John Renshaw Starr
Encyclopedia
John Renshaw Starr was one of two sons of Alfred Demarest Starr (an American) and Ethel Renshaw (English). He was a grandson of William Robert Renshaw
. He was an artist and a soldier during the Second World War. His story is told in a book, The Starr Affair
, by Jean Overton Fuller
.
but was prevented from doing so on the grounds that his father was American. In 1940, having obtained permission from the War Office
, he joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers
regiment of the British Army
in Rouen
before being assigned to the Field Security Police in Nantes
. Following the German breakthrough in France, his unit was evacuated to England via Saint-Nazaire
.
He continued training with the Field Security Police in Winchester, before being assigend to the War Office
as an artist and eventually gaining a
commission in the Special Operations Executive
(SOE).
His first mission in Valence in August 1942 was relatively uneventful, and he returned to England, but in May 1943 he was sent back to build an organisation, to be known as the Acrobat network, around Saint-Étienne
and Dijon
.
(or SD) in Dijon before being transferred to Fresnes prison
in Paris (where he was shot attempting to escape, and then tortured), and eventually to the Paris headquarters of the SD at 84 Avenue Foch
.
Several of his fellow-prisoners at the Avenue Foch suspected him of collaboration with the enemy although he made a failed escape attempt (according to his own account) together with another SOE prisoner, Noor Inyat Khan and a French Colonel named Léone Faye. He remained at Avenue Foch until 1944 when he was transferred to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen
near Berlin.
Many British prisoners at Sachsenhausen were executed by hanging, and according to his own account he avoided the same fate because of a quarantine resulting from a typhus
outbreak within the camp, and the opportunity which arose to smuggle himself into a group of prisoners who were being transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp near Lintz
in Upper Austria
.
prisoners who were released into the custody of the Red Cross and taken to Switzerland
as the war in Europe drew to a close.
Stories from other SOE agents who shared his captivity at the Avenue Foch resulted in doubts being raised about his loyalty, and his case became the subject of an MI5
investigation, which concluded that although his behaviour was certainly suspicious, there were no grounds for criminal prosecution.
He had a brother, George Reginald Starr
, also a member of SOE
William Robert Renshaw
William Robert Renshaw was an English industrialist and foundryman.Renshaw was born to an agricultural family in Handforth in the county of Cheshire, England...
. He was an artist and a soldier during the Second World War. His story is told in a book, The Starr Affair
The Starr Affair
The Starr Affair was a book written by Jean Overton Fuller and published in 1954 by Victor Gollancz.It tells the story John Renshaw Starr, an officer of the British Special Operations Executive sent to establish the Acrobat Network in north-eastern France during the Second World War.Subsequently...
, by Jean Overton Fuller
Jean Overton Fuller
Jean Overton Fuller was a British author best known for her book Madeleine, the story of Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan, GC, MBE, CdG, an Indian heroine of World War II....
.
Military career
When war broke out in 1939, he was a poster artist living in Paris. Nine months earlier he had attempted to join the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
but was prevented from doing so on the grounds that his father was American. In 1940, having obtained permission from the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, he joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers
King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
regiment of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
before being assigned to the Field Security Police in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
. Following the German breakthrough in France, his unit was evacuated to England via Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
.
He continued training with the Field Security Police in Winchester, before being assigend to the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
as an artist and eventually gaining a
commission in the 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).
His first mission in Valence in August 1942 was relatively uneventful, and he returned to England, but in May 1943 he was sent back to build an organisation, to be known as the Acrobat network, around Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...
and Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
.
Capture by Germans
On 18 July 1943 he was captured by the Germans and placed in the custody of the SicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(or SD) in Dijon before being transferred to 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...
in Paris (where he was shot attempting to escape, and then tortured), and eventually to the Paris headquarters of the SD at 84 Avenue Foch
84 Avenue Foch
Number 84 Avenue Foch was a building in Paris used by the Gestapo during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.The location is found on Avenue Foch, a wide residential boulevard in the XVIe arrondissement which connects the Arc de Triomphe and the Porte Dauphine.During the German...
.
Several of his fellow-prisoners at the Avenue Foch suspected him of collaboration with the enemy although he made a failed escape attempt (according to his own account) together with another SOE prisoner, Noor Inyat Khan and a French Colonel named Léone Faye. He remained at Avenue Foch until 1944 when he was transferred to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
near Berlin.
Many British prisoners at Sachsenhausen were executed by hanging, and according to his own account he avoided the same fate because of a quarantine resulting from a typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
outbreak within the camp, and the opportunity which arose to smuggle himself into a group of prisoners who were being transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp near Lintz
Lintz
Lintz is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated immediately to the south-west of Burnopfield.The famous court case, Miller v. Jackson, arose from cricket played by Lintz Cricket Club in the village....
in Upper Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Release
By exploiting his ability to pass himself off as a Frenchman, he joined a group of French and BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
prisoners who were released into the custody of the Red Cross and taken to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
as the war in Europe drew to a close.
Stories from other SOE agents who shared his captivity at the Avenue Foch resulted in doubts being raised about his loyalty, and his case became the subject of an MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
investigation, which concluded that although his behaviour was certainly suspicious, there were no grounds for criminal prosecution.
After the war
After the war John Starr opened a night-club in Hanley, Staffordshire, in partnership with the brothers Alfred and Henry Newton, SOE agents whom he had met during his training and also at the Avenue Foch. The Newton brothers had been in the Buchenwald concentration camp. He later returned to live in Paris, before moving to Switzerland, where he died in 1996.He had a brother, George Reginald Starr
George Reginald Starr
George Reginald Starr DSO MC was a British mining engineer and one of the Special Operations Executive's best secret agents during World War II.-Early life:...
, also a member of SOE