John Renshaw Starr
John Ashford Renshaw Starr (6 August 1908 – 1996), code names Emile and Bob, was a British artist and an agent in France of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II. He was the organiser (leader) of the Acrobat network (or circuit) which operated in Dijon. The purpose of SOE in occupied France was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Starr was wounded and captured by the German
Early life
Starr was born in
Special Operations Executive
First Mission
Starr parachuted "blind" (without being met on the ground) near
Second Mission
Starr was held in high regard by SOE and, along with a wireless operator, John Young, he parachuted into France again on the night of 15–16 May 1943, landing near
Capture and collaboration
On 18 July 1943 Starr was captured by the Germans after being betrayed by a Frenchman he had recruited. He attempted to escape en route to a prison in Dijon and was shot twice in the thigh and foot. He was placed in the custody of the
The head of the Paris SD was an ex-policemen named
After the escape attempt, Starr again became friendly with the Germans, even going out to restaurants with some of them and on an operation to identify the bodies of British airmen who had been shot down near Paris. He helped the SD send bogus wireless messages by correcting spelling and editing mistakes. The Germans he worked with later described him as "weak and misguided rather than knowingly treacherous."[13][14]
A German concentration camp
Starr remained at Avenue Foch until August 1944 when, after the
Post World War II
Starr testified at the war crimes trial of Josef Kieffer. He said that Kieffer had not mistreated prisoners and that he did not believe that Kieffer would "take part in the deliberate murder of British prisoners." Kieffer was found guilty and hanged.[17]
Stories from other SOE agents who shared his captivity at Avenue Foch resulted in doubts being raised about Starr's loyalty, and his case became the subject of an
References
- ^ 1911 England Census
- ^ "John Ashford Renshaw STARR". Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ Glass, Charles (2018). They Fought Alone. New York: Penguin Press. pp. 15–20.
- ^ Foot, M.R.D. (1966), SOE in France, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Foot, pp. 210–211
- ^ Foot, pp. 210–211
- ^ Glass, pp. 22–25
- ^ Foot, p. 286
- ^ Glass, pp. 87–88
- ^ Glass, pp. 87–91, 104–105
- ^ Glass, pp. 104–110.
- ^ Foot, pp. 333–334
- ^ Helm, Sarah (2005), A Life in Secrets, New York: Doubleday, pp. 122–123
- ^ Foot, p. 334
- ^ Glass, pp. 149–150
- ^ Glass, pp. 220–225
- ^ Glass, pp. 220–225, 245–248
- ^ Glass 2018, pp. 257–258.
- ^ Glass, pp. 248–252, 267