Welcome to the site Terry. The loss of HMS Fidelity has been researched by many and is one that is ongoing. I have a link in my files which may be helpful. http://fidelity.ww2site.com/ With best wishes, Gerry
Thank you Gentlemen for your kind welcome. Would the moderator kindly advertise (if it is not against the forum rules) the unmissable show at Blenheim Palace on Sun 14 August so for full info go to: www.flightfestivals.com I will be there for War Memorials Trust and UKNIWM (IWM) I hope to bring some Veterans as well as my Squadron Scramble bell and Air Raid Siren! Another note to moderator; I have lots of jpeg images I would like to share with folks on this site.....how may I do it???? I salute you
Hi Terry, very interested to hear about the elderly lady who has an interest in the Fidelity.I do hope you can let me have some more information.
(Re posting from Terry Nicolson about HMS Fidelity) I have brought the other HMS Fidelity thread forward Terry to make it easier to find.
Really interesting, good site you have Fidelity good luck with it and with finding more information with regards to HMS Fidelity. *Moderator* Merged both Fidelity topics into one for ease of reading. Gnomey
Thanks a lot chaps I really appreciate all your kind help. I have asked the daughter for her permission to post her email address for you guys to contact her direct...I await. Kind regards to all Terry
Edward Marriott's book 'Claude and Madeleine: A True Story ' is now available , published 5th August 2005 Hardcover 250 pages Publisher: Picador Language: English ISBN: 0330419161 (Claude, being Jack Langlais, ( Captain of HMS Fidelity) and Madeleine being First Officer Madeleine V. Barclay WRNS ) The book is normally £14.99 but it is available for £8.99 from Amazon.
Thank you for the info. The ship remains a great subject of curiosity for many, myself included. No.9
Would this HMS Fidelity be the same HMS Fildelity,a Q ship of 1.500 tons,an ex French cargo vessel that was used by the SOE to land agents in the South of France. From the autumn of 1940,its commander was Lieutenant Commander Patrick Albert O'Leary,the alias of Count Albert Guerisse, a Belgian doctor of medicine who joined the Royal Navy after escaping from Dunkirk.At the time he was serving in the Belgian Army as a medical officer. In April 1941,while carrying out clandestine duties,he was captured and imprisoned by Vichy France at Nimes but escaped to form the "Pat Line".This escape line was responsible for the escape of over 600 Allied personnel from occupied Europe.Captured by the Germans in March 1943, O'Leary survived the hell of Dachau and retired as the Director General of the Belgian Army Medical Services in 1970.
Further research reveals that "Pat O'Leary" joined the crew of the SS Rhin, a French trawler registered with the French Paquet SS Co in Gibralter having sailed from Sete with a group of Belgian Army officers in June 1940. The trawler was requisitioned by the British and at the time, O'Leary joined the crew as a Lieut Commander having enlisted in the RN.His role on the now named HMS Fidelity was as second in command,not as captain as some reports and which agrees with the previous postings. HMS Fidelity's role was one of involved in clandestine operations on behalf of the SOE in the Western Mediterranean and it was while he was in charge of a skiff launched from Fidelity on 25 April 1941 in an operation coded "Operation Fidelity" that O'Leary was nearly drowned whilst landing two agents.Captured by Vichy coastguards,O'Leary presented himself as a French Canadian airman and was then imprisoned in the British internment camp at St Hippolyte du Fort near Nimes.From here he escaped to form the Pat O'Leary escape line and give clandestine war history an interesting account of his activities. Fidelity was lost with all hands when on 30 December 1942 she was torpedoed in the South Atlantic.After the war, Pat O'Leary with others tried in vain to organise some form of tribute to the ship and her gallant crew,but the Chairman of the company,who had been a member of the National Council of Vichy during the war appeared to be disinterested in the proposal.
