| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Obits- |
| Andree Peel, French heroine who saved 102 Allied pilots from the Nazis, dies aged 105 |
| 2010-03-08 |
| An unsung Second World War heroine who saved more than 100 lives and survived a Nazi death squad has died aged 105. Andree Peel, who was known as Agent Rose, helped 102 British and American pilots escape from her native France. The resistance fighter was imprisoned in two concentration camps but was liberated and went on to settle in Long Ashton, Bristol, after the war. She was the most highly decorated woman to survive the conflict and was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by her brother, General Maurice Virot. Mrs Peel was awarded the War Cross with palm, the War Cross with purple star, the medal of the Resistance and the Liberation cross. She also received the American Medal of Freedom from US President Dwight Eisenhower, as well as the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, presented to her by King George VI. Dr Liam Fox, Conservative MP for Woodspring, Somerset, paid tribute today to Mrs Peel's 'selfless bravery'. He said: 'Mrs Peel was an iconic figure who showed phenomenal courage in the most difficult circumstances. Mrs Peel, whose maiden name was Andree Virot, settled in Bristol after she met and married Englishman John Peel, who died in 2003, after the war. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |