Eddy Blondeel was born in Ghent (Belgium) on the 25th of January 1906. He initially studied at the Deutsche Schule in Ghent but in 1914 with the outbreak of WW1 his parents naturally no longer wanted him to be educated at a German school so he left and went to a Belgian state school which was bi-lingual (French/Dutch). Later he was to study at Ghent University and from these differing environments his linguistic abilities were developed. At the age of 13 he had taken up scouting, which he claimed helped develop his character. Before the Second World War he was appointed Commissioner of Scouts in the Flanders area of Belgium. He set up practice as an engineer, but felt he wanted to be more involved in serving people. He married, in 1932, Elza Francisca Van Gorp and they had two daughters. In 1934 he decided to study medicine and specialize in dentistry. Hard work gained him a diploma with distinctions at the University of Brussels, and he won a scholarship that enabled him to continue his medical studies at the North Western University of Chicago.

He therefore found himself in America when war was declared in 1939, and being a reserve officer requested permission from the Belgian embassy in Washington to return to Europe. The Belgian embassy advised Blondeel and another doctor to return to occupied Belgium and not the UK. Blondeel refused but the other doctor agreed. Blondeel asked the leaving doctor to ask his wife if he should return to Belgium or stay in the US. If she wanted him to return he asked that she write him a letter saying "The weather is fine". She wrote him a letter saying "The weather is not fine" so Blondeel knew he had to stay.

Colonel Eddy Blondeel

In 1940 he received orders to report to Joliette in Quebec Canada, the rallying centre for Belgians living in North America. There he inspired his compatriots with tremendous enthusiasm and fighting spirit as they underwent training with the Canadian Army. In 1942, he was appointed to command (Replacing the first commanding officer Captain Thise) the Belgian company that was to embark in June of that year to Britain. In England his whole unit without exception volunteered to form the Belgian Independent Parachute Company. The men trained at various locations, including the parachute school at Ringway (Near Manchester), the airborne centre at Hardwick and the glider base at Brize Norton. In 1943, the Belgians underwent a course based at Inverlochy Castle and completed their training in Scotland with other Paratrooper units. These included the 3rd and 4th French Parachute Battalions (the latter commanded by the one armed Commandant Bourgoin) as well as 1st and 2nd (British) SAS.

As a leader Blondeel proved immensely popular and was blessed with an exceptional memory. He also had a charming, slightly eccentric side. It was said that in the hours before dawn, when his squadron was due to drop behind enemy lines, a light would be seen burning in his hut; there he was found polishing up his Russian verbs in preparation for the link up with Soviet forces.

Blondeel on a field exercise in the United Kingdom

The citation for his DSO bore the signatures of the SAS Brigade and 1st British Airborne Division commanders as well as Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. It recorded that his Squadron 'was one of the best trained and organized ever seen'. Its efficiency was attributed to Blondeel’s personality. He demanded a very high standard of discipline and his Squadron consistently gave an exceptionally good account of itself in battle. On August 28 1944, Blondeel, then a Major, was parachuted into the Ardennes forest. An advanced party had sent a signal advising against anyone joining them, as the enemy was so thick on the ground. Blondeel, however in typical style insisted on going in view of the speed with which the battle was moving. His leadership and courage inspired the local Maquis as well as his own men. By a series of highly successful ambushes, Blondeel and the men under his command did much to delay and harass the withdrawal

