Andree Peel, French heroine who saved 102 Allied pilots from the Nazis, dies aged 105



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.

Second World War heroine Andree Peel, who has died aged 105, proudly shows the medals she won during her time as a French resistance fighter



Mrs Peel, who helped 102 British and American pilots escape from her native France, with the concentration camp uniform she wore before being liberated

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 used the code name Agent Rose during the war



'Her selfless bravery saved many lives and she stands as a monument to the triumph of the human spirit, which will set an example for many generations to come.'

Under the code name Agent Rose, Mrs Peel passed vital information about the German Army after it invaded Brest, in her native Brittany, France.

She managed to save more than 100 Allied pilots in a three-year period working for the Resistance.

Mrs Peel's most harrowing experience came when she faced a Nazi death squad, but she was saved when they fled as Americans troops advanced on the Buchenwald concentration camp.

She was sent a letter of congratulation by Winston Churchill and received the highest military honour bestowed by the French government - the Legion d'Honneur.

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.

Speaking last year she said: 'I was born with courage. I did not allow cruel people to find in me a person they could torture.

'I saved 102 pilots before being arrested, interrogated and tortured. I suffer still from that. I still have the pain.

'We were defending freedom. It's an extremely precious thing. It is only when you do not have it that you begin to appreciate how important it is.

'At that time we were all putting our lives in danger but we did it because we were fighting for freedom.

Mrs Peel receiving the Legion d'Honneur from her brother, retired French General Maurice Virot in 2004

'The war is a time I will never forget. I don't think anybody who lived during that period ever really can, but I lived a different life to many woman as I fought like a man.

'It was a terrible time but looking back I am so proud of what I did and I'm glad to have helped defend the freedom of our future generations.'