Tag: Pat O’Leary Line

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The Tartan Pimpernel

How many of you have read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy? Probably not many. It’s the story of the wealthy but foppish Sir Percy Blakeney who leads a double life. He is an accomplished swordsman, master of disguises, escape artist and as the “Scarlet Pimpernel,” Sir Percy rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine blade during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.

Today, we are going to focus our attention on a Scottish pastor who led the Paris parish for the Church of Scotland. Rev. Dr. Donald Caskie’s wartime exploits for rescuing downed Allied airmen and leading them to safety through the Pat O’Leary escape line earned him the nickname, “The Tartan Pimpernel.”

I will be the guest speaker for Bonjour Paris on 6 December 2023 for a Zoom presentation to their members and others. The topic will be “Walking History: In the Footsteps of Marie Antoinette” and I will take you on a walk along the exact route in Paris that the queen’s tumbrel took to the guillotine. I invite you to join us for the discussion and slide show.

Bonjour Paris (click here to visit the web-site) is a digital website dedicated to bringing its members current news, travel tips, culture, and historical articles on Paris. I have been a member for more than ten years and have found its content to be quite interesting, practical, and entertaining.

 I will have a direct link to sign up for my presentation at a later date. There is no cost to Bonjour Paris members and €10,00 for non-members. The time of the live presentation on 6 December will be 11:30 AM, east coast time.

Did You Know?

Did you know I could probably write enough blogs on World War II traitors to fill an entire year? Today, I decided to call-out a particular British traitor who was quite dastardly and frankly, a lousy human being. Harold Cole (1906−1946) ⏤ a.k.a. Harry Cole, Paul Cole ⏤ began his criminal career as a teenager. Released from prison shortly after the war began, Cole enlisted in the British army and was stationed in France. Considered handsome with an appealing personality and sharp wits, Cole was never without female company. It didn’t take long before he was caught stealing from the army and jailed. Escaping, Cole was apprehended and thrown into jail once again. As the Germans overran France, Cole was released by the military but rather than returning to England, he remained in France. Read More The Tartan Pimpernel

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Escape Lines

One of the more effective resistance efforts during World War II was the establishment and operation of multiple escape lines in occupied countries such as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Risk/reward theory certainly applies to these efforts as the escape lines were probably some of the most dangerous operations performed by resistance fighters and the people assisting them (“helpers”). The greatest threat to the ongoing operation of the lines was not the Nazi security forces (e.g., Sichersdienst and Gestapo). It was the infiltration and betrayals by French, Belgian, and Dutch traitors. After the war ended, many of those who betrayed their comrades (and countries) were caught, tried, and executed. Unfortunately, some were never brought to justice.

Map of the routes used to guide downed airmen out of occupied Europe. The three major lines represented are the Pat O’Leary, Comet, and Shelburne. Map by the National Museum of the United Air Force (c. 2009). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Map of the routes used to guide downed airmen out of occupied Europe. The three major lines represented are the Pat O’Leary, Comet, and Shelburne. Map by the National Museum of the United Air Force (c. 2009). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the small village of Chambon-sur-Lignon in south-central France recently inherited 2.0 million euros? Erich Schwam (1930−2020) had no heirs when he passed away this past December. Why did he pick this small remote hamlet in a wooded area to leave more than US $2.4 million? As an Austrian child, the residents of Chambon-sur-Lignon sheltered Erich and his Jewish parents during the Nazi occupation of France. Besides Erich and his family, the village saved the lives of almost five thousand Jews (thirty percent were children).  It was through the leadership of the two Huguenot (Protestant) pastors, André Trocmé and Édouard Theis along with Roger Darcissac (head of education for the village) that the villagers banded together, at great personal risk, to devise a system to keep everyone out of the hands of the Nazis. The Jews would disappear into the woods when Nazi patrols came searching for them. The all-clear signal was when people from the village went out into the forest and began singing. Trocmé, Theis, and Darcissac were arrested by the French police and interned at Saint-Paul-d’Eyjeaux. They were released months later and returned to Chambon-sur-Lignon where they continued their resistance activities. 

Austrian identity card of Erich Schwam. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Mairie du Chambon-sur-Lignon.
Austrian identity card of Erich Schwam. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Mairie du Chambon-sur-Lignon.

Yad Vashem named Pastor Trocmé as Righteous Among the Nations in 1971 followed by Pastor Theis in 1981 and M. Darcissac in 1988. Chambon-sur-Lignon is only the second city collectively honored as Righteous Among the Nations (the Dutch village of Nieuwlands is the other). Click here to watch the video clip Le Chambon: How a Jewish Refugee Became a Freedom Fighter in WWII.

From left to right: André Trocmé, Roger Darcissac, and Édouard Theis. Photo taken shortly after their release from captivity. Photo by anonymous (March 1943). Pilcorw Magazine. PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
From left to right: André Trocmé, Roger Darcissac, and Édouard Theis. Photo taken shortly after their release from captivity. Photo by anonymous (March 1943). Pilcorw Magazine. PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

By early 1943, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) had arrived in England to establish bases for its long-range bombers: B-17s and B-24s. For more than three years, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) had been bombing the continent during nightly runs. Now it was time for the Americans to begin their campaign of daylight bombing. This meant more planes were going to be shot down and an increasing number of crews would likely parachute and land behind enemy lines (i.e., occupied countries). There needed to be a way to get these downed Allied airmen back to England safely. Read More Escape Lines