Tag: William Grover-Williams

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The Last Train Out of Paris

Five years ago, I wrote a short blog entitled, The Last Train Out of Paris. I never heard from anyone about that blog until 19 June 2020 when Pat V. e-mailed me about her father, Squadron Leader (ret.) Stanley Booker, MBE. While my blog never mentioned any Allied airmen, it seems Stanley enjoyed reading it ⏤ he was one of 168 captured airmen on that last train out of Paris on 15 August 1944.

Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.

This has led to a lot of discussions over the past several months with Pat about her father’s war experiences. They live in the UK and Stanley is ninety-eight years young. The reason the story about these men didn’t make it into the original blog was, frankly, I didn’t know about it ⏤ well, now I do. One of Pat’s questions in her original e-mail was whether I knew about Jacques Désoubrie and who his German superior might have been. Her last words in the e-mail were “Can you help please?” I couldn’t resist and quickly entered yet another rabbit hole. Once I came up for air, I had Désoubrie’s story, an idea who he reported to, and I knew I had to repost the 2015 blog albeit in an expanded manner with an abbreviated story about Stanley’s experiences. Stanley wrote a privately published version of his wartime escapades and Pat is completing the book as well as expanding on his post-war exploits ⏤ Stanley’s interesting life didn’t just end with his eventual retirement from the Royal Air Force.

Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.
Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.

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Outpacing Hitler and the Nazis

Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesse Owens (1913-1980) winning four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin. Adolph Hitler was in the stands and watched Jesse and his teammates beat out German athletes in various track and field events. After watching African Americans step up to the victor’s stand on day one, Hitler refused to shake hands with anyone other than a German. Told it was all or nothing ⏤ he had to either shake everyone’s hand or no one ⏤ Hitler chose the latter. So, every day before the award ceremonies began, Hitler left the stadium. Watch the video clip “Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics” in 1936 here.

Luz Long, German athlete saluting Hitler (right), on the winners stand at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Jesse Owens (left) on the podium after winning the gold medal. Photo by anonymous (c. August 1936). Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung Weitsprung. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.
Luz Long, German athlete saluting Hitler (right), on the winners stand at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Jesse Owens (left) on the podium after winning the gold medal. Photo by anonymous (c. August 1936). Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung Weitsprung. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.

This is only one of many stories which took place in the latter part of the 1930s when German athletes competed against African Americans in sports such as boxing (Schmeling vs. Louis) and track and field (Owens and others). It was a time when German nationalism was on the rise and Hitler was promoting his master-race theories.

It wasn’t only African American athletes who were embarrassing Hitler and his regime. In the late 1930s, motorsports took on the Führer and won. Two Formula One (F1) race car drivers, a Jewish Frenchman and an American woman, financed, built, and raced cars to compete with the Nazis’ Mercedes-Benz team and they beat Hitler at his own game. Read More Outpacing Hitler and the Nazis