Frank Foley
Frank Foley CMG | |
---|---|
Born | Francis Edward Foley 24 November 1884 Highbridge, Somerset, England |
Died | 8 May 1958 Stourbridge, (now West Midlands ), England | (aged 73)
Nationality | English |
Employer | Government |
Spouse |
Katharine Eva (m. 1921) |
Major Francis Edward Foley
Early life
Righteous Among the Nations |
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By country |
Foley was the third son of Isabella and Andrew Wood Foley, a
While there he reconsidered his vocation for the priesthood and decided instead to pursue an academic career. He travelled extensively in Europe, becoming fluent in both French and German.Foley graduated from the
Joining secret service
The story of Foley's escape from Germany[
After the running down of the commission, he was offered the post of passport control officer in Berlin which was a cover for his main duties as head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) station.[14] During the 1920s and '30s, Foley recruited agents and acquired key details of German military research and development.[9]
Together with Wilfrid Israel and Hubert Pollack, Foley formed a special mechanism that specialized in rescuing Jews who were already taken into the first Nazi concentration camps. Pollack had contacts in the Gestapo; Wilfrid had money and direct links with sponsors abroad; and Foley was the man in charge of issuing visas. People came to Israel pleading for his help in releasing their relations from the camps; he gave the necessary funds to Pollack; Pollack obtained the documents; and Foley granted visas to those who Israel and Pollack told him were honest people whose names had been blackened by the Gestapo. Pollack and Israel kept Foley informed of any agents planted by the Gestapo among the visa applicants.[15] This story is reflected among others in the film The Essential Link: The Story of Wilfrid Israel by filmmaker Yonatan Nir.
Foley is primarily remembered as a "British
Second World War
In 1939 and 1940, Foley was a passport control officer in Norway until the
On 1 January 1941, he was awarded
Later life
Foley returned to Berlin very soon after the war under the cover of Assistant Inspector General of the Public Safety Branch of the
In 1949, Foley retired to Stourbridge, Worcestershire, and died there in 1958.[8] He is buried in Stourbridge Cemetery.
On 27 April 1961, the Daily Mail carried the story, written by his widow, of his activities to save as many Jews as he possibly could. When no excuse could be found for a visa to Britain, he contacted friends working in the embassies of other nations for their assistance in granting visas to their countries.[20]
His widow, Katharine Eva Foley, died on 17 April 1979 at her home in Sidmouth, Devon.[21]
Honours and awards
- Mentioned in despatches for service in World War I[7]
- Order of St Olav Knight's Cross (Norwegian) in 1941[7]
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1941[19]
- Righteous Among the Nations, awarded in October 1999 posthumously by Israel[22]
- British Hero of the Holocaust, awarded posthumously in 2010[23][24]
Posthumous recognition
Foley was accorded the status of a
In 2004 a remembrance plaque was dedicated to him at the entrance to Stourbridge's Mary Stevens Park.[25] The following year volunteers from Highbridge, Foley's birthplace, raised money to erect their own tribute.
In 2007, a film about Foley's life was in the planning stages, but the producers were then taking legal action against MI6 to release still-classified documents related to his work.[27]
On 24 November 2004, (the 120th anniversary of his birth), descendants of Foley, relatives of those he saved, representatives of Jewish organisations, British MPs and other well-wishers gathered at the British Embassy in Berlin for the unveiling of a plaque honouring Foley. At the ceremony, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw praised Foley's heroism:[28]
Frank Foley risked his life to save the lives of thousands of German Jews. Without the protection of diplomatic immunity he visited internment camps and sheltered Jewish refugees in his house. Frank Foley was a true British hero. It is right that we should honour him at the British Embassy in Berlin, not far from where he once worked.
On 31 May 2009, a garden was dedicated in his memory at London's
In 2010, Foley was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government.[23]
In 2012, the Foreign Secretary,
A National Express West Midlands bus is dedicated to him.[30]
On 18 September 2018,
Bibliography
- Smith, Michael (2016). Foley: The Spy Who Saved 10,000 Jews. Biteback. ISBN 9781785900549.
- Anon (1964). Who Was Who, Vol. V, 1951–60. Adam & Charles Black. ISBN 0713625988.
References
- ^ Paldiel, Mordechai.Diplomat Heroes of the Holocaust (KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2007), pp. 8–17.
- ^ "Astonishing tale of Devon railway worker's son on Hitler's 'Most Wanted' list". Western Morning News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ISBN 9780091940683.
- ^ Walker, Jonathan (31 May 2013). "Campaign to get Stourbridge war hero Frank Foley knighted". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "No. 29931". The London Gazette. 6 February 1917. p. 1279.
- ^ "No. 30390". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 November 1917. p. 11993.
- ^ a b c d e Stourbridge County Express dated 10 May 1958 – Obituary Major F E Foley CMG.
- ^ a b Anon (1964), p. 384.
- ^ ISBN 0-340-76603-4.
- ^ "No. 30823". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 July 1918. p. 9090.
- ^ "No. 31889". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1920. p. 5215.
- ^ "No. 32548". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 December 1921. p. 10216.
- ^ "AJR unveils commemorative plaque at the British Embassy in Berlin". Holocaustremembrance.com. Association of Jewish Refugees. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Unknown heroes". BBC Today program. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ Wilfrid Israel, German Jewry's Secret Ambassador by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, in 1984
- ISBN 978-82-05-12148-5
- ISBN 82-02-10743-1.
- ^ Haavardsholm, Espen: Martin Linge - min morfar. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1993
- ^ a b "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1940. p. 6.
- ^ Daily Mail, 27 April 1961 – article "Pimpernel Foley".
- ^ "No. 47845". The London Gazette. 21 May 1979. p. 6556.
- ^ Yad Vashem Holocaust website – List of Righteous Gentiles
- ^ a b "Britons honoured for holocaust heroism". The Telegraph. London. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ British Hero of the Holocaust – Frank Foley
- ^ Plaque recognises the "Stourbridge Schindler" Archived 23 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Highbridge honours Frank Foley with statue, BBC News. 5 May 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "Cherie Blair could help Foley Film". Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ "Briton who saved Jews remembered". BBC News. 24 November 2004. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ Dysch, Marcus (15 June 2012). "Hague to honour wartime British spy who saved Jews". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Bus for local hero Blind Dave Heeley". National Express West Midlands. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ Ship, Chris. (18 September 2018). "The 'British Schindler' finally gets the recognition he deserves" ITV. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-340-76603-4.
- Sales, Dan (5 October 2006). "Spacey or Hopkins for Frank Foley film?", Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- Smith, Michael (27 December 2004).Mrs Foley's diary solves the mystery of Hess The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- BBC: Inside Out: Foley The Quiet Briton, 28 February 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- Sales, Dan (26 January 2007). "Cherie Blair could help Foley Film". Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
External links
- Frank Foley – his activity to save Jews' lives during the Holocaust, at Yad Vashemwebsite