Edward Wilkinson was born on June 27, 1902, in Missouri. He was the son of an English father Gaston Wilkinson and a French mother Alice Wilkinson. He was baptized in Paris in 1904, studied at the Lycée Henri-IV, and later became a racing driver in the U.S. He returned to France, met Yvonne Diebolt, and they moved to Angers, where he worked installing heating appliances.

In 1940, Wilkinson fled to England, enlisted in the Royal Air Force, and became an SOE agent in 1941. His code name was "Alexandre". He underwent extensive training in sabotage, survival, and clandestine operations before being parachuted into France in June 1942. He worked with various agents, including Benjamin Cowburn and Virginia Hall, to set up resistance networks.

In August 1942, Wilkinson and his colleagues were arrested in Limoges but later escaped. He resumed his resistance activities, establishing networks in Angers and Nantes. However, in 1943, Wilkinson frequently traveled to Paris, still lacking a radio operator. In June, he received a call for help from two classmates through the secretary of the Limoges commissioner. Despite suspecting a trap, Wilkinson felt compelled to respond. Despite being urged not to go, on the 6th, Antelme and another network member saw Wilkinson and his childhood friend enter Café Le Globe but didn't see them leave due to a discreet exit. They were arrested, but Wilkinson never spoke under interrogation.

In 1944, on September 7, Wilkinson was executed at the Mauthausen camp in Austria.

Source of information: www.wikipedia.org