Spirit of Resistance

The Life of SOE Agent Harry Peulevé, DSO MC

Nigel Perrin

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781844684540
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Militärische Biographien

A biography of a British World War II secret agent who escaped the Buchenwald concentration camp. One of the most determined and courageous secret agents of the Second World War, Harry Peulevé joined the BEF in 1940 before volunteering for F Section of the Special Operations Executive. On his first mission to occupied France to set up the SCIENTIST circuit, he broke his leg on landing and, after numerous close calls, made a heroic crossing of the Pyrenees on sticks in December, 1942. Imprisoned, he escaped and eventually returned to England in May, 1943. He formed a close friendship with Violette Szabo before setting out to train a Maquis group in central France. Despite the Gestapo's repeated attempts to catch him, he built a secret army of several thousand resistance fighters. Eventually betrayed and captured, he was tortured at Avenue Foch but never broken. By coincidence, he and Violette met while in captivity before Harry was sent to Buchenwald where he not only avoided execution but also managed to escape, reaching American lines in April, 1945. Sadly, Peulevé never fully recovered from his wartime traumas, but nothing can detract from his outstanding courage and contribution.

Chapter 1

Origins

The Peulevé family tree has its roots in Normandy, but the beginnings of its English branch can be traced back to Leonard Auguste Peulevé, born in Beaumont-sur-Oise, north of Paris on 20 April 1856. Brought up in the market town of Lisieux, he ran away at the age of fourteen after a family disagreement and arrived in Paris just before the invading Prussians began laying siege to the city's walls. Witnessing the terrible deprivations endured by its inhabitants as they starved through the winter, he managed to escape before the rise of the Communards and made his way to England, where he found work as a rivet cutter for the Birmingham Metal and Munitions Company.¹ After deciding to settle in the area and learn his trade he met a local chemist's daughter, Lizzie Sperry, at a roller-skating hall. Although initially afraid of the Frenchman's imposing character, she agreed to see him again; her father was a much more unwelcome presence in her life at the time, and Leonard provided the possibility of a way of leaving the family home. They were married in 1880 and had four children: Augustus Albert was born later that year, followed by Leonard Otho in 1882, Jean Louis in 1883 and Dorothy Lisette in 1892.

Augustus and Dorothy showed musical talents, while Jean joined a local manufacturing firm. Leonard, possessing a more gentle and artistic nature, wished to become a cabinetmaker, but his father wasn't impressed by such aspirations and sent him to be educated at a college in France, from which he returned unable to speak English. After several jobs in private libraries he joined Carter's, the seed merchants, becoming a manager at one of their Paris branches whilst also running his own landscape gardening business. During a holiday in England, Leonard met schoolteacher Eva Dallison, the daughter of the vicar of Aston, whose fiancé had recently broken off their engagement. Although frail in appearance Eva possessed a strong-willed and impetuous nature, and announced to her sisters that she would have Leonard instead. They were married at St James’ church in High Wych, Hertfordshire, on 22 March 1913, and settled in Saint-Prix, a northern suburb of Paris.

At the end of the year Eva became pregnant, but soon rumours of a possible German invasion began to spread and Carter's consequently decided to suspend Leonard's shop in July. Banks and other essential services also began to close soon after and the city's paralysis was followed by the inevitable: France declared war on 3 August and Eva went into labour the same day. A local doctor was called, and after a long and difficult labour their first child, Annette Eva Peulevé, was born.

Like many stranded tourists they were desperate to get back to England and managed to escape the chaos just in time, taking the last ship from Le Havre; arriving penniless at Waterloo station, Leonard had to borrow money from a porter in order to get them to a friend's house in south London. A few days later he joined up and was soon posted to the front with the Royal Army Service Corps, whilst Eva rented a house in Littlehampton. By the spring of the following year she was expecting her second child and on 29 January 1916 Henri Leonard Thomas Peulevé was born in the East Preston district of Hastings. Throughout his life he would be ‘Harry’ to his friends, though his family always knew him as ‘Henri’ or ‘Henry’.

