Andrée Peel, 1905 – 2010:: First in a  series of short biographies by Sophie Munro

Andrée was born in France on 3rd February 1905. At the outbreak of World War II she owned a beauty salon in the port of Brest in Brittany. Following the German invasion of France in 1940, Andrée joined the French Resistance. She distributed secret newspapers and signalled to allied planes with torches to guide them to improvised landing sites. She also aided servicemen trapped in France to escape to allied naval vessels, saving the lives of over 100 soldiers during her service. In 1944 Andrée was arrested in Paris and sent to the notorious women’s concentration camp Ravensbrück. She was later transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp, where she contracted and survived meningitis. Andrée was lined up to be shot by a firing squad just as US troops arrived to liberate the camp. Following the war, while working in a restaurant in Paris, she met her future husband John Peel. The couple settled near Bristol in England. For her bravery during the war Andrée was highly decorated. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Medal of the Resistance and the Order of Liberation by France. She was also presented with the Medal of Freedom by President Eisenhower, received a personal letter of thanks from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and received the King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. Andrée died peacefully at 105 years old on 5th March 2010.

Sophie Munro is a passionate amateur historian from Devon, UK. For more fascinating stories of weird and wonderful women find her at instagram.com/weirdwonderfulwomen and twitter.com/weirderfulwomen