Belgian Agents

[vatjan]

Hey,

i'm picking up this old subject because i'm investigating the medals i inherited from my forefather.

He has a British war medal, and surfings the internet i came across this fourm and the British National archives.

Now i have the MIC of my forefather (Joseph Van Hove), i know he was also a Belgian Agent.

This would make sense since he worked for the railroad company in Belgium.

But on the MIC there is also mentioning "P.O.W. Helpers.101"

Anyone knows what this would mean ?

Also on the top of the MIC is mentioned P of W medal. is that another kind of medal ?

Because i have one medal for which i can not find anything of it's meaning.

Do you have an adress for the archive in Brussels ?

Thanks in advance,

Kris.

Hi Kris,

Joseph Van Hove worked for M25 group, I have a short history of this network somewhere.

Let me see if I can dig it up.

Best regards

Jan

[speedy_belgium]

Hi Kris,

Joseph Van Hove worked for M25 group, I have a short history of this network somewhere.

Let me see if I can dig it up.

Best regards

Jan

Hi,

sorry for my late reply, but did you manage to find that history ?

I would love to find out more about it.

Best regards,

Kris.

[Old Owl]

Hi,

sorry for my late reply, but did you manage to find that history ?

I would love to find out more about it.

Best regards,

Kris.

Hi Kris,

P.O.W. usually stands for Prisoner of War, so I would assume that a reference to P of W medal would refer to the Political Prisoners Medal.

As you will be aware many Belgian Agents were arrested during WW1 some were shot by the Germans and other were given sentences of up to 12 and 15 years of Penal Servitude.

This in effect meant that they were prisoners of war, albeit political prisoners.

Do you have your relatives British War Medal or others as well? I can give you a contact in Belgium, for the archives at Brussels.

Hope that this helps,

Robert

[Old Owl]

Hi Kris,

I forgot to mention the reference to 'P.O.W. helpers' will mean(I believe) that he was involved in helping escaped allied soldiers to cross the frontier into Holland.

Robert

[speedy_belgium]

Thanks a lot for the info.

This is al interesting information.

I sure love to have that contact for the archives in Brussels.

Do you think i can find more information there ?

[Old Owl]

Thanks a lot for the info.

This is al interesting information.

I sure love to have that contact for the archives in Brussels.

Do you think i can find more information there ?

Hi Kris,

Yes, I am quite sure that there will be more information, however sometimes it is rather limited, so don't build up your hopes--just keep your fingers crossed!!

If you can give me your email, then I can put you in touch with my contact.

Robert

[speedy_belgium]

Hi Kris,

Yes, I am quite sure that there will be more information, however sometimes it is rather limited, so don't build up your hopes--just keep your fingers crossed!!

If you can give me your email, then I can put you in touch with my contact.

Robert

hi, cannot use P.M. system.

You can send the info to speedy_belgium@hotmail.com

thanks a lot in advance.

[Old Owl]

hi, cannot use P.M. system.

You can send the info to speedy_belgium@hotmail.com

thanks a lot in advance.

Hi Kris,

I have just sent you the details via email.

Best wishes,

Robert

[kanga]

Hallo I new to this forum I wonder if anyone can help. I recently aquired the BWN named to G. Dreuz. On his MIC it states Belgian Agents but I have found out practically nothing about Belgian Agents. Any information would be appreciated

Rgds

Alfred

[Philip Wilson]

For those interested in intelligence operations behind enemy lines then the book 'Secrets of Rue St Roch' by Janet Morgan published in 2004 is well worth reading. It provides a fascinating insight into the recruitment, training and selection of potential agents, refugees from Belgium and Flanders and civilian rapateries with French nationality, stranded in occupied country but allowed to go home. Some were prepared to return under cover to German territory. In January 1916 Lieutenant WOOLRYCH (Ib) accompanied by Lieutenant MONTHAYE, a young Belgian interpreter, 'full of ideas and enthusiasm' but who, WOOLRYCH said, ' had to be recalled to earth several times a day.' opened a Permit Office at 41 Rue St Roch, Paris, with a training school for spies in the University Quarter on the Left Bank at Rou Soufflot. *

*see WOOLRYCH papers Intelligence Corps Museum.

In February1917 Capt.George BRUCE (British Military Intelligence) was assigned ostensiby to a routine job in an office at 41 Rue St Roch - one of his first recruits was Madame Lisce Rischard: who set up a network observing railway trains in Luxembourg bringing German troops and supplies to the Western Front. She was joined by Albert-Ernest Baschwitz Meu an intrepid Belgin soldier, who at the height of the German Offensive of 1918 sailed on a midsummer night over enemy lines in a hydrogen balloon.

Once you start reading this book you will not want to put it down.

