Eerste missie van Tobias Biallosterski uitgevoerd samen met marconist Jan Steman.
Zes minuten nadat operatie FARO van BBO agent Bob Celosse van start is gegaan, trekt luitenant Ibbott de Husdson 'P for Peter' los van de startbaan van het geheime vliegveld Tempsford. Aan boord bevinden zich twee agenten met hun uitrusting die via de zuidelijke route onderweg zijn naar Nederland; Tobias Biallosterski en zijn telegrafist Jan Steman, de RAF noemde deze operatie Fencing 1.

Six minutes after mission FARO of BBO agent Bob Celosse had started, Fl/Lt. Ibbott pulls the Hudson 'P for Peter' up from the runway at the secret airbase Tempsford in England. On board are two agents with their equipment and they are on their way to Holland via the southern route The two agents are Tobias Biallosterski and his WT operator Jan Steman. The RAF called this sortie mission Fencing-1.
De klok wijst 00.15 uur aan wanneer Ibbott laag over Tholen binnenvliegt. Hij zet koers naar Breda en wanneer hij de contouren van deze stad waarneemt ziet hij ten zuidoosten ervan de startbaanverlichting aangaan van de Duitse Fliegerhorst Gilze-Rijen. Dit kan betekenen dat er nachtjagers in de lucht zijn, uiterste voorzichtigheid is geboden. Om 00.33 uur nadert Luitenant Ibbott op 600 Ft. hoogte het droppingsveld dat zich op de Zundertsche Heide bevindt. Hij stuurt een zuidzuid-oostelijke koers om zo goed voor de wind uit te komen en wanneer beide agenten aangeven in te stemmen met de positie van het droppingsveld, springen zij enkele tellen later het donkere Nederland tegemoed. Het pakket met daarin de zendapparatuur van Jan Steman wordt gelijktijdig door de despatcher naar buiten gewerkt. Maanstand: 1e kwartier. (Tekst en gevens over deze dropping zijn van Huub van Sabben, Deventer)

On the clock it is 00.15 hrs when Ibbott flies low over the island Tholen. He sets course in the direction of Breda and when he sees the figuration of the town he notice that runway lights are switched on to the south-east of the town. This is the German Fliegerhorst (airfield) Gilze-Rijen and this means there are nightfighters active and so extreme caution is advised. At 00.33 hrs Fl/Lt Ibbott approaches the dropzone at an altitude of 600 ft, which is locatedon the Zundert Heath. The changed course to the east to get the wind at the right direction and when both agents agree about the position of the dropzone, they jump out of the plane into the darkness of blacked-out Holland a few seconds later. The package containing Jan Steman's wireless sets is throw out by the dispatcher in the same run. The moon phase is in it's  1st quarter. Text and data was provide by the late Huub van Sabben from Deventer,

De vraag is, waar zijn zij precies terecht gekomen en zijn hun parachutes nog steeds ergens begraven, of zijn deze door mensen uit de omgeving gevonden?


Tobias en Jan maakten een geslaagde landing en de onderlinge afstand tussen beiden was vrij gering. Tijdens hun afdaling namen zij een vijandelijke nachtjager waar die over het landingsterrein scheerde. Zij hadden een postduif meegenomen om BBO/SOE te laten weten dat zij veilig geland waren. Deze bleek na de landing nog in prima conditie te zijn.
Na onderzoek van het terrein werden beide parachutes in een greppel begraven. Het bleek lastiger te zijn om een goede bergplaats voor de mand met de zendapparatuur te vinden. Tenslotte werd besloten het pakket op een braak liggend stuk grond te begraven, op 30 meter afstand van een heg en op 10 meter afstand van een karrespoor (een zandweg?). De bergplaats werd gecamoufleerd zodat deze opging in de rest van het terrein. Rond 04.00 uur begaven zij zich op weg richting hun safehouse in Santpoort. Na ongeveer 1½ km gelopen te hebben werd er gerust om het daglicht af te wachten. Jan was blijkbaar zo moe dat hij prompt in slaap viel en pas wakker werd toen het licht geworden was. Toen werd ook de postduif losgelaten, het was ondertussen 06.45 geworden en drie kwartier later bereiken zij het dorp Etten. Tobias en Jan namen de bus naar Breda. Hier moesten wij enige tijd wachten op hun trein en beiden besloten in de restauratie een kop soep te nemen. Daarna lusten zij er nog wel een en Jan brulde luid WAITER! De aanwezige Duitsers besteden er gelukkig geen aandacht aan en zo konden zij verder reizen naar Santpoort waar zij rond half drie 's middags aankwamen. Te voet gingen zij naar de Kruidbergerweg 99, het huis waar de moeder van Tobias nu woonde. Eindelijk kan missie DRAUGHTS nu echt van start gaan.