As Leonard was easily able to travel from his posting to their home in Saint-Prix he suggested that Eva return to France with the children. Leaving England in July, the family were reunited and lived there in relative safety until the early months of 1918, when German aerial bombardments made it too dangerous to remain. Eva and the children moved temporarily to Brittany, though they were able to join Leonard again when he was posted to Orange in August, staying at a hotel run by the Mazarde family. The warmth of the Provençal climate and the hospitality of their hosts made the war a distant distraction, and for the children it was an especially happy time; the Mazardes enjoyed spoiling them and made a habit of dangling fruit and bons-bons outside their window from the room above. When the November armistice came the hotel celebrated by offering free champagne to the locals, which to Eva's dismay resulted in Harry's introduction to alcohol, making him behave very strangely, much to the delight of onlookers.

Although life had been pleasant in Orange the family was repatriated in November, and following demobilization Leonard had to find work again. Unable to return to their home in Paris, they went to stay with Eva's sister Katharine, who lived in Birmingham and fortunately had more than enough space to accommodate them comfortably. Katharine had a more Victorian outlook than Eva and was not impressed by the childrens’ basic grasp of English, which was tinged with an American accent due to their contact with the soldiers in France. However they were offered some respite when a family friend invited them to stay at her house in Colwyn Bay during the summer, where they were joined by Eva's parents, her sisters Margaret and Beatrice, and Beatrice's son, James.

Moving closer to London to find work the family took a flat in Richmond, though the employment prospects proved no better and they were reduced to living on handouts from the Officers’ Benevolent Association. Thankfully things improved the following year when Leonard was accepted for the position of Algerian pro-consul, and they took the boat for Algiers in April 1920. Posted initially to Oran, Annette went to a local convent school where the nuns delighted in looking after ‘Ri-Ri’, as Harry became known. In October, Leonard was promoted to Vice-Consul, and they moved to a bungalow in a rural area near the port of Bougie, where the only water supply was from a rooftop tank, electricity was non-existent and a local donkey regularly wandered through the house, eating the candles as it passed from room to room. A Spanish maid was employed, but her love of horses soon caused problems with the neighbouring farmer, as she would repeatedly free his stock by secretly cutting the tethers on their legs.

For Harry and Annette these sun-filled days were often spent playing in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains or on the beach with the local children, both being fascinated by the girls’ silver-fringed veils and vividly coloured clothes. However, their home in Bougie was becoming more and more difficult for Leonard to sustain as the commission he earned from British ships began to dry up, the coal shortages at home reducing the number of steamers entering the port. By December 1922, there was no choice but to return to England, and they made their way back to a miserable English autumn and Aunt Katharine's house.

Leonard went into partnership running a show-garden business near Wellesbourne, while Eva found work as a supply teacher, lodging with Leonard's parents at Stratford-upon-Avon. She was finally able secure a permanent position as headmistress of a village school at nearby Moreton Morrell in April 1925, coinciding with Harry's move up to Stratford's King Edward VI grammar school (also known as Shakespeare's school). Harry and Annette's cousin James came to stay during the school holidays and together they spent many hours damming up the village ford, much to the annoyance of nearby residents, or spying on the gypsies who camped nearby, though they were careful to keep their excursions a secret from their mother. The local vicar's son would often bring his crystal wireless set for them to listen to, and they became captivated by Grandfather Leonard's stories of his days selling rats amongst the apaches in Paris, though only Annette and Harry could understand him when he forgot himself and lapsed into French.

It seemed that the family had at last found some stability, but it was not to last. Leonard's business suddenly ran into trouble after a fire destroyed the premises, resulting in the partnership being dissolved. This affected him enough to provoke an episode of neurasthenia (a commonly used term of that time to describe ‘shell-shock') during which he disappeared only to be found in a French hospital some days later. Eva decided that a change of scenery would help and in the summer of 1926 she took the job of head-mistress at St Thomas’ school in Winchelsea on the Sussex coast, which included the use of a stone-built house on Hiham Gardens, opposite the New Inn. Harry was accepted at nearby Rye Grammar School and joined the church choir, but the children's frequent change of schools made them feel like outcasts, and the poor state of their uniforms caused by Eva's lack of housekeeping skills was often the subject of taunts from other pupils. Annette noted how protective her brother was on her first day at the school, carefully shepherding her all the way to the headmaster's office.

