French Resistance agent who settled in Somerset and lived to 105
Second World War heroine Andree Peel, who lived in Long Ashton near Bristol, died on 8 March, 2010, aged 105.
Mrs Peel, or Agent Rose as she was known, spent World War II risking her life for the French Resistance, and helping British and American pilots to escape from occupied Europe.
She also survived the horrors of two concentration camps.
Mrs Peel saved the lives of more than 100 servicemen shot down over France, was put in a concentration camp and cheated death at least three times, once when she faced a Nazi firing squad.
After the war, Mrs Peel met her future husband, John, an Englishman, and the couple settled in Long Ashton several years later.
Mrs Peel received France's highest award for bravery, the Légion d'Honneur, from her own brother, four-star General Maurice Virot.
Among her other decorations are the War Cross with palm, the War Cross with purple star, the American Medal of Freedom, the Medal of the Resistance and the Liberation Cross.
She recalled her experiences in her autobiography Miracles Do Happen and also inspired a ...
More ›