Tobias and Jan made a succesful landing, not fat away from each other. During their decent they spotted a German fight nighter flying low over the dropzone. They had taken a pigeon with them to let SOE/BBO know they had landed safely. The bird turned out to be in perfect condition after they had landed. After inspecting the terrain both parachutes were buried in a ditch. It turned out to be more difficult to find a hiding place for the package with the wireless sets. At last it was decided to bury it on piece of waste land, 30 meters from a hedge and 10 meters away from a dirt road. The place where the package was buried was camouflaged, so it looked just like the rest of the terrain. Round 04.00 hrs Tobias and Jan went on their way to their safehouse in Santpoort. After having walked for about a mile they took a break and waited til the sun would rise. Jan appeared to so tired that he fell immediately asleep and only woke up by the light of the sun. Now the pigeon could also be released, it was 06.45 hrs and about a quarter later they reached the village Etten. The two men took the bus to Breda and there they had to wait for a train, so they decided to have a cup of soup in the restoration. It tasted so well that they wanted an other one and Jan shouted WAITER! Luckily the German soldiers who were also present paid no attention to them and so they were able to continue their travel to Santpoort where they arrived at noon. By foot they went to the house where Tobias's mother lived now after she had left their house in Amsterdam, 99 Kruidbergerweg. Finally mission Draughts could really start.

Het doel van de missie was tweeledig, Tobias moest als verbindingsofficier optreden tussen de Illegale Pers en Londen en hij moest zorgdragen voor het verspreiden van propaganda materiaal aan de in Nederland gelegerde Duitse troepen. Om het eerste deel van de missie uit te kunnen voeren moest Tobias droppingsvelden met ontvanstcommités regelen voor het ontvangen van het benodigde materiaal voor de ondergrondse kranten. Zie orders missie Draughts.
Daarnaast was het ook nog de bedoeling om uit te zoeken wat er nu precies met agent
BRUTUS, Johan Grün, gebeurd was. Deze was medio oktober 1943 naar Nederland gestuurd met dezelfde opdracht als Tobias, contact leggen tussen Londen en de illegale pers in Nederland. Bij SOE in Londen had men het idee dat BRUTUS gearresteerd was nadat hij George van Vliet, een schuilnaam van George Ridderhof, als verrader had ontmaskerd.
Indien Tobias nog tijd over had moest hij Operatie Bonzo starten. Dit hield in contact leggen met Nederlandse dwangarbeiders in Duitsland en hen spionage en sabotage laten verrichten. Details Operatie Bonzo, klik hier.

Mission Draughts had two purposes: Tobias had to act as a liaison officer between Londen and the underground press in Holland and he had take care of supplying the German troops based in Holland with propaganda material. In order to carry out the first part of the mission Tobias had to find dropzones and organize reception committees to receive necessary material for the underground press. See orders Draughts.
An other priority was to find out what had happened to agent BRUTUS, SOE/BBO agent Johan Grün. He was sent to Holland in October 1943 with the same mission as Tobias concerning the underground press. London's idea was that BRUTUS had been arrested after he had dismantled George van Vliet one of the  cover names of George Ridderhof, a notorious Dutch traitor.
if there was time left, Tobias had to start operation BONZO. This meant making contact with the Dutch forced labour workers in Germany and have them act as spies and saboteurs. For details of operation Bonzo, click here.

De volgende dag, zondag 2 april 1944, nam Tobias contact op met wachtmeester De Vries en (Anton) Bangma. Beiden woonden in Santpoort, om op de hoogte gebracht te worden over de situatie in Nederland en de veranderingen die hadden plaats gevonden tijdens zijn afwezigheid.

The next day, April 2nd 1944, Tobias contacted Sergeant de Vries (policeman) and Anton Bangma. Both lived in Santpoort and they informed Tobias about the situation in The Netherlands after Tobias had escaped to England in October 1943.

Op dinsdag 4 april kreeg Tobias contact met Adriaan de Bak (of Adriaan de Back), redacteur bij de illegale krant 'Je Maintiendrai' en deze kreeg van Tobias de opdracht zich voortaan alleen nog bezig te houden met het onderlinge contact tussen de ondergrondse pers en Tobias. Hij fungeerde op die manier als een tussenpersoon, een zogenaamde cut-out.
Tevens overhandigde hij aan De Bak de rubber clichés die hij uit Engeland had meegekregen waarop een boodschap van Koningin Wilhelmina aan het Nederlandse volk stond.

On Tuesday, April 4th, Tobias contacted Adriaan de Back, editor of the underground newspaper 'Je Maintiendrai'. Tobias ordered him to drop his work for 'Je Maintiendrai' and act as a liaison, or cut-out, between the underground newspapers in Holland and Tobias. Tobias also handed the rubbber cliches over to him he had brought along from England. They contained a message of Queen Wilhelmina to the Dutch population.

Woensdag 5 april, Tobias ontmoet die dag Cor van Paaschen, hoofdredacteur van Je Maintiendrai en samen reisden zij naar Mr. Harry Holla, advocaat te Vught die belangrijke contacten had met diverse verzetsorganisaties.

Wednesday, April 5th, Tobias meets that day Cor van Paaschen, chief editor of 'Je Maintiendrai' and together they travelled to Mr. Holla, a lawyer in Vught in Brabant,  a man with important contacts with many resistance groups.

Donderdag 6 april gaf Tobias aan Cor, die hij de schuilnaam
PIETER DEKKER had gegeven. opdracht het transport van de verborgen zendapparatuur te regelen. Daarvoor reisden beiden per fiets op (Goede) vrijdag 7 april naar Brabant. Bij aankomst op het veld rond half zes waar de apparatuur verstopt lag zagen zij dat landarbeiders bezig waren aardappels te poten. Tobias en Cor besloten diezelfde avond de apparatuur op te graven en te verplaatsen naar Breda waar Cor contacten had. Omdat het onwaarschijnlijk leek dat het klooster Klein Zundert hen op Goede Vrijdag van een slaapplaats zou kunnen voorzien besloten zij om in de buurt van het aardappelveld te blijven slapen. Gedurende de nacht probeerden zij met hun blote handen de zendapparatuur te vinden, maar die bleek spoorloos. Wel vonden zij restanten van de verpakking en een kleine jutten zak. Nadat het ochtend geworden was werd bij een boer een schep geleend en werd nogmaals een poging ondernomen om de apparatuur te vinden, ook deze was tevergeefs, alles was verdwenen. Tobias en Cor fietsen naar Rijbergen en namen daar de trein naar Breda en vervolgens naar Den Haag. Zij brachten de nacht door op het het adres van de verloofde van Cor, Jos Gemmeke, Amalia van Solmsstraat 119.

Thursday, April 6th, Tobias orders Cor van Paaschen, whom he has given the alias Pieter Dekker (this was actually the name of an uncle of Tobias, who's house was a meeting place for the resistance in North-Holland) to arrange the transportation of the hidden wireless equipment. To do so both of them travelled the next day by bicycle to Brabant, it was Good Friday, April 9th 1944. When they arrived on the waste land where the package was buried they noticed men in a field nearby planting potatoes. That night Tobias and Cor decided to dig up the equipment and move it to Breda where Cor knew someone. As they thought it would be very unlikely that the monastery 'Klein Zundert' would have a place for them to sleep on this Good Friday they decided to sleep in the open air, close to the field where the potatoes had been planted. During the night they tried to dig up the package with their bare hands, but it had vanished without a trace. However they did find pieces of the  packaging and a small jute bag. After it had become light they borrowed a shovel from a farmer and they tried again to find the package, but it was in vain, everything was gone. Therefore Tobias and Cor went on their bicycles to Rijsbergen, took the train to Breda and from Breda they travelled by train to The Hague. They spent the night at the house of Cor's fiancee Jos Gemmeke, 119 Amalia van Solmsstraat, The Hague.

Op zaterdag 8 april brengt Tobias Jan in contact met Cor en zij pakken samen de tassen uit die Tobias en Jan meegenomen hebben. Zij besluiten de inhoud aan Cor over te dragen op voorwaarde dat hij stopt met zijn werkzaamheden voor Je Maintiendrai en zich volledig richt op de taken die Tobias hem geeft. Van de F 50.000,00 die Tobs mee had gekregen voor de ondergrondse pers gaat 5000 Gulden naar Cor om zijn operationele activiteiten mee te bekostigen, 5000 Gulden gaat naar Jan voor persoonlijk gebruik en de rest gaat naar Adriaan de Back die samen met Cor het geld gaat verdelen over die kranten die nog niets van de regering in Londen gekregen hebben. Jan heeft in Cor het volste vertrouwen, maar treurt om het verlies van zijn zend apparatuur.

On Saturday April 8th, Tobias lets Jan meet Cor, Jan probably travelled to The Hague. Together they unpack the bags that Tobias and Jan took with them from England. Tobias and Jan decided to turn the content over to Cor van Paaschen, if he stops working for 'Je Maintiendrai' and concentrates himself totally on working for Tobias. Of the Fl. 50.000 Tobias received for the underground press in Holland he gives Cor Fl. 5000 to start his operations he has to carry out for Tobias. An other Fl. 5000 he gives to Jan to cover his expenses and the rest, Fl.40.000, goes to Adriaan de Back who must hand it over together with Cor to those underground papers which haven not yet received any financial support from London. Jan does trust Cor completely but he is very sorry about losing his wireless equipment.

Paaszondag 9 april, Tobias reist opnieuw naar Vught om Harry Holla te spreken. Het gaat hierbij om de voorbereiding van Tobias om weer naar Engeland te vertrekken en om een droppingsveld met bemanning te organiseren. Holla kent een O.D. veld wat nog in gebruik is, maar Tobias weigert, hij wil niets met de O.D. te maken hebben, is bang dat deze organisatie 'besmet' is. Tobias wil via Holla in contact komen met een persoon die in staat is een ontvangst commité samen te stellen. Dezelfde avond vertrekt hij weer naar Den Haag.

Easter Sunday April 9th. Again Tobias visits Mr. Holla in Vught. He want to talk to him to make preparations to leave for England and to find a dropping field and men to form the reception committee. Harry Holla knows a Orde Dienst field what still is in use, but Tobias refuses, he wants nothing to do with the O.D. because he is afraid this resistance organisation has been infiltrated by the Germans. Tobias wants to get in touch with someone, through Holla, who is able to form a reception committee. That same evening Tobias travels back to The Hague.

Paasmaandag 10 april, Tobias reist vanuit Den Haag naar Arnhem waar hij een ontmoeten heeft met
MAARTEN, een redacteur van 'Parool' om er achter te komen wat er met BRUTUS (SOE agent Johan Grün) aan de hand is. Maarten kon Tobias niets vertellen over agenten genaamd Van Vliet, Van Dam en Brandy, hij had alleen van Bram van Oord gehoord die in Doorn woonde. Hier verbleef BRUTUS. De laatste was echter plotseling verdwenen en alle naspeuringen ten spijt kon Tobias verder niets over hem te weten komen. Adriaan de Bak kon echter aan de hand van een persoonsbeschrijving bevestigen dat hij met BRUTUS contact had gehad. Holla wist Tobias nog te vertellen dat BRUTUS met zijn vliegtuig in België was neergestort en dat hij in Doorn had gezeten en contact had op genomen met de ondergrondse pers.

On Easter Monday, April 10th, Tobias travels from The Hague to Arnhem where he meets 'Maarten', an editor of the underground newspaper 'Parool'. Tobias wants to hear from Maarten what he knows about the disappearance of BRUTUS, a SOE/BBO agent by the name of Johan Grün. However Maarten was not able to give him any information and he knew nothing about 'agents' called Van Vliet, Van Dam and Brandy (in fact these were cover names used by the SD informer Ridderhof). Maarten had heard about a Bram van Oord living in Doorn and in his house BRUTUS went into hiding. BRUTUS however had suddenly disappeared and in spite of all his efforts Tobias was not able to find out what had happened to him. Adriaan de Back was able to identify BRUTUS by a picture Tobias showed him and he had been in touch with BRUTUS. Harry Holla was able to tell Tobias BRUTUS had survived a plane crash in Belgium and he had stayed at Doorn and BRUTUS had contacted the underground press.