[healdav]

For those interested in intelligence operations behind enemy lines then the book 'Secrets of Rue St Roch' by Janet Morgan published in 2004 is well worth reading. It provides a fascinating insight into the recruitment, training and selection of potential agents, refugees from Belgium and Flanders and civilian rapateries with French nationality, stranded in occupied country but allowed to go home. Some were prepared to return under cover to German territory. In January 1916 Lieutenant WOOLRYCH (Ib) accompanied by Lieutenant MONTHAYE, a young Belgian interpreter, 'full of ideas and enthusiasm' but who, WOOLRYCH said, ' had to be recalled to earth several times a day.' opened a Permit Office at 41 Rue St Roch, Paris, with a training school for spies in the University Quarter on the Left Bank at Rou Soufflot. *

*see WOOLRYCH papers Intelligence Corps Museum.

In February1917 Capt.George BRUCE (British Military Intelligence) was assigned ostensiby to a routine job in an office at 41 Rue St Roch - one of his first recruits was Madame Lisce Rischard: who set up a network observing railway trains in Luxembourg bringing German troops and supplies to the Western Front. She was joined by Albert-Ernest Baschwitz Meu an intrepid Belgin soldier, who at the height of the German Offensive of 1918 sailed on a midsummer night over enemy lines in a hydrogen balloon.

Once you start reading this book you will not want to put it down.

Anamazing book. I felt after I had eread it that the 25 years I had spent trying to research the group was not spent in vain (I gave up when I contacted Janet Morgan to find that she had the entire archive in her house - well, strictly her husband Robert's office, and his father's papers).

There are only three very minor errors, and I am preobably the only person in the world who notices them. Everything else is absolutely true. The HQ of the group - Mme Rischard's home, can still be partially found as the entrance to a hotel. Sadly, the hotel and presumably the entrance are due to be knocked down in the nearish future.

[Doc2]

For those interested in intelligence operations behind enemy lines then the book 'Secrets of Rue St Roch' by Janet Morgan published in 2004 is well worth reading. It provides a fascinating insight into the recruitment, training and selection of potential agents, refugees from Belgium and Flanders and civilian rapateries with French nationality, stranded in occupied country but allowed to go home. Some were prepared to return under cover to German territory. In January 1916 Lieutenant WOOLRYCH (Ib) accompanied by Lieutenant MONTHAYE, a young Belgian interpreter, 'full of ideas and enthusiasm' but who, WOOLRYCH said, ' had to be recalled to earth several times a day.' opened a Permit Office at 41 Rue St Roch, Paris, with a training school for spies in the University Quarter on the Left Bank at Rou Soufflot. *

*see WOOLRYCH papers Intelligence Corps Museum.

In February1917 Capt.George BRUCE (British Military Intelligence) was assigned ostensiby to a routine job in an office at 41 Rue St Roch - one of his first recruits was Madame Lisce Rischard: who set up a network observing railway trains in Luxembourg bringing German troops and supplies to the Western Front. She was joined by Albert-Ernest Baschwitz Meu an intrepid Belgin soldier, who at the height of the German Offensive of 1918 sailed on a midsummer night over enemy lines in a hydrogen balloon.

Once you start reading this book you will not want to put it down.

Agree! This is an excellent and well-researched book which should be read by anyone interested in WWI Allied espionage on the ground in Europe. I can't recommend it too highly.

[baorbrat]

I have a poster, in three languages, announcing the execution of Germain Bury for espionage and spying.

I think Germain was a railway worker he was executed on 200th June 1915.

[Guest policefirechief]

Hi there

Its been a while since i last visited the site however i have been meaning to inform those interested in Agents of ww1 about a pair of British War Medals I bought over a year ago and another, same family which i have just aquired and waiting for it to come from the same source which are named as follows;---

1] M. DELEYE 2] A. DELEYE 3] S. DELEYE [ MARGUERITE. ALICE SYLVIE ] the medal card index verifies the names and that all three ladies were in fact

Belgian Agents . Furthermore all three are also listed in the London Gazette as being" MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES" and are the only three of this name in the Lond Gazette giving area i presume where the AGENTS resided or worked from.

both MARGUERITE and SYLVIE DELEYE are listed from GROBBENDONK whilst ALICE DELEYE is listed from HOOGLEDE [MIC REF WO 372/23/10991. 2 & 3

It seems to me that these three ladies are all part of the same family either three sisters or mother and two daughters, whatever, this has got to be a unique type of family grouping

which is why i paid a premium price so to speak as i love collecting unusual medals/ groups etr , though my main source of collecting is usually police and fire brigade medals.

I have trawled the sites to see if i can get any info on the ladies in question and apart from the said info i have aready found on them i have now drawn a blank.I would be most grateful if any members could help me further which would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone any idea if the girls would have recieved the usual belgian war and victory medal for their war service again any info on the awards they would have recieved from the Belgian government would also be appreciated.

thanks