Henry Baldwin Hyde; Lawyer, World War II Spy Chief

Henry Baldwin Hyde, 82, lawyer and former spy chief who paved the way for Allied landings in France during World War II. During the war, Hyde was head of the intelligence-gathering U.S. Office of Strategic Services in France and Switzerland. He was part of the team assembled by Maj. Gen. William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan, who was considered the father of the Central Intelligence Agency. Hyde, who grew up in France, was fluent in French and German. His task was to recruit, brief and equip agents, select drop points and coordinate radio links with OSS operatives in France. He chose a variety of agents from anarchists to nobles, trained them in London, smuggled them into France and collected the information they obtained. Known as the Penny Farthing network, the group produced notes on German troop movements that helped Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower plan and carry out landings in the south of France and at Normandy on D-day. Hyde’s efforts earned him two Bronze Stars, the French Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre, and a citation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hyde later practiced international law in New York. On Saturday in New York City.