Omdat de redacteurs van Parool afwisselend dezelfde schuilnamen gebruiken is het niet geheel zeker wie Maarten is. waarschijnlijk gaat het om Frans Goedhart alias Pieter 't Hoen, die in Arnhem ondergedoken heeft gezeten.

Maarten is probably Frans Goedhart, alias Pieter 't Hoen.
 
 
DANHAIVE: "Loge à Hotel de la Civette justqu'au 30 Avril, est conduit chez Madame DELORME à Rue Ernest Cresson 4, Paris 18e ou il reste 17 jours.Le 13 mai 1944, est rejoint par un Hollandais J. DAUBRY (Biallosterski). Le 16 Mai quittent ensemble Paris, avec un guide et un plus GEORGE 'Le Commandant', pour Toulouse avec carte d'indentité françaiseet certificat de travail. Ils sont conduits chez un marchand de vélo. Le Chef local de la ligne qui se faisait appeler Q ou Monsieur EDOUARD vient chercher Danhaive et le Hollandais laissant la George 'Le  Commandant'. Il arrive à un autre gite et repartent le 22 mai 1944 pour Perpignan. Quittent Perpignan le 26 mai et rentrent suite à un accident survenu a George 'Le Commandant', leur dit-on à Toulouse chez Monsieur CABRIT, Rue de Rossignol 6. Repartent le 11 Juin de Toulouse rencontrent un Américan (Norman Pero) qui suit jusqu'a Montrejeau (cabane de bucherons, houthakkers) le 12 Avril 1944 rejoint par un Américan  (Richard Elliott) et deux Belges, DRAPIER et SOUDAN. Dès lors le voyage est identique à la relation No. D76".

Stayed in Hotel de la Civette till the 30st of April, after that he stays with Mrs Delorme at Rue Ernest Cresson 4 in the 18th district of Paris, here he stayed 17 days. On May 13th a Dutchman J. Daubry (Biallosterski) joins him. Together they leave Paris on the 16th of May with a guide and also 'George' also known as The Commander, for Toulouse with a French identity card and a work permit. They were loged in an apartment above a bicycle dealer. The local commander who called himself Q or Mr. Edouard came to fetch Danhaive and the Dutchman leaving George 'The Commander' there. He arrives at another gite (safehouse) and leaves for Perpinan on the 22nd of May. They leave Perpignan on the 26th of May after an accident happened to George 'The Commander', this was told to them at Mr. Cabrit at 6 Rue Rossignol, Toulouse. They leave Toulouse on the 11th of June and met an American (Norman Pero) who followed them to Montrejeau. They stay in a wood-cutters hut and are joined the 12th of June by another American (Richard Elliott) and two Belgians: Soudan and Drapier. From there the journey is the same as the report of D76.



DRAPIER & SOUDAN: "Ils partent avec en plus un aviateur Américain (Richard Elliot) le 12 Juin pour Montrejeau. De là à pied jusque Saint Betrand-de-Comminges ou ils remis au guide passeur. Logent le 13 Juin dans une Cabane de berger ou ils rejoignent un Américain, le Belge (Danhaive) et un Hollandais (Biallosterski).
Le groupe campe le 14 Juin puis la nuit suivante en passant par
un tunnel de captage arrivent à la frontière qu'ils passent le 16 Juin (probablement au Col de Venasque). Drapier étant épuisé de fatique, le groupe campe jusqu'a la nuit du 18 Juin en attendant une voiture que le guide est allé chercher.
Le 18 Juin, retrouvent la voiture que le près d'une
centrale éléctrique (Route descendant à Graus). La voiture est arrêtée par la Garde Civile en amont de Graus, et amenée sous garde à Graus ou tout le groupe est arrêté".

