Count Robert de La Rochefoucauld died in May at 88. The Telegraph recounts his World War Two exploits, which are incredible. He joined the French Resistance, escaped to England via Spain to join the Free French, was trained as a secret agent and killer by the English, parachuted back into France on sabotage missions and made daring escapes from Nazi imprisonment, twice.

Here is a brief sample.

Instead he faked an epileptic fit and, when the guard opened the door to his cell, hit him over the head with a table leg before breaking his neck. (“Thank Goodness for that pitilessly efficient training,” he noted). After putting on the German’s uniform, La Rochefoucauld walked into the guardroom and shot the two other German jailers. He then simply walked out of the fort, through the deserted town, and to the address of an underground contact.