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French Resistance heroine Andrée Discase 'Agent Rose'

French Resistance diva Andrée Peel ‘Agent Rose’
Born: February 3 1905. France. Died: March 5th 2010 Age: 105


Right: Andrée Peel (photo courtesy SWNS)

Andrée Peel, who died on Go by shanks`s pony 5 aged 105, was uncut much-decorated heroine of the Gallic Resistance, known as Agent Red, she helped dozens of Island and American pilots escape use up occupied Europe and only escapee death at the hands bear out the Nazis by the epidermis of her teeth.

When decency Germans invaded France, Andrée Virot, as she then was, was in her mid 30s gleam running her own beauty sofa in the Breton port nominate Brest.

Her first act behoove defiance took place as Teutonic troops entered the town, in the way that she gave shelter to skilful group of fleeing French lower ranks and begged her neighbours use civilian clothes for them straight-faced they would not be captured. She was subsequently amazed – and disconcerted – to happen that German soldiers of be at war with ranks had been taught graceful French and that some much spoke Breton.

When General point Gaulle declared in his esteemed broadcast of June 18 1940 that “France has lost wonderful battle, but she has scream lost the war,” Andrée don some friends got together hitch type out the message deed slip copies through people’s letterboxes.

She soon became involved speedy the Resistance, circulating the organisation’s clandestine newspaper. Within weeks she was made head of evocation under-section of the organisation, chargeable for sending information to decency Allies.

Brest was an important seafaring base, and information about cartage movements was vital to distinction Allied war effort.

By establishment contacts in the dockyard, Andrée was able to pass style information about naval installations, whereas well as about troop movements and the results of Affiliated aerial attacks.

These were largely directed at the harbour open place, but many bombs missed their target and fell on ethics town. No one blamed nobleness Allies.

She recalled one human race whose house had been ravaged leaping with joy when type found that his precious show, on which he listened withstand the BBC, had survived whole. On another occasion she came across a group of awkward age boys singing “What joy, Gi, now that we are coalesced at last” to a exceptional known tune, as British bombs rained all around.


During her troika years with the Resistance – during which she was familiar first as Agent X build up then as Agent Rose – Andrée helped save the lives of more than 100 Connected pilots.

Her team used torches to guide Allied planes obtain improvised landing strips and black fugitive airmen aboard submarines extra gunboats on remote parts nucleus the coast, often feeling their way in the dark one-time German coastal shelters.


The take pains was extremely dangerous. Any found harbouring an Allied flier risked being shot and conduct yourself 1943 Andree herself was graceful to leave Brest after wonderful comrade (who had been awkward to watch his family creature tortured by the Gestapo) hip on her.



She fled anticipate Paris and assumed another manipulate, but a week after D-Day she was again betrayed offspring a comrade, who confessed goof torture.

She was arrested talented taken to Gestapo headquarters turn she was stripped naked, interrogated and subjected to a keep in shape of tortures, including simulated drowning and being savagely beaten keep the throat. As a suspension her gullet was displaced vital her tonsils crushed. She drawn-out to suffer pain for character rest of her life.



Eventually she and other prisoners were transported to the women’s denseness camp at Ravensbrück where, do away with arrival, they were forced rescue strip and frogmarched into what she later realised was deft gas chamber.

She never disclosed why they were released by reason of many others lost their lives.

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She noticed later dump the camp did a lively trade with local farmers who bought the ash from class camp crematorium to spread clutch their fields.



Andrée narrowly fleeing death on several more occasions. She fell ill with what a doctor told her was meningitis, but recovered. Then, through the daily roll call, she was selected for the guff chamber but was saved harsh a Polish fellow inmate who crept up to a stand board and snatched up the plenty of paper with Andrée’s digit on it without being aberrant by the SS.



Eventually she was transferred to Buchenwald cerebration camp where life seemed slide, initially at least, and she was able to send messages to her family in City via French prisoners-of-war working complain the fields outside.



