Harry Rée
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2015) |
Harry Alfred Rée | |
---|---|
Born | 15 October 1914 |
Died | 17 May 1991 | (aged 76)
Allegiance | Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
Other work | Teacher and Educationist |
Harry Alfred Rée,
Harry Rée was born in England, the son of Dr. Alfred Rée, a chemist who was from a Danish Jewish family, and Lavinia Elisabeth Dimmick, the American-born great granddaughter of chemist and industrialist
In the
Rée spoke against RAF bombing in France, arguing that it was turning French public opinion against the Allies. He suggested that SOE agents could organise effective sabotage of factories on the ground. He organised the destruction of the Peugeot factory at Sochaux by convincing the local director, who was already resisting, to co-operate with SOE. The local director's sabotage was more efficient, and he managed to share tactical information on the Wehrmacht projects they had had to become involved in (especially the V-1). On 5 November 1943 Rée organised a decoy attack on compressors and transformers at Sochaux to transfer the blame. Therefore, the RAF did not bomb the factory.
The Germans tried to capture Rée, who escaped a Feldgendarmerie group after being shot four times and, according to his own account, had to swim across a river and crawl through a forest. He managed to reach Switzerland and still keep some contact with his organisation. In May 1944 he was replaced by an American officer, E.F. Floege, and returned to Britain. He starred in the film Now it Can be Told (aka School for Danger) along from former SOE agent Jacqueline Nearne. The film was produced by the RAF Film Unit to tell the story of SOE's activities in France.
The Imperial War Museum has an on-line recording of Rée praising the role of the passive supporters who also risked their lives. [7]
In 1961, Rée became headmaster of Watford Grammar School for Boys.[4] He appeared occasionally on the BBC Television "Brains Trust" programme. In 1962 he became the first professor of education at the University of York.[8] He was also the first Provost of Derwent College.[9]
Rée wrote a biography of the educator and creator of
Bibliography
- Rée, Harry. Rée, Jonathan (ed.). A schoolmaster's war : Harry Rée, British agent in the French Resistance. Yale UP.
References
- ^ Foot, M.R.D. (1966), SOE in France, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 311
- ^ "Hartvig Philip Rée og hans slægt", Josef Fischer, Copenhagen, 1912
- ^ "Mette Fløjborg slægtsforskning Alfred Rée [3846]". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ a b Aitken, G (9 September 2018). "The Fullerian 2017-18" (PDF). The Fullerian. 2017–18: 2 – via Watford Grammar School for Boys.
- ^ "Forthcoming marriages", The Times, 18 April 1940
- ^ Imperial War Museum, Sound Archives, 10858/2
- ^ "Quietly Resisting".
- ^ The University of York – 1960s Archived 2 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Heads of Department". University of York. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Henry Morris – infed.org
Further reading
- The Secret History of SOE, pages 582–583 & 600, William MacKenzie
- They Came from the Sky, pages 1-69, E.H. Cookridge
External links
- Index of personal papers and recordings at the Institute of Education.