The Shelburne Escape Line: Secret Rescues of Allied Aviators by the French Underground, the British Royal Navy and London’s MI-9

by Reanne Hemingway-Douglass, Don Douglass

Six decades after the end of World War II, new stories about the conflict continue to emerge. One of these is the subject of this book. Written by an American, Réanne Hemingway-Douglass, and published in the UK by Pen & Sword, it has all the elements of a classic covert adventure tale.

As the book explains, the Shelburne was one of the later escape lines that operated within Nazi-occupied Europe. It was established at the end of 1943 by two agents who worked for MI-9, the London-based military intelligence agency responsible for providing assistance to Allied servicemen stranded behind enemy lines. Working with the French Resistance, these agents arranged for groups of Allied airmen to be taken from "safe houses" in Paris to Brittany, where a Royal Navy motor gunboat picked them up from a secluded beach and delivered them back to England. Eight audacious evacuation operations were conducted between January and August, 1944, without the Shelburne Line ever being infiltrated by the Gestapo.

Aspects of the Shelburne story have been told previously in memoirs by several of the participants, including the late MP Airey Neave, who was an MI-9 operative. However, Hemingway-Douglass expands the story to include recollections of some of the local Breton people who were involved with the Line. The second half of the book comprises personal stories of airmen and other individuals who were affiliated with the Shelburne Line or were otherwise caught up in the war in France.

A lifelong Francophile, Hemingway-Douglass took eight years to research and write the book. She describes it as a “labor of love that pays tribute to the heroism and courage of 'ordinary' people, while reinforcing the fact that war touches everybody.”

208 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2014

About the author

Réanne Hemingway-Douglass holds a BA degree in French from Pomona College. She attended Claremont Graduate University and the University of Grenoble, France. Sailor, writer, cyclist and language teacher, Réanne's articles have appeared in numerous outdoor magazines. Her best-selling book, Cape Horn: One Man's Dream, One Woman's Nightmare, which describes pitchpoling in the Great Southern Ocean, has been published in French and Italian and is now being translated into Spanish. She is also the author of the awarding-winning The Shelburne Escape Line - Secret Rescues of Allied Aviators by the French Underground, the British Royal Navy and London's MI-9, and the Tierra del Fuego cycling memoir, Two Women Against the Wind.

Don Douglass, who began exploring Northwest waters in 1949 as a youth, has sailed the Inside Passage on everything from a pleasure craft to a Coast Guard icebreaker. Don has a Masters in Business Economics from Claremont Graduate University and holds honorary membership in the International Association of Cape Horners. He has also been elected to the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame, as one of the founders of the sport. With his wife and business partner, Réanne, he is the co-author of the acclaimed Exploring nautical guidebook series that covers coastal waterways from San Diego to Southwest Alaska. He is also the author of Farewell to a Queen - The Mysterious Sinking of the Price of BC Ferries, and two memoirs, Beyond Cape Horn and Sailing Off the Anchor, all published by Cave Art Press.

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, filled with some very moving tales. The book is oddly split in half, the second part being completely different and simply a collection of standalone chapters with various war stories ranging from bomber crew tales to accounts from occupied France. But that section was just as gripping and moving as the first.

I don’t want to criticise, as it was an enjoyable read and was written fairly well, but I did feel that the author inserted themselves into the story a little more than necessary, with accounts of how and when they met the interviewees, and also sometimes it wasn’t clear if sections were quoted verbatim from primary sources, or if there was artistic license at play.

Overall though a very interesting book well worth a read for anyone interested in the resistance.

[Grace Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, informative history of the unsung heroes who fought a battle most people never even knew about. A wonderful tribute to the men and women who risked their lives to rescue airmen from occupied Europe during WWII. Highly recommend for the person who loves non-fiction from the 1940’s.

[Reanne Hemingway-Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Shelburne Line was the only Underground escape line not to be infiltrated by the Gestapo. Allied airmen, rescued after being shot down, were taken to Paris by Resistance members where—after intense interrogation—they received new names, identity cards, clothing, training and special passes for the forbidden coastal zone in Brittany. They were hidden in "safe houses" of loyal French, waiting until a moonless night for evacuation to England via the Royal Navy's motor gunboat, MGB 503.

Sixty years later, there remain WWII stories most of us have not yet heard. The Shelburne Escape Line, which is one of the most poignant, includes Luftwaffe jets attacking Allied bombers, air crews trapped behind enemy lines, secret agents, and audacious midnight rescues. Revealed here are extraordinary examples of ingenuity and quiet heroism by French civilians caught up in helping fight a ruthless enemy."

Major General John D. Altenburg Jr.
United States Army, Retired

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

What are fantastic book. It reminded me of the BBC television series Secret Army, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching when I was a child.

This gives an insight into what really did happen On behalf of the French resistance for Allied soldiers during World War II. I loved all the anecdotal stories plus the historical facts that went with it. I can't recommend this book highly enough.