Jacques Desoubrie (1922 – 1949) was a double agent who worked for the Gestapo during the German occupation of France and Belgium during World War II. He infiltrated resistance groups, such as the Comet Line, and was responsible for the arrest of several leaders and more than 100 members of organizations (called "lines" or "reseau") helping Allied airmen who had been shot down or crash-landed to evade German capture and escape occupied Europe. After the war he was tried, convicted, and executed in France. Early life Desoubrie was born out-of-wedlock 22 October 1922 in Luingne (Mouscron), Belgium. His father was a Belgian doctor, Raymond Desoubrie and his mother, Zoe Note, abandoned him at an early age. He grew up with the doctor in Tourcoing, a French city on the border with Belgium. He trained to be an electrician. Desoubrie was a short, stocky man with piercing grey eyes set behind a pair of moderately thick-lensed spectacles. He was always smartly dressed, with his light brown hair neatly combed. His smile revealed bright gold fillings in his front teeth and he spoke excellent English. Unlike many collaborators working for the Germans whose primary motivation was money and privileges, Desoubrie was an enthusiastic supporter of the Nazis, although he was also well paid for his work. Desoubrie had two children, Jacques (born c. 1941) and Adolph (b. 1943) by his mistress, Marie-Therese Laurent. He had a close relationship with another woman, Marie-Antoinette Orsini (code named "Colette"), who helped him escort Allied airmen from Brussels to Paris and may have been aware that he was working for the Germans. World War II Initial activities Desoubrie began work with the Gestapo in 1941. He infiltrated the Resistance group Vérité Française, where he was responsible for the arrest of 100 people, and then the Le Gualès network (after Charles Le Gualès de la Villeneuve, one of its leaders) where 50 people were arrested. He used various aliases including: Jacque Leman, Jean Masson, Pierre Boulain, and Captain Jacques, as he liked to be known. The Comet Line In 1943, Desoubrie infiltrated the Belgian and French escape network known as the Comet Line which helped Allied airmen shot down over Belgium. At great risk to themselves, the people working with the Comet Line exfiltrated the airmen from Belgium through France to neutral Spain from where they could be returned to the United Kingdom. In 1941 and 1942,