Georges, Vicomte de Mauduit

Georges de Mauduit, Vicomte de Mauduit (1893 – 1945), was a French pilot, engineer and author. He was the son of the Comte de Mauduit, Chief of Staff and a cavalry officer, and his great-grandfather General de Mauduit accompanied Napoleon to St Helena.^[1]

Life and works

Georges de Mauduit was educated in England, and trained as an engineer. He served in the French Air Force during the First World War, and was severely injured.^[2] He spent time working on irrigation projects in Egypt,^[3] and travelling in Britain, France and America.

In 1932 he wrote Private Views: Reminiscences of a Wandering Nobleman which the Times Literary Supplement described as "a lively and fascinating book in which the author introduces you to all the famous people he has met",^[4] filled with "charming pen pictures."^[5] The book recounts his experiences in these countries and the many well-known people he met, including his aviation training under Louis Blériot and his encounter with Colonel Roosevelt in New York. Also in the book, de Mauduit describes his life as an engineer in Paris during the First World War and his work on the first tanks through participation in a technical committee.^[6]

De Mauduit also wrote a selection of cookery books as well as a book described by the Sydney Morning Herald as a "pleasant nursery story" entitled Mimie and Shah.^[7]

His series of "original and valuable"^[8] cookery books began with The Vicomte in the Kitchen (1933). This first book was followed by The Vicomte in the Kitchenette (1934) and The Kitchen Companion (1939).

1940 saw the publication of They Can’t Ration These, a cookery book responding to the outbreak of the Second World War instructing the reader on how to use ingredients sourced from the English countryside, described by the Times Literary Supplement "to the country dweller with time and a spirit of adventure the book will be a delight."^[9] In his preface to the text, David Lloyd George described the book as "a valuable contribution towards our national defence".^[10]

Final years and death

Information surrounding Mauduit's movements after 1940 is unclear. A 1941 article in the Chicago Tribune records that Mauduit has been tried in England on a charge of "making statements 'likely to cause alarm or despondency'". He was found guilty and sentenced to two months of imprisonment.^[11]

In December 1942 and January 1943, a series of articles by Mauduit appeared in various European newspapers.^[12][13][14] In these pieces, Mauduit describes his disillusionment with the Free French Government. He refers to his imprisonment at the hands of the British, and cites the poor treatment of French volunteers arriving in London. In January 1943, he addressed Radio-Paris, with a talk on the same theme.^[15]

His movements and activities after 1943 are not known. However, records from Dachau Concentration camp record the arrival of "Georges de Manduit" on 20 June 1944, and his death on 2 February 1945.

His death was announced in The Times in late 1945. An initial notice published on 22 November describes him as the "brother of Mlle Evelyn de Mauduit".^[16] The notice was republished two weeks later, with the correction that he was the father of Evelyn, rather than her brother.^[17]

Family

de Mauduit was the father of at least two daughters, Evelyn and Yolande.

Yolande (27 November 1916, Paris – 12 June 2012, Williamsburg, Virginia) was born to Priscilla Alden Griffin, and Yolande became the wife of US Army Brigadier General James Lawton Collins Jr. and sister-in-law of NASA astronaut and USAF Major General Michael Collins.^[18]

References

External links

• They Can't Ration These at Persephone Books
• Vicomte de Mauduit on WorldCat

This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 05:45