Albert Guérisse
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2011) |
Albert Guérisse aka Pat O'Leary | |
---|---|
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (honorary) Distinguished Service Order |
Biography
Guérisse was born in
On 25 April 1941, during a mission to place
When the Vichy France authorities captured Garrow in October 1941, Guérisse took over as chief of the escape network. Along with others, including Nancy Wake, he smuggled a guard uniform to Garrow in his cell in Mauzac prison camp, which helped Garrow's escape on 6 December 1941. At this point the British decided it was time for Garrow to return to London, so "O'Leary" continued in command and expanded the reach of the escape line's operations. The line carried over 600 escapees to Spain and back to Britain.
In January 1943, the escape line was infiltrated and betrayed by a French turncoat, Roger le Neveu; Guérisse was arrested in
In the summer of 1944, he was at the
Finally, Guérisse was taken to the
-
Registration form of "Patrick O'Leary" as a prisoner at Mauthausen
-
List of personal effects at Natzweiler
-
Request (stamped "SECRET") for his repatriation after the liberation of Dachau
-
Worksheet on the request for the repatriation of "Patrick Albert O'Leary" (labelled "VIP")
-
Report (stamped "SECRET") on his repatriation
From its founding in 1956 until his death he served many terms as president of the Comité International de Dachau, and regularly gave the keynote speech at the May memorial ceremonies.
In 1946, he was appointed a member of the War Crime Commission at Nuremberg. In November 1946 he was demobilized from the Royal Navy and resumed his real name and rejoined the Belgian Army, returning to his former regiment. In 1951, he volunteered as a medical officer for the Belgian United Nations Corps in Korea during the Korean War where he was wounded while going to rescue a wounded soldier under enemy fire. He became the head of the medical service of the Belgian Army and retired in 1970, in the rank of major general.
Personal life
In his personal life, he married Sylvia Cooper-Smith in 1947; they had a son, Patrick. Sylvia Guérisse predeceased her husband.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in November 1963 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre.
Awards and decorations
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
General Guérisse received 37 decorations, from a variety of nations. In 1946, the British recognised his war service with the award of the George Cross.[1] This was the highest possible award of the British Commonwealth nations for actions not in combat and only the Victoria Cross (the equivalent award for bravery in actual combat) takes precedence.
In the UK it is the convention for the post-nominal letters for both these awards to be appended to the surname even for general usage, i.e. to refer to: 'Guérisse, GC'. Recognising his military service as a whole, the British later also conferred on Albert-Marie Guérisse, GC, an honorary
Similarly, the King of Belgium recognised the lifetime service of General Guérisse with the grant of a peerage in 1989, in the rank of Count. His motto: Honores non-quaero, fidelis sum (Honors I do not seek, faithful I am).
Death
General Count Albert-Marie Guérisse died in Waterloo, Belgium on 26 March 1989, aged 77.
Footnotes
- ^ Fidelity was lost with all hands when torpedoed in the South Atlantic on 31 December 1942.
Reading
- Vincent Brome, The Way Back, Cassell and Company (London), 1957 (ASIN: B000ZRBLPQ)
References
- ^ "Lieutenant - Commander Patrick O'LEARY, D.S.O., Royal Navy". the gazette.co.uk. No. 37, 777. 1 November 1946. p. 5417. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
External links
- Major-Gen Albert-Marie Edmond Guérisse: Pat O'Leary of the PAO Allied escape line - the 'Pat' or 'O'Leary' Line, rafino.org.uk
- Holocaust Sketches Donated To Imperial War Museum, culture24.org.uk
- Profile, gc-database.co.uk