Ernest Henry Van Maurik was born on August 24, 1916. He grew up in a bilingual household with a Dutch father and an English mother, and from a young age, he became fluent in German and French. In 1936, he joined the Territorial Army, and in September 1939, he was called up for active duty as an infantry lieutenant. Due to his language abilities, he caught the attention of the newly formed Special Operations Executive (SOE) and was sent to the Commando School in Lochailort. By the end of summer 1941, he was serving as an instructor at STS-25, where the second and third training courses for Czechoslovak soldiers were held. Van Maurik later worked at SOE headquarters and, in the autumn of 1943, was deployed on a covert mission in France. He also coordinated air drops of weapons for French Maquis resistance fighters. After returning to London, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. After the war, he entered the diplomatic service, serving in locations including Moscow, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. He passed away on January 21, 2012, at the age of 95.