George Henry Lane, MC (born Gyuri or György Lányi; 18 January 1915 – 19 March 2010) was a British Army officer in the Commandos during World War II, achieving the rank of colonel. He performed a number of missions behind enemy lines. Captured on one such mission, Lane was spared after he had tea with

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

, and later escaped.

Early life

Lane was born in Upper Hungary, with the birth name Gyuri or György Lányi. His family were Jewish; his father, Ernest Lányi, was a wealthy landowner. The family moved to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

after the end of the First World War, when his parents' land was allocated to the new state of Czechoslovakia by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. He moved to London in 1935, where he befriended the Dean of Windsor,

Albert Baillie Albert Victor Baillie KCVO, DD (5 August 1864 – 3 November 1955) was a Church of England clergyman during the first half of the 20th century, ending his career as Dean of Windsor. He was the Registrar of the Order of the Garter (1917&nd ...

. He studied at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

and then read English at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, but also trained with the

Hungary men's national water polo team The Hungary men's national water polo team represents Hungary in international men's water polo competitions and is controlled by the Hungarian Water Polo Association. It is considered the world's top power in the history of water polo, having wo ...

, and wrote for a Hungarian newspaper on a freelance basis.

Second World War

After the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered to join the British Army. He was accepted as an officer cadet by the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, but as an alien was also served with a deportation notice. Connections via Baillie with

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

David Margesson Henry David Reginald Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson, PC (26 July 1890 – 24 December 1965) was a British Conservative politician, most popularly remembered for his tenure as Government Chief Whip in the 1930s. His reputation was of a stern ...

and

James Thomas James Thomas may refer to: Politicians * James Thomas (Australian politician) (1826–1884), civil engineer who was Director of Public Works in Western Australia, 1876–1884 * James Thomas (Governor of Maryland) (1785–1845), served as the 23rd ...

removed the threat of deportation, and he served for a year as a sergeant in the Alien Pioneer Corps. He joined

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

, and undertook clandestine missions in occupied Belgium and the Netherlands. After he refused to serve with SOE in Hungary, he transferred first to

No. 4 Commando No. 4 Commando was a battalion-sized British Army commando unit, formed in 1940 early in the Second World War. Although it was raised to conduct small-scale raids and harass garrisons along the coast of German occupied France, it was mainly emp ...

and then the German-speaking X Troop (later 3 Troop) in No. 10 Commando. He was commissioned in 1943. He met the entomologist

Miriam Rothschild Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild (5 August 1908 – 20 January 2005) was a British natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology, entomology, and botany. Early life Miriam Rothschild was born in 1908 in Ashton Wold, near Oundle in No ...

the same year, while recuperating at her house in Northamptonshire. She was herself partly of Hungarian descent; the couple married in August 1943. They had six children, four biological: Mary Rozsiska (1945–2010), Charles Daniel (born 1948), Charlotte Teresa (born 1951) and Johanna Miriam (born 1951); and two adopted. While commanding one of the

Operation Tarbrush Operation Tarbrush was the name of a series of British Commando raids during the Second World War, which took place in 1944. Members of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando were responsible for this operation, which was intended to obtain photographs ...

commando reconnaissance raids on the coast of the Pas de Calais shortly before D-Day, Lane was captured by the Germans on 18–19 May 1944. He expected to be executed in accordance with Hitler's

Commando Order The Commando Order () was issued by the OKW, the high command of the German armed forces, on 18 October 1942. This order stated that all Allies of World War II, Allied commandos captured in Europe and Africa should be summary execution, summarily ...

but instead he was questioned over tea by

Field Marshal Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

, with Lane pretending to know no German, and to be Welsh to hide his Hungarian accent when speaking English (the commanding officer of 3 Troop, Captain Bryan Hilton Jones, was Welsh), and then imprisoned at Fresnes Prison near Paris and then

Oflag IX-A/H Oflag IX-A was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located in Spangenberg Castle in the small town of Spangenberg in northeastern Hesse, Germany. Camp history The camp was opened in October 1939 as Oflag IX-AMattiello (1986), p.206 to hou ...

at Spangenberg Castle in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

. He later escaped and was liberated, finding shelter with his brother-in-law

Victor Rothschild Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild (31 October 1910 – 20 March 1990) was a British banker, scientist, intelligence officer during World War II, and later a senior executive with Royal Dutch Shell and N M Rothschild & Son ...

in Paris, whose house had plenty of

Château Lafite A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

and Dom Pérignon but no hot water. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for his war service, for his part in the Tarbrush raids.

Later life

St Martha-on-the-Hill, grave of George Henry Lane, MC

He was formally naturalised as British in 1946.The London Gazette
20 August 1946, Supplement 37694, Page 4181 He assisted his wife to run her estate at

Ashton Wold Ashton Wold is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of the market town Oundle in Northamptonshire. It is part of the Ashton Estate, which was purchased in 1860 by Lionel de Rothschild, a banker and politician. His grands ...

near Oundle in Northamptonshire after the war, until they divorced in 1957. He moved to the US and worked as a stockbroker. He married Elizabeth Heald in 1963. She was the daughter of Conservative politician and former Attorney General Sir

Lionel Heald Sir Lionel Frederick Heald, QC, PC (7 August 1897 – 8 November 1981) was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. Early life Heald was born in Parrs Wood, Didsbury, Lancashire. He was educated at Charterhouse, then served ...

. They lived in London. He died in London, survived by his second wife, and a son and three daughters from his first marriage.

Early life

Second World War

Later life

References

Further reading