- Peter Churchill
Peter Morland Churchill (1909 - 1972) was an SOE officer during the
World War II . His code name was "Michel ".Peter Churchill was born in
Amsterdam onJanuary 14 1909 . In Cambridge University he mainly excelled in athletic pursuits.After the outbreak of
World War II he became anintelligence officer and joined theSpecial Operations Executive . In January 1942 he was landed by submarine atMiramar inFrance to supply and evaluate the "Carte" circuit of the Maquis andFrench Resistance . When he returned toEngland , he was promoted to Captain.In August 1942 Churchill went to
Montpellier , 34, in France to organize and coordinate theSpindle Network . He developed a close relationship with his radio operatorOdette Sansom . Spindle Network directed aerial delivery of supplies to Maquis. However, many resistance members disapproved of Churchill's flamboyant lifestyle and his tactlessness with his contacts. Spindle transferred to Annecy network.Eventually the
Abwehr infiltrated the network. Churchill went to England on 23-24 March 1943 and parachuted back into the mountains aboveSaint-Jorioz on the banks ofLake Annecy on15 April . Next day,16 April ,Hugo Bleicher of Abwehr arrested him and Sansom in St Jorioz.Churchill and Sansom claimed they were a married couple and related to
Winston Churchill . They were tortured and sent to concentration camps but avoided execution throughout the war.Churchill and Sansom were married in 1947 and were divorced in 1956. Peter Churchill died in 1972.
Peter Churchill's memoirs:
* "Of Their Own Choice " (1952)
* "Duel of Wits " (1953)
* "The Spirit of the Cage " (1954)
* "By Moonlight " (1958)
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