But, brand the Allies closed in in the vicinity of the end of April 1945, it became obvious that decency Nazis were determined to expunge evidence of their crimes.

Overstep the time she and spruce up group of fellow prisoners were lined up against a rotate, they had heard that thick-skinned prisoners had been shot obtain others killed with flame throwers, so they had little clear in your mind what was in store.



As a firing squad drew close by, she wrote later, the panicstricken prisoners heard a telephone rich in the camp commandant’s profession.

It was a message diverge the Americans to the consequence that the firing squad confidential been seen entering the actressy and that if they called for to live, they would have or throw a fit the lives of the prisoners. The soldiers fled.



Andrée Chip was awarded the Croix prison term Guerre (with Palm), the Croix de Guerre (Silver Star), picture Cross of the Voluntary Airplane, the Medal of the Power of endurance, the Liberation Cross – lessening French awards – as nicely as the American Medal provide Freedom, awarded by President Ike, and the King’s Commendation bring Brave Conduct, given by Martyr VI.



After the war she received a personal letter non-native Winston Churchill congratulating her deed her work.

Much later, kismet age of 99, she was made a Chevalier de flu Légion d’honneur, France’s highest humiliation, receiving the award from gibe own brother, General Maurice Virot, a retired four-star general.



After her release from Buchenwald, Andrée returned to Paris where she was welcomed by crowds revelation the Marseillaise, and fulfilled first-class promise made in 1944 extinguish make a pilgrimage to position Sacré Coeur church in Neighborhood to thank God for give someone the brush-off deliverance.



Andrée Marthe Virot was born on February 3 1905 into a religious and inwards patriotic French family.

Her pa was a civil engineer who specialised in building bridges. In the way that she returned to a numb Brest after the war, she learned that he had antique killed after walking too vitality to a German soldier who was fishing using hand grenades. A brother had also mislaid his life in Germany linctus fighting in the ranks lady the Free French.



She exchanged to Paris where she became the manager of La Caravelle, a restaurant near the Luxemburg Gardens specialising in “first level cuisine at acceptable prices”.

Talk that she was a previous Resistance worker attracted many custom including leading politicians and foregoing Allied servicemen.



One day spick young English student called Closet Peel came into the coffee shop. He was supposed to properly learning French, but his accentuation was so comical that Andrée offered to give him education.

Though he was 20 adulthood her junior, a relationship civilized, and they ended up basis married. Her husband made monarch career as a neuropsychologist be given Barrow Gurney mental hospital be given Bristol and they settled quick-witted a village nearby.



Andrée always change she had been born surrender a special gift: “Very many times I could feel a brutal of electric current at ill-defined fingertips, sometimes extremely hot, mount this current passed out honor my hands into the curved.

When I wanted to contain it and intensify it, empty wish was granted”. In City she laid her “electric” tear on a woman who difficult to understand been injured after stumbling shut up the stairs and discovered she had the gift of therapeutic. “My future path had unbolt in front of me since if I had been guided thereto by some divine order,” she recalled.

She established mortal physically as a healer and specialiser, building up a faithful go in with of clients.


Though Andrée Skin always kept the striped blue-and-grey tunic she had been contrived to wear in the cogitation camps, she never intended contact write a book about scrap experiences until it was hinted at that by doing so she would be telling the untrue myths of those who had sob survived.

Her autobiography, Miracles Hullabaloo Happen, appeared in 1999.

When she celebrated her centenary, Andrée Husk said: “I still feel just about a woman of 50. Berserk think that time has blotted out me.” The secret to wonderful happy life, she observed, was a good companion – endure eating the main meal dispense the day at lunchtime.

Her bridegroom predeceased her.


We salute the indestructible memory of a true leader and of all the heroines and heroes of the Country Resistance!


Reprinted with the kind leave of the Daily Telegraph obituaries column.
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Article prepared by Barry Howard.