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Maurice Eugene Alfred Meunier
Archives de Paris
Fiche matricule 690
Journalisme financier
A Shanghai de 1934
Médaillé de la Résistance
Maurice Eugène Alfred MEUNIER Né(e) le/en 19-04-1895 (75 - Paris (ex Seine), France)
Date du décret 31/03/1947
Date de publication au JO 29/01/1948
Décoration Médaille
Sources l’Ordre de la Libération
 "... My father and mother were both born in Paris in 1896. During the first World War (1914–1918), my father, Maurice Meunier, who spoke English fluently, acted as interpreter for the British troops who came to France. In 1919, he married and left with his new wife for China having found a job in a French bank in Peking (now known as Beijing). He spent some 22 years in China and Japan, eventually becoming Manager of the Franco-Chinese Bank in Shanghai. Besides English, he also spoke Spanish fluently, and learned Mandarin Chinese which he could write, and also Japanese which he wrote and spoke....
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In March 1939, my father joined us on a long service leave, but when World War II broke out 6 months later, he was recalled to Shanghai. Believing that Switzerland would be invaded, he decided that the whole family should return to China. We left Lausanne by car very quickly, crossing Northern Italy on our way to Trieste, and there managed to get the last passenger boat out of Italy.
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When France capitulated in 1940, the French Concession was automatically taken over by Vichy officials. My father, who did not accept France’s surrender, rallied to the Gaullists and became active politically. He secretly smuggled young Frenchmen, who wanted to join the British forces, out of the French concession onto British ships leaving for Britain. In 1940, he was actually invited by the British War Office to join the London Headquarters as a link between the French and British Treasury. But in December of that year, only a few years before the discovery of streptomycin, Jacqueline died, aged 17. Because of this, and as these were the months of the blitz in London, my father finally declined the offer from London for the family’s sake. However, it was evident that he had to leave Shanghai, for he was next on the list of Gaullists to be arrested by Vichy officials. He also knew from his knowledge of Japanese, that Japan would enter the war very soon, and that he would be at great risk, as he spoke and wrote their language fluently. Some deal was made with the British authorities in Shanghai: we were given British passports and our surname was translated into English - hence Miller. We left in August 1941, taking the last cargo boat out of Shanghai bound for Batavia (now known as Jakarta). There we boarded a passenger ship and arrived in Sydney on the 25th of September 1941, just less than 3 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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The Australians in Sydney did not recognize French banking credentials and would not employ my father on an equal footing. Because of this, he founded, together with another Frenchman, the “Free French Delegation”. It took over the activities of the previous consulate, at that time defunct since Australia did not recognize Vichy. He offered his services to the Australian Government, and in fact did translate Japanese documents as requested. He was also active in the war effort for the American forces and he helped with the taking in of supplies to New Caledonia." Laurent Laloup le samedi 20 mars 2021 Contribution au livre ouvert de Maurice Eugène Alfred Meunier | |