Having recovered from his illness and in search of a new vocation, Leonard volunteered to design and lay out the small garden of Winchelsea's Court Hall, a medieval building that was opened to the public shortly after his work was completed. Towards the end of 1927 he also received an unexpected job offer from the Polytechnic Touring Association (an early travel agent, later to become half of Lunn Poly), which was in need of a courier for a new tourist centre in Dinard on the Brittany coast. Like the resorts of the Côte d'Azur, Dinard attracted many affluent British and American expatriates, and Leonard would have no problem in developing relationships with the hoteliers eager for new business. His organizational abilities were an ideal match for this kind of position, and though it meant spending long periods away from the family, they were able to stay at a small pension during the holidays.

Though both parents were now working again, Eva's single-mindedness had made relations with some of the governors increasingly difficult, and after a final clash she was forced to take a new post at a school in the nearby village of Fairlight in June 1928, moving to a cottage near the cliffs. Harry joined St Leonards Collegiate School, while Annette went to a convent school in Hastings, and on their long journeys home they would pool their meagre pocket money to buy sweets, though their mother had forbidden them to buy ice cream – she was convinced that the shopkeeper kept his stock under the bed at night, and that they would risk typhoid if they ate it. On rainy days they would sometimes get a lift in the coastguard's sidecar and in return he would often borrow the Peulevés’ retriever, Dandy – in the event of trouble at sea, the dog proved to be very useful in searching for bodies washed up on the rocks.

Eva's restless nature continued to lead her in search of a better life elsewhere, and in an effort to bring the family together she made up her mind to open a finishing school in Dinard, teaching languages to the daughters of wealthy families. Although apparently unaware of the credentials needed to establish a school of this kind she resigned from her job, cashed in her pension and made arrangements to leave England in September 1929. On arrival she soon set up in a large house named ‘Les Frimas’, which was to serve as the school as well as a family home; Harry was to board at his school at St Leonards, whilst Annette lodged with a school friend. Though she was happy with her new home, her brother's stay was short even for a Peulevé, but his motives were understandable enough – he ran away when he found that the headmaster had a habit of visiting the dormitories at night. The next day the coastguard telephoned Leonard to come and pick up his son, marking the end of Harry's schooldays in England.

He was not placed in a French class, though he did receive occasional private tuition; however, the lack of stability during his early life had put paid to any hope of an academic career and he spent much of his time with the expatriate community in the town, becoming involved with a drama production for a charity performance. The producer was an affluent retired man in his late forties named Arthur Larking, who had previously worked in the theatre and now spent his time either in Dinard, London or Bandol on the French Riviera. Attracted by the charismatic teenager's abilities on the stage, he soon became something of an adoptive godfather to Harry and a close friend of the family.

Through his courier job Leonard had built up a large number of contacts within the local holiday trade, some of which helped to supplement his income from the company. When he was asked to relocate to Normandy he foolishly informed his employer about the perks he had received from the hoteliers and was promptly dismissed. The loss of income came at a bad time as Eva's school project was failing to attract the expected clientele, and they began to advertise their property as a guest house in order to make ends meet. A hefty tax bill towards the end of the year finally ended the Peulevés’ stay at Les Frimas and they moved to a more modest bungalow, with Eva resorting to giving English lessons at home, whilst Leonard took on a job running a local agency for a South African tennis coach. The Christmas of 1930 was a frugal affair, by February their various debts had made staying in Dinard untenable and the family's belongings, including the children's school certificates, were pawned in return for a ferry ticket home. Arthur Larking saw them off with a gift for each of them, though Annette was inconsolable, having had to spend the last of her money to have Whiskey, her pet terrier, put down. Returning to an England in the grip of the Depression, their future seemed more uncertain than ever.

They stayed at first with Eva's sister Margaret in Richmond, moving soon afterwards to a rented house in Grove Avenue, Twickenham. Eva went back to supply teaching, though Leonard could only find temporary work here and there; Harry also began a part-time position at a local wireless shop, partly influenced by his cousin James who was living with them whilst training to become an electrical engineer. During the summer Harry, Annette and James skated together at the Richmond Ice Rink, swam at Teddington Lock and regularly sneaked into the expensive seats of the local Luxor cinema, though Harry knew that he would soon have to think about the more serious matter of finding a trade and leaving the family home. Having gained some knowledge from his time working in the shop, and with aspirations to become involved in the theatrical world, he decided to enrol at the London Radio College in Earl's Court, based just around the corner from the tube station on Penywern Road, and moved into a nearby boarding house in mid-1931.