The 'Berceau du Marin' was launched under the command of Lieut. Comdr.O'Leary for the operation of 25thApril 1941, (the first part of which was to land agents Angelica and Aromatic at le Barcares ) .They were then to make for Coullioures Bay, to arrive there at dawn on 26th but they were late.They were supposed to reconnoitre, then if nothing suspicious was observed, they were to proceed with embarkation of refugees. I can find no reference to this operation being called 'Operation Fidelity'.The operations undertaken were referred to as 'Operation A', or 'Operation B' , etc in the 'Report of Operation of April 20th -May 1st 1941 by Liet.Cdr Milner Gibson', and I can find no reference to 'Operation Fidelity' in the 'Copy of Order of Operation , committed to memory by Lt.Comdr. O'Leary.'
Marcel Ruby in his publication "F SECTION SOE" refers to the operation of 25 April 1941 as "Operation Fidelity"which was organised by SOE DF Section whose role was was one of specialisation in escape lines. SOE records one of the two passengers as a Polish diplomat called Bitner who also used the alias of Kijakowski.His SOE field name is not recorded.Bitner's task was to reconnoitre the Polish community in NE France and report on its resistance possibilities.Bitner made contact with Kawalkowski SOE (field name, Hubert) formerly the Polish Consul General in Lille and soon was requesting money,wireless sets and propaganda material.Arms were not requested by Bitner and it might be that SOE could have been disappointed with their first agent into France.I cannot find any further reports of Bitner being involved in SOE activities.Was Bitner, "Angelica"? The second passinger as "Fidelity" states was the SOE agent whose field name was Aromatic.However his real name was E.V.H.Rizzo and he turned out to be a true friend of the British.Rizzo was an elderly Maltese civil engineer who was working as a science master in Paris until June 1940 when he made his way to the south of France by bicycle and then to the British.His prime motivation was that he hated the Germans, a personality trait recorded by the SOE. Rizzo set up an escape line from Perpignan across the Pyrennes which in four years of operation was never discovered by the Germans.It developed into the second largest of DF's French circuits and operated as the Edouard or Troy line..Its success was put down to Rizzo's exception level of security awareness.His main courier was his wfe who after Rizzo had left was arrested by the Germans and was murdered at Ravensbruck on Good Friday 1945. SOE records the landing of 25 April 1941 as at the beach adjacent to the Etang du Canet which is about 12kms south of le Barcares.It might well be that the pick up point was at Collioure (a bay is not marked)which was about 10kms south of the Etang du Canet. However there is an interesting point regarding the "embarkation of refugees".This is possibily associated with the official account via the war diary that an attempt to pick up ten Poles by Fidelity on the following day of the landing was prevented by an intruding French seaplane.I would think that these "refugees" would have been elements of the Polish Forces who had escaped to France on the fall of Poland and were finding their way to Britain as many Poles did to continue the fight against Germany. Thank for the Fidelity information on your Website.
I'm trying to find out as much information as i can on the fidelity, so far i have found some useful information and becoming more and more interested in the story and discovering what happened. My granny has a brother in the marines, William 'Billy' Bradley, who died on board and until recently had no information surrounding his death. The medal the family recieved was blown up in her fathers bar in Derry a long time ago. I would greatly appreciate any updates or further info to pass on to my granny. Are there any survivors alive that know billy? Does anyone have any info on his good friend Saddler?
You will find a reference and a photograph of your relative BRADLEY, William J., Marine (PL/X 3580) on the following website. http://www.gordonmumford.com/Gallery-2.htm#bradley Have you read the book by Marcel Jullian 'HMS Fidelity'? (Secondhand bookshops or library copy ) A further interesting secondhand book to look out for is ‘The Convoy that Nearly Died : The Story of ONS154' by Henry Revely, (London: Wm.Kimber 1979). Further insights can be gleaned from Peter Kingwell's book, Fidelity Will Haunt Me 'Till I Die, This book has been reprinted , and is easily obtainable from The Royal Marines Historical Society Special Publications are available for sale from the Museum Shop at the Royal Marines Museum. A complete list of all the 23 publications so far issued can be obtained by writing to the RMHS Office, Royal Marines Museum, Eastney, Southsea, Hants PO4 9PX. Amongst the subjects covered in their Special Publications is ‘The Tragedy of HMS FIDELITY' Edward Marriott's book 'Claude and Madeleine: A True Story ' is now available , published 5th August 2005 Hardcover 250 pages Publisher: Picador Language: English ISBN: 0330419161 This is mainly the story of Claude and Madeleine but it also gives insight into life aboard the Fidelity. Claude and Madeleine were trained SOE operatives. This book gives far more up to date information and greater detail than either of the above mentioned books to my mind. Of your relatives friend Saddler, I'm afraid I can find no mention.Could you give some further details please? You might find something of interest on my website http://fidelity.ww2site.com/ although, it badly needs updating .