In 1944 it was decided that the Belgian SAS Paratroopers were to be kept in reserve. Blondeel believed this would be for some operations in Belgium. That view changed when he was informed by Brigadier McLeod (Commanding officer of the S.A.S. Brigade) that the Belgian authorities did not want the Belgian SAS to be the first in to Belgium. Blondeel did not understand and visited the Belgian authorities in London to find out why. Brigadier McLeod also found the Belgian government’s stance odd but as a result could now only plan for Belgian drops in France. It was decided a total of 14 squads of Belgian parachutists would be dropped in France. Blondeel grew tired of the politics going on in the background and gave an officer called Lt. Renkin a mission to get in contact with the Belgian resistance. Renkin was dropped in France and passed the frontier into Belgium. When Blondeel heard by radio that he had passed the frontier, he asked Brigadier McLeod, if he could be dropped with some men to join Renkin. When Blondeel pointed out the drop zone on a map the Brigadier's response was 'But, this drop zone is in Belgium'. 'Oh' Blondeel answered nonchalantly 'I hadn’t noticed'. 'OK' the Brigadier replied, 'In that case I didn’t notice either". So Blondeel was dropped with some men in Belgium at Gedinne. His squad was almost immediately in action with the resistance when he received a message from London stating that the 'The Belgian government are not happy' but by that stage the deed had already been done. After the war Blondeel explained that he believed the reasons were largely down to Piron (the commanding officer of the regular Belgian army 'Brigade Piron') as he had desperately wanted his Brigade to be the first in Belgium.

Regardless, shortly after this Belgian operation, the Squadron traveled to Brussels and Blondeel visited home where he saw his wife and two little daughters again for the first time in five years. This he would later recall was his best memory of the war. From December 20th-23rd 1944 a detachment of armed jeeps under Blondeel’s command reconnoitered in the Marche area, under the general use of the 29th Armored Brigade. From December 28th to January 14th 1945 they operated in the same role under the 6th Airborne Division with marked success. It was thanks to Blondeel’s organization and training that the unit adapted so well to a new role and integrated effectively with British troops. He was determined that his Squadron should successfully accomplish any task offered to it.

Colonel Blondeel and his men inspected by Field Marshal Montgomery

During the operations of the Belgian SAS Squadron in the Low Countries, 200 volunteers were enlisted in the field. These men trained in Tervueren (Belgium) or in England, and after the liberation of Brussels were involved in ground operations and counter-intelligence in Holland and Germany. The Squadron arrested numerous Nazi war criminals, including Von Ribbentrop (in Hanover by Belgian SAS Sergeant Jacques Goffinet) and helped in the arrest of the Doenitz Government in Flensburg. Just before the German surrender, Blondeel’s Squadron was operating near Godesholt in Germany when he was ordered to undertake an operation, which could have resulted in heavy casualties. However, just as the patrol was setting out, the order was received to cease all hostilities!
Blondeel called everyone together for a Celebration feast and sat down at the piano playing classics and popular war melodies, ending with Auld Lang Syne. 'We must now face the uncertainties and complexities of peace' he remarked. In 1947, Blondeel took up engineering again in a paper company. It was taken over by Wiggins Teape in 1974 but Blondeel stayed on there and eventually retired in 1981 at the age of 75. Perhaps one of Blondeel’s greatest achievements was to ensure that the SAS spirit, which he had adopted, should survive the end of hostilities.

Although there was reforming of the British SAS after the war, Blondeel faced much greater difficulties in a small country like Belgium, hindered by bureaucracy, politics (it is said he never made the rank of General due to some politicians dislike of him) and rival language groups. Before leaving the Army he made sure that his wartime unit was not disbanded, and set up the Belgian SAS Regimental Association, of which he was elected President. In 1966 he became one of the two Presidents and Honorary Colonel of the Amicale Nationale Para-Commando Vriendenkring (National Para-Commando Comrades Association), which succeeded the Belgian SAS Association. At the end of the war Blondeel was awarded the French Legion d`honneur (Legion of Honour), and received many other decorations. In later years, he continued to serve Belgium in many ways. He was appointed General Commissioner for Scouts, elected Governor of the Belgian Rotary club and President of Mars and Mercure (a reserve officers association). He also accepted various visiting academic posts in Canada and the United States. Eddy Blondeel always emphasized that any success he had achieved was due to the teamwork and devotion to duty of all those with whom he served. In his youth he had excelled at basketball, fencing and rowing. He was 94 years old when he passed away on the 23rd of May 2000. Belgium had lost one of her finest sons.