate in Dentistry . World War II . In 1940 he received orders to report to Joliette in Quebec , Canada , the rallying centre for Belgians living in North America . There he inspired his compatriots with tremendous enthusiasm and fighting spirit as they underwent training with the Canadian Army . In 1942 , he was appointed to command the Belgian company that was to embark in June of that year to Britain . In England his whole unit without exception volunteered to form the Belgian Independent Parachute Company . The men trained at various locations , including the parachute school at Ringway ( near Manchester ) , the airborne centre at Hardwick and the glider base at Brize Norton . In 1943 , the Belgians underwent a course based at Inverlochy Castle and completed their training in Scotland with other Paratrooper units . These included the 3rd and 4th French Parachute Battalions ( the latter commanded by the one armed Commandant Bourgoin ) as well as 1st and 2nd ( British ) SAS . As a leader Blondeel proved immensely popular and was blessed with an exceptional memory . He also had a charming , slightly eccentric side . It was said that in the hours before dawn , when his squadron was due to drop behind enemy lines , a light would be seen burning in his hut ; there he was found polishing up his Russian verbs in preparation for the link up with Soviet forces . On August 28 , 1944 , Blondeel , then a Major , was parachuted into the Ardennes forest . An advanced party had sent a signal advising against anyone joining them , as the enemy was so thick on the ground . Blondeel , however in typical style insisted on going in view of the speed with which the battle was moving . His leadership and courage inspired the local Maquis as well as his own men . By a series of highly successful ambushes , Blondeel and the men under his command did much to delay and harass the withdrawal . In 1944 it was decided that the Belgian SAS Paratroopers were to be kept in reserve . Blondeel believed this would be for some operations in Belgium . That view changed when he was informed by Brigadier McLeod ( Commanding officer of the SAS Brigade ) that the Belgian authorities did not want the Belgian SAS to be the first in to Belgium . Blondeel did not understand and visited the Belgian authorities in London to find out why . Brigadier McLeod also found the Belgian government ’ s stance odd but as a result could now only plan for Belgian drops in France . It was decided a total of 14 squad s of Belgian parachutists would be dropped in France . Blondeel grew tired of the politics going on in the background and gave an officer called Lt . Renkin a mission to get in contact with the Belgian resistance . Renkin was dropped in France and passed the frontier into Belgium . When Blondeel heard by radio that he had passed the frontier , he asked Brigadier McLeod , if he could be dropped with some men to join Renkin . When Blondeel pointed out the drop zone on a map the Brigadier ' s response was ' But , this drop zone is in Belgium ' . ' Oh ' Blondeel answered nonchalantly ' I hadn ’ t noticed ' . ' OK ' the Brigadier replied , " In that case I didn ’ t notice either " . So Blondeel was dropped with some men in Belgium at Gedinne . His squad was almost immediately in action with the resistance when he received a message from London stating that ' The Belgian government are not happy ' but by that stage the deed had already been done . After the war Blondeel explained that he believed the reasons were largely down to Jean - Baptiste Piron as he had desperately wanted his Brigade to be the first in Belgium . Regardless , shortly after this Belgian operation , the Squadron traveled to Brussels and Blondeel visited home where he saw his wife and two little daughters again for the first time in five years . This he would later recall was his best memory of the war . From December 20 – 23 , 1944 a detachment of armed jeeps under Blondeel ’ s command reconnoitered in the Marche area , under the general use of the 29th Armoured Brigade . From December 28 to January 14 , 1945 they operated in the same role under the 6th Airborne Division with marked success . It was thanks to Blondeel ’ s organization and training that the unit adapted so well to a new role and integrated effectively with British troops . He was determined that his Squadron should successfully accomplish any task offered to it . The Squadron arrested numerous Nazi war criminals , including Joachim von Ribbentrop ( in Hanover by Belgian SAS Sergeant Jacques Goffinet ) and helped in the arrest of the Dönitz Government in Flensburg . Just before the German surrender , Blondeel ' s squadron was operating near Godensholt in Germany when he was ordered to undertake an operation , which could have resulted in heavy casualties . However , just as the patrol was setting out , the order was received to cease all hostilities ! Blondeel called everyone together for a celebration feast and sat down at the piano playing classics and popular war melodies , ending with Auld Lang Syne . ' We must now face the uncertainties and complexities of peace ' , he remarked . Later life . Blondeel faced great difficulties in a small country like Belgium , hindered by bureaucracy , politics ( it is said he never made the rank of General due to some politicians ' dislike of him ) and rival language groups . Before leaving the Army he made sure that his wartime unit was not disbanded , and set up the Belgian SAS Regimental Association , of which he was elected President . In 1947 , Blondeel took up engineering again in a paper company . It was taken over by Wiggins Teape in 1974 but Blondeel stayed on there and eventually retired in 1981 at the age of 75 . In later years , he continued to serve Belgium in many ways . He was appointed General Commissioner for Scouts , elected Governor of the Belgian Rotary club and President of Mars and Mercure ( a reserve officers association ) . He also accepted various visiting academic posts in Canada and the United States . Perhaps one of Blondeel ' s greatest achievements was to ensure that the SAS spirit , which he had adopted , should survive the end of hostilities . Personal life . He married , in 1932 , Elza Francisca Van Gorp and they had two daughters . In 2000 he died in Brussels , aged 94 .