Fidelity still remembered 64 years ago from its loss. Remembering the 406 souls who went to the bottom with her.
Fidelity was avenged when the U 435, based at Brest was sunk on 9 July 1943 off Figueira, Portugal with all hands (48) by depth charges from a Wellington Mark V111 of RAF No 179 Squadron operating out of Gibraltar. Laid down in the Danzig shipyards on 11 April 1940 and commissioned on 30 August 1941,the boat had only one commander, Siegfried Strelow throughout its operation life of 8 patrols.
Thankyou for posting the memorial Harry, (and the other information). Can you tell me which newspaper you found it in please?
Thankyou for posting the memorial Harry, (and the other information). Can you tell me which newspaper you found it in please? Daily Telegraph
I am a Frenchman living in the US and the nephew of one of the original officers of HMS Fidelity. All of the original crew were French and were given comissions in the Royal Navy along with British citizenship and a new usually English sounding name - maybe with the exception of the original civilian capitain - Commandant Cannebotin who became Lt. Commander Doudet. Claude Andre Michel Costa (who was indeed in the French Sercret Service up to the fall of France, and also a Corsican), comandeered the ship and brought it to Gibraltar. As a matter of fact, Admiral Muselier visited Costa and the ship in Gibraltar. Costa, gave the ship and the all the cargo he had stolen/comandeered (at gunpoint) in Marseille to the British. He also was carrying plastique explosives (which he had used at a spanish port to sink a german cargo vessel) and likely documents relating to the use and manufacture of the explosive which the French and Czechoslovaks had invented/pioneered. All this he offered to the British and the Admiralty with certain conditions which will likely remain buried in the annals of history. He was furiously anti-De Gaulle and the Free French and embraced his new found nationality with relish. He was a brute, often beating his sailors, and was obsessed with weaponry. His behavior, lack of true seamanship (which was one of the reasons that Cannebotin (alias Doudet) stayed on, the scandals that often errupted and also his lover being allowed on his ship and given a comission as a WREN - Barcley, WRNS (Real Name: Madeleine Bayard/Guesclin) all would have been enough to get Costa thrown out of the Royal Navy in a hurry. It is quite likely, that apart from the ship and the cargo which he gave the british (BTW: Two spitfires were purchased for the RAF and dedicated as a gift from FIDELITY) something else was exchanged and arrangements were made between British Intelligence, The Admiralty and Costa. In any case, my uncle was Jean Ayral (alias Sub-Lieutenant/Enseign Robert Harrow). He left the ship and went to the FFL (De Gaulle's Free French Forces) secret services, was parachuted into occupied France, formed and became head of the BOA (Bureau des Operation Aeriennes) under Jean Moulin, was later on captured and managed an incredible escape from Gestapo Headquarters in Paris. His cover blown, he was flown back by Lysander operation to England. Unfortunately, he died in combat, five days before the liberation of Paris while leading a parachute commando team in Toulon (Provence/French Riviera). Ordre de la Libération I have my uncle's journal and my brother and I plan to write a book regarding his story and including his journal. His best friend on the ship was a Belgian (not O'Leary), who took on the name Archibald and whom my uncle called "Archi" . In his journal Archi's wedding date was Thursday, March 6, 1941 (my uncle was witness/best man at the church), this being in the port town of Barry, Wales. Archi's wife's name was/is Jean (no last name was written). I know that Archi survived HMS Fidelity because he had gone into the RAF before the ship was sunk. I would very much like to hear from anyone who knew them. Also about a Mary who seems to have been my uncle's companion in Barry. philippeayral@yahoo.com