They (Drapier & Soudan) leave with the addition of an American aviator (Richard Elliott) on the 12th of June for Montrejeau. From there they walk to St. Bertrand-de-Comminges where they were transferred to the guide (passeur). The 13th of June they are housed in a shepherd's hut where they are joined by an American (Norman Pero) the Belgian Danhaive and a Dutchman (Biallosterski). The group encamps on the 14th of June and then the next night passing through a catchment tunnel, they arrive at the border which they cross the 16th (probably at the pass of Venasque/Col de Venasque). Drapier being exhausted with fatique, the group camps until the night of the 18th of June whilst waiting for a car that the guide went off to find. The 18th they find the car on the road near a power station (Route that descends towards Graus). The car is stopped by the Guardia Civil ahead of Graus, and taken into custody where the whole group is arrested.



Norman Pero: "... and were taken to the house of Mme. Germaine, where they (Pero & Elliott) were kept for about 23 days. They received new identity cards there and left with a guide named Lucie, to go to Toulouse by rail. They picked up new guides from time to time enroute to Toulouse. Here they spent 22 days in the house of Joseph Corraze at 30 Rue Dine Tard. Guides took them by train to Montrejeau and thence by bicycle to the Pyrenees where they were met by other guides including Belgian helpers (Danhaive, Drapier & Soudan) and a British officer (Biallosterski). They immediately set out to cross the mountains. The crossing took 7 days as they were delayed by the poor health of one of the Belgians (Drapier). In Spain they stayed hidden in a cave for two days while waiting to contact a driver. From here they started for Barcelona by automobile, but were arrested by police at Gros (Graus), where they declared themselves to be escaped prisoners of war. They spent the night in jail and were questioned the next morning as to name, rank and serial number. They gave their actual ranks. Thet were also asked how much money they had. They were kept here for two days. They were fingerprinted, and through a Red Cross representative they contacted the British Vice-Consul at Zaragossa. The Vice-Consul told them that under no circumstances should they declare themselves to be airmen. From here they went to Madrid where they remained for four weeks, they moved to Gibraltar they were questioned by a British IO who asked for all details of their trip, including helpers, etc. From here they returned to UK.

Page 2 of the handwritten E&E report by Richard H. Elliott: "... Met by another man wating ... train ...
ca 19 hrs to Toulouse. ? took to ... eat-strange men took us when stay with Joseph Corraze, 30 something, married, boy & girl. Met some of his relations. 30 days with him. ... ... .. /P. ... to station with Joseph - but ... ... Then Pero leaves, would catch up with him ... ... The next day men take me - Two Belgians (
Drapier & Soudan)  ... in train leaving Toulouse I .. ... To Montrejeau - 3 of us ... ... Met by another ... to woods - Two Belgians, Jan - ? Ca 2200 hrs in Sp ... stint walking. ... Toulouse ... ... invasion.
C.. with Pero, another
Belgian (Danhaive) and Dutch boy (Biallosterski). Walking sleeping ... ... 3 days - one of Belgians is in bad shape (Drapier) fat body. 16 June ... ... Spain -to long ... when lot ... ... - 2 into which ... ... ... to Barcelona - ca 3 kms from Graus ... ... ... police ... in jail. To - ... Chief instr N, R, SN ... find not who guide was. Met ... who been 8 years U.S. Night in hotel. Then to Huesca, stop Barbastro on way - ca 6 kms - jail - Call British Consul Zaragossa - Zaragossa - Madrid - Alh... - Madrid - ... - Gibraltar - Br....".




From Dahaive's RVPS report nr. 22240: "... In Paris Dahaive was left by Lucien at the Hotel de la Civette (known), where he remained until sunday 30-4-1944. During the intervening time, he reported daily to Mlle. Bellierres, a cousin of Jacky des Essarts who lived near the Porte Neuilly. She was aged about 31 and was not unattractive looking; but spoke with a lisp.
On the last day of his stay in Paris he met there Mme. Germaine (known), a grey haired, distinguished looking woman of about 60 who brought him to the house of Mme. Veuve (widow) Delorme (known), 4 Rue Ernest Cresson, Paris. Danhaive remained there for 17 days (30-4-1994 till 16-5-1944)

On 15-5-1944 he was joined by a Dutchman known as "
JAN" (Biallosterski), who later became known as James Oliver when the party reached Spain. He left Madrid on 6-7-1944 and is supposed to have reached this country shortly afterwards.

On 16-5-1944 they set out for Toulouse with a guide, a middle-aged man of medium build, well dressed, name not known, to whom they were introduced by Mme. Germaine at Austerlitz station. He had with him another escapee, a Belgian named Georges Marcq who was later arrested by the Germans between Perpignant and the frontier and nothing more has been heard of him since.
They reached Toulouse at 10:30 hours the following morning and no control took place on the way. Here Danhaive added that before leaving Paris he was supplied by Mme. Germaine with a new identity card, as well as a Carte de Travail. They were both in the name of Francois Denizot and he was supposed to reside in Conde-sur-Aisnes.

In Toulouse Danhaive and his two companions were lodged in a modest compartment over a cycle shop. Next day Danhaive and the Dutchman were taken by a man known as Le Commandant to another address, 9 Rue du Mas. St. Augustin, Toulouse, where they lodged untill 23.5.1944 (Note: Reference to Le Commandant was recently made by Vincotte RPS. 21818 and he also cropped up in the report on Dupreel RPS. 21816)

On the latter date Danhaive and his companion (
Biallosterski) were brought by Le Commandant to the railway station, where they were introduced to another guide, a Spaniard aged about 29, tall, with slightly rounded shoulders, with whom they travelled to Perpignan. They stayed overnight with two friends of this guide, also Spaniards, and were brought by the next morning (24-5-2015) to the house of a wine grower some 7 kms further south, where they remained to 2 days.
During this time they learned that the other Belgian, Georges Marcq , whom they left in Toulouse, had been caught in a trap together with another Belgian, and their guide, after leaving Perpignan. Owing to this breakdown in the line, Danhaive and his companion had to return to Toulouse, (26th or 27th May 1944), where they were left by the guides chez
M. Cabrit, 6 Rue Rossignol, who was aged about 46 and was a furniture dealer before the war. He now worked in a metallurgical works.
They remained with him until 11-6-1944 and then left for Montrejeau together with another guide, aged about 34, short and stocky with a poch-marked face, to whom they were introduced by Le Commandant. They were also joined by an American, Norman Pero and together they boarded a train leaving at 09:00 hours. However, owing to sabotage on the line, they were considerable delayed and only reached Montrejeau at 17:00 hours.

They were met at the station by a young, tall fair looking Spaniard, most un-Spanish appearance, and each member of the party having been supplied with a bicycle, they set out in the direction of the Spanish Frontier. They halted after covering about 10 kilometres and were than handed over to another Spanish guide known as Angele (this man id identical with the Angele referred to in the report on Vincotte -para. 26)
Having had refreshment and food, they set out once more, at about 22:00 hours and after a long and arduous journey, came to a place known as
La Cabane, where they waited while one of the guides returned to Montrejeau to collect two Belgians, Jean Drapier (RPS. 22241) and Rene Soudan (RPS. 22268) and an American, Richard Elliott.
Having joined forces, the party set out once more (13-6-1944) and after a three day trek, reached the Frontier (16-6-1944),
close to the Col de Roumaillou (Rouminque), near Hospice de France.

The guides remained with the party until a hide-out known as
La Caverne was reached some 45 kilometres from the Frontier. At this point they were to be met by a car and driven to Barcelona. The car turned up on the second day, but just outside Graus it was held up by Civil Guards and all members of the party were detained.

The following day (
21-6-1944), they were sent under escort via Huesca to Saragossa, arriving on 22-6-1944. When he was arrested Danhaive gave his name as Anthony Butler and declared his nationality as Australian, having been advised to do this before leaving Belgium if he got into difficulties.
He was just about a week in Saragossa and the British Authorities having intervened on his behalf, he was allowed to proceed to Madrid on 29-6-1944. He put up at the Hotel Medicdia (known) and during his stay saw both Mr. Cresswell and M. Wodon, the British and Belgian represtentatives.
He eventually left Madrid on 26-7-1944 together with Drapier and Soudan and a number of Frenchmen, the party being in the care of a British official with whom they travelled via San-Roque to Gibraltar. A day later Danhaive was put on board a plane and sent to this country.




May 15th, Biallosterski joins Danhaive in a Paris safehouse', 4 Rue Ernest Cresson.
May 16th, Biallosterski, Danhaive & Marcq leave Paris for Toulouse by train.
May 17th, 10:30 hrs Biallosterski, Danhaