British secret agent who helped French 'snubbed by Charles de Gaulle'
Peter Lake was parachuted into the Dordogne on the night of April 9 1944 to train members of the Resistance in sabotage and guerilla warfare in preparation for D Day.
After the landings he led a daring operation to blow up the main railway line between Perigueux and Coutras.
But less than a month after General de Gaulle's triumphant return to Paris in 1944, the leader of the Free French met Captain Lake at Saintes in south-west France.
His Special Operations Executive personnel file, released by the National Archives, reveals Captain Lake, who spoke fluent French, was asked by de Gaulle: "What are you doing here?"
When he said he was "training certain troops for special operations" de Gaulle told him: "Our troops don't need training. You have no business here" and added: "We don't need you here. It only remains for you to leave... You too must go home. Return, return quickly. Au revoir."