Frank Pickersgill
Encyclopedia
Frank Herbert Dedrick Pickersgill (May 28, 1915, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- September 14, 1944, Weimar
, Thuringia
, Germany
) is a Canadian hero of World War II
.
Holding an English degree from the University of Manitoba
and a Masters degree in Classics from the University of Toronto
, Pickersgill had originally set out to cycle across Europe
, and then returned to Europe in 1938 to work as freelance journalist for several Canadian newspapers. During his travels he met with Jean-Paul Sartre
, whose work he had hoped to translate into English though the oncoming war distracted his labours.
He served the first two years of the war in a labour camp as an enemy alien; he escaped by sawing out a window in the now-cliché style of a hacksaw blade smuggled into the camp in loaves of bread. Once he was safely back in Britain, Capt Pickersgill rejected the offer of a desk job in Ottawa
, and instead requested a commission with the newly created Canadian Intelligence Corps
.
Because he was fluent in German
, Latin
, Greek
and especially French
, he worked in close connection to the British Special Operations Executive
(SOE).
Along with fellow Canadian, John Kenneth Macalister
, he was parachuted into the Loire Valley
in occupied France
on June 20, 1943, to work with the French Resistance
. The two men were picked up by the SOE agent Yvonne Rudellat and the French officer Pierre Culioli
. Their vehicle stopped at a German checkpoint and after Rudellat and Culioli were cleared, they decided to wait for the two Canadians to come through. Minutes later at the checkpoint, their cover was blown and Culioli tried to speed away, but the Germans opened fire hitting Rudellat in the head and Culioli in the leg, causing the car to crash. Both Rudellat and Culioli survived the crash. In March 1944, Pickersgill tried to escape the Parisian Fresnes Prison
where they were being held, attacking a guard with a nearby bottle, and throwing himself out the second-storey window. He was shot multiple times in the escape attempt and recaptured; Pickersgill was interned with other agents at a Nazi-camp at Ravitsch 25 miles North of Breslau until on August 27 he was shipped with members of the Robert Benoist
group to Buchenwald concentration camp.
Pickersgill was executed at Buchenwald by the Nazis on September 14, 1944, along with 35 other SOE agents, including Canadians Roméo Sabourin
and John Kenneth Macalister. Though there are conflicting reports about their death, the men are commonly thought to have been hung on meat hooks and strangled with piano wire, a painful death typically reserved for traitors and spies. Their bodies were incinerated.
Posthumously, the government of France awarded him the Legion of Honor
, and as one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France, he is listed on the "Roll of Honour" on the Valençay SOE Memorial
in the town of Valençay
in the Indre
département. Captain Pickersgill is also honored on the Groesbeek Memorial in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands
, and the University of Toronto
has designated a Pickersgill-Macalister garden on the west side of the "Soldiers' Tower" monument.
Frank Pickersgill was the younger brother of Jack Pickersgill
, a member of the Canadian House of Commons
and a Cabinet minister.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- September 14, 1944, Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) is a Canadian hero of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Holding an English degree from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
and a Masters degree in Classics from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Pickersgill had originally set out to cycle across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and then returned to Europe in 1938 to work as freelance journalist for several Canadian newspapers. During his travels he met with Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
, whose work he had hoped to translate into English though the oncoming war distracted his labours.
He served the first two years of the war in a labour camp as an enemy alien; he escaped by sawing out a window in the now-cliché style of a hacksaw blade smuggled into the camp in loaves of bread. Once he was safely back in Britain, Capt Pickersgill rejected the offer of a desk job in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and instead requested a commission with the newly created Canadian Intelligence Corps
Canadian Intelligence Corps
The Canadian Intelligence Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.-History:Many Canadians were active in the Intelligence field as early as 1939. Major John P...
.
Because he was fluent in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and especially French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, he worked in close connection to the British Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE).
Along with fellow Canadian, John Kenneth Macalister
John Kenneth Macalister
John Kenneth Macalister was a Canadian hero of World War II.Ken Macalister graduated the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and from the University of Toronto, then as a Rhodes Scholar studied at Oxford University...
, he was parachuted into the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
in occupied France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on June 20, 1943, to work with the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. The two men were picked up by the SOE agent Yvonne Rudellat and the French officer Pierre Culioli
Pierre Culioli
Pierre Culioli , was a French tax officer who, during the Second World War, led the ADOLPH resistance network in the region of Tours, Orleans and Vierzon...
. Their vehicle stopped at a German checkpoint and after Rudellat and Culioli were cleared, they decided to wait for the two Canadians to come through. Minutes later at the checkpoint, their cover was blown and Culioli tried to speed away, but the Germans opened fire hitting Rudellat in the head and Culioli in the leg, causing the car to crash. Both Rudellat and Culioli survived the crash. In March 1944, Pickersgill tried to escape the Parisian Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
where they were being held, attacking a guard with a nearby bottle, and throwing himself out the second-storey window. He was shot multiple times in the escape attempt and recaptured; Pickersgill was interned with other agents at a Nazi-camp at Ravitsch 25 miles North of Breslau until on August 27 he was shipped with members of the Robert Benoist
Robert Benoist
Robert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.-Early life:Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild's gamekeeper...
group to Buchenwald concentration camp.
Pickersgill was executed at Buchenwald by the Nazis on September 14, 1944, along with 35 other SOE agents, including Canadians Roméo Sabourin
Roméo Sabourin
Roméo Sabourin is a Canadian hero of World War II.Lieutenant Sabourin joined the Canadian Army, serving in the Canadian Intelligence Corps...
and John Kenneth Macalister. Though there are conflicting reports about their death, the men are commonly thought to have been hung on meat hooks and strangled with piano wire, a painful death typically reserved for traitors and spies. Their bodies were incinerated.
Posthumously, the government of France awarded him the Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and as one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France, he is listed on the "Roll of Honour" on the Valençay SOE Memorial
Valençay SOE Memorial
The Valençay SOE Memorial is a monument to the members of the Special Operations Executive F Section who lost their lives for the liberation of France. The memorial was unveiled in the town of Valençay in the Indre département of France on May 6, 1991, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the...
in the town of Valençay
Valençay
Valençay is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-Geography:Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon.-History:...
in the Indre
Indre
Indre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département. Captain Pickersgill is also honored on the Groesbeek Memorial in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
has designated a Pickersgill-Macalister garden on the west side of the "Soldiers' Tower" monument.
Frank Pickersgill was the younger brother of Jack Pickersgill
Jack Pickersgill
John Whitney "Jack" Pickersgill, PC, CC was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitobia. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 1950s...
, a member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
and a Cabinet minister.
Further reading
- The Pickersgill Letters, written by Pickersgill during the period 1934-43, were published by George H. Ford (1948).
- His letters were republished in 1978 by McClelland & Stewart as The Making of a Secret Agent: Letters of 1934-1943 by Frank Pickersgill. The book expands on the original publication and includes a new introduction by George H. Ford.
- In 2004, two of his letters, sent to his family from Central Europe in 1939, were published in Charlotte GrayCharlotte Gray (author)Charlotte Gray, CM is a Canadian historian and author.Born in Sheffield, England and educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, Gray came to Canada in 1979. She worked for a number of years as a journalist, writing a regular column on national politics for Saturday Night and...
's acclaimed book "Canada: A Portrait in Letters". - His story, and that of Ken Macalister was retold in Unlikely Soldiers: How Two Canadians Fought the Secret War Against Nazi Occupation, by Jonathan Vance (HarperCollins, 2008). This book uses recently made available material from SOE files to tell a more complete story of their endeavours.