Germans had learned of the presence of Fielding, and other SOE groups, and offered a reward for his capture. To keep the support of the partisans, he promised supply of arms and provisions by air, a promise that was impossible to keep through lack of suitable dropping zones. This air support, with promised supply drops, was aborted at the last minute, leading Fielding in his frustration to send an angry message to the Bari-based Balkan Air Force asking them to show more of the "spirit of the Battle of Britain and less of the Bottle of Bari". The lack of success of the mission led to an order to evacuate from Italy and to be picked up in Slovenia, a march of . The group, which by then had been augmented by remnants from other SOE operations, was betrayed and ambushed but escaped to Slovenia with loss of mules and equipment and a wounded arm for Fielding. Valuable information had been gathered by Fielding's mission and 6,000 German troops had been diverted to capture him. For this, in 1945 he was awarded the DSO for courage, resourcefulness, and outstanding leadership. Later life After the war, Fielding took to farming in the west of Ireland for nine years. He returned to Château d'Oex, where he had lived as a boy with his mother, taking up painting and running a sporting travel agency. In 2005, he died there. He married Beatrice Georgina Pope in 1940 (d. 1997) and was survived by their son, Martin George Rudolf (b. 2 December 1945) captain, The Queen's Own Hussars, MRICS and their daughter, Sarah Georgina (b.10 May 1947), who married Lt.-Col. Hon. Guy Bainbridge Norrie, the son of Lt.-Gen. Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie, and Patricia Merryweather Bainbridge References Further reading Stafford, David; Mission Accomplished: SOE and Italy 1943–1945, Bodley Head (17 March 2011). Ogden, Alan; A Spur Called Courage: SOE Heroes in Italy, Bene Factum Publishing Ltd (1 July 2011). Tillotson, Michael; SOE and The Resistance: As told in Times Obituaries, Continuum (5 January 2012). 1915 births 2005 deaths People from the City of Winchester People from Château-d'Œx Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Special Operations Executive personnel People educated at Shrewsbury School University of Freiburg alumni People educated at Twyford School