Andrée Peel (3 February 1905 – 5 March 2010) was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during the Second World War who worked against the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. She was known as Agent Rose, a code name shared with Eileen Nearne.

Early life

Peel was born as Andrée Marthe Virot in February 1905. Little is known about her childhood. When World War II broke out, she was running a beauty salon in the Breton port of

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...

World War II

After the German invasion, she joined the resistance and was involved in distributing secret newspapers, but was later appointed head of an under-section of the resistance. She and her team used torches to guide allied planes to improvised landing strips, and helped airmen who had landed in France to escape onto submarines and gunboats, saving the lives of more than one hundred soldiers and airmen. She was arrested in Paris in 1944 and sent to the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

. She was later transferred to the concentration camp at

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

where she was being lined up to be shot by firing squad when the US Army arrived to liberate the prisoners. During this time she also survived

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

After the war

After the war, she met her future husband, an English academic named John Peel (who at the time was still a student), while working in a restaurant in Paris, and they settled in

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populat ...

, near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, several years later. The couple had no children. While living in Long Ashton, Andrée received many visits from admirers and also managed to relieve the pain of visitors who had injuries.

Awards

Mrs. Peel received many decorations from the French government for her resistance work, and she was awarded the Order of Liberation by France, the Medal of Freedom by the United States, and the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct by Britain. During the war she received a personal letter of appreciation from Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. She was presented with the Medal of Freedom by President Eisenhower. She received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

from her brother, four-star General Maurice Virot, in 2004. On 3 February 2005, she received a note from the Queen as she had just turned 100 years old. In 2010, she fractured her hip after a bad fall and had to undergo surgery. She died peacefully at the Lampton House nursing home on 5 March 2010. Woodspring MP Liam Fox paid tribute to Mrs Peel, saying: ''"Mrs Peel was an iconic figure who showed phenomenal courage in the most difficult circumstances. Her selfless bravery saved many lives and she stands as a monument to the triumph of the human spirit, which will set an example for many generations to come."'' Her house was broken into sometime on 10 or 11 March 2010, and several items were stolen, including copies of her autobiography. Police suspect that it was because of the widespread knowledge of her death after reporting in local and national newspapers. In 2011, a parcel of land west of Keeds Lane in

was proposed for a public park in her memory and named Andrée Peel Park.

Autobiography

Her autobiography, ''Miracles Do Happen'', , was published in French as ''Miracles Existent!'', (English version translated by Evelyn Scott Brown). It has been made into a film by William Ennals.

Decorations

* Medal of Freedom * Medal of the Resistance * Ordre de la Libération * Knight of the

in 1967, promoted to Officer in 2004 * King's Commendation for Brave Conduct * Croix de Guerre (with palm)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Andree 1905 births 2010 deaths French Resistance members Female resistance members of World War II Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Officers of the Legion of Honour Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct French women in World War II French women centenarians 20th-century French women