from the Vemork plant in then-neutral Norway in 1940. Norsk Hydro general director Axel Aubert agreed to lend the heavy water to France for the duration of the war, noting that if Germany won the war he would probably be shot. Transportation was difficult, since the Abwehr (German military intelligence) was present in Norway and had been alerted of ongoing French activities in Norway (although they were not specifically warned about heavy water). If they had become aware of the shipment, they might have tried to intercept it. The French transported it secretly to Oslo, then to Perth, Scotland, and finally to France. When France was invaded, French nuclear scientist Frédéric Joliot-Curie took charge of the material and hid it in a Banque de France vault and then in a prison. Joliot-Curie moved it to Bordeaux, where it, research papers and most of the scientists (Joliot-Curie remained in France) boarded the British tramp steamer (one of the many merchant ships involved in saving over 200,000 troops and civilians in the three weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation). The ship already had industrial diamonds, machinery and a number of British evacuees aboard. The Broompark delivered its passengers and cargo, including the global stockpile of heavy water, to Falmouth, Cornwall on 21 June. The award of an OBE to Captain Paulsen was recorded in The London Gazette of 4 February 1941. Crucial to the success of the mission was the role played by Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, the British liaison to the French scientific establishment. Although the supply of heavy water had been removed, the plant was capable of producing more. The Norsk Hydro management's collaboration with the Germans was examined during investigations of collaborationism begun by Norwegian authorities after the war, but Aubert's cooperation with the French aided the company's case. Operations Grouse and Freshman In October 1942, Combined Operations Headquarters began operations to destroy the Vemork plant. There were two operations; the first (Operation Grouse) would drop a number of Norwegians in the area as an advance force. When they were in place, a party of British engineers would be landed by military glider to attack the plant itself (Operation Freshman). On 18 October 1942, a four-man team of Special Operations Executive (SOE)-trained Norwegian commandos parachuted into Norway. Since they had to ski a long distance to the plant from their drop point in the wilderness, considerable time was