After obtaining his certificate in Electronic Technology the following year, he received an invitation from Arthur Larking to spend the summer at Bandol, which he eagerly accepted. Larking enjoyed the opportunity of introducing the young man to life on the Côte d'Azur, and they spent a lot of time together on the beach, sailing or in the company of Arthur's wide circle of friends. It served to reinforce his already strong affections for a country that had been so prominent in his life, and it was during this time that he became completely comfortable with its language. Amongst the expatriates that Harry was introduced to was a girl named Phyllis, the daughter of one of Arthur's friends in Menton; Phyllis’ background was wealthier than Harry's, but her mother was happy for him to escort her and a holiday romance soon developed between them.

At the end of the season Harry returned to England to find a job with his newly acquired qualification and was employed as a junior engineer by Pye's Radio Research Lab based in Cambridge. It was a useful start, but he quickly gained enough knowledge to secure a research post with the Baird Television company in 1935, working at their labs in Crystal Palace. Baird, who had been experimenting with television systems since the early 1920s, had convinced the BBC to broadcast a regular service using his primitive 30-line system, the objective being to produce a ‘high-definition’ television service that could broadcast to the London area. Although Harry was now involved in developing this cutting-edge technology, his salary was still meagre, and he often had to call on Arthur Larking at his flat in St George's Square for assistance, Arthur being known as something of an ‘easy touch’ in times of need.

By 1936, the BBC was planning to launch its new television station at Alexandra Palace and Harry applied for a job with them in October. He was officially accepted by the BBC on the 19th, but a fire swept through Baird's Crystal Palace site shortly before he was to leave at the beginning of December and the premises were largely destroyed. Harry felt deeply for the company, though his timely exit was a coincidence for which he was to receive much teasing.

Annette moved to London to pursue her ambition of a career in dressmaking, and her brother, tired of his bedsit in Notting Hill Gate, suggested that they share accommodation, taking a part-furnished top-floor flat at 126 Alderney Street in Pimlico. They got on well together and Harry often had calls from his many friends, including two chorus girls from the Windmill Theatre. He had also kept in touch with Phyllis from his time in Bandol and saw her when she visited London for the Coronation season in the summer of 1937. Phyllis’ mother was working hard to find a wealthier suitor for her daughter and had arranged for her to tour South America for six months; meanwhile, Harry was overjoyed when Phyllis secretly pledged to become engaged to him upon her return.

His new job at the BBC meant working a rota of two long days, from seven in the morning until eleven at night, with the following day off. When Harry began, Alexandra Palace employed rival broadcasting systems from Baird and Marconi EMI: Studio ‘A’ was used by Marconi and Studio ‘B’ by Baird, with each system transmitting on alternate weeks. The two hours of programmes each day included news reports, plays and magazine programmes like Picture Page, and were watched by around 1,200 viewers in homes across greater London, although many more flocked to the department stores to see sporting events or public occasions. Initially employed as a maintenance engineer, Harry later transferred to the position of cameraman and was one of the first to work with the new ‘Emitron’ mobile cameras, a bulky contraption which required one technician simply to push it around the studio. By February 1937, only the Marconi system was in use, but delivering live broadcasts still remained a chaotic business, with dozens of actors and crew members rushing from one set to another to keep the schedule running. This required everyone in the studio to work very closely together and generated a unique sense of camaraderie; Harry quickly became part of this community at Alexandra Palace, and made friends with many of those who starred in its productions.

In 1938 the two women who owned the Alderney Street flat gave up their Spanish residence and returned to London, forcing their tenants to find accommodation elsewhere. This minor problem was not enough to dampen Harry's spirits – he was enjoying his work at the BBC and looking forward to the return of his fiancée-to-be, who had continued to write to him from South America. However, the long-awaited reunion did not turn out as planned when Phyllis told him that she could not make good her promise of engagement and that their relationship could not continue.

The shock of this rejection had a profound psychological effect on Harry. Taking a train to Brighton, he wandered the streets for several hours before approaching a policeman, asking him for an aspirin. When questioned at the station, the only information he could remember was Phyllis’ telephone number, having no idea about where he lived or why he had travelled from London. Harry's parents were eventually contacted and drove down to collect him, but were shocked to find that he didn't recognize them at all, and for the next two weeks he behaved as if his memory had been completely erased. He made a sudden recovery and was able to return to work without any problem, though his family were careful not to divulge the details of his illness to his employer. This reaction, known as hysterical or fugue amnesia, obviously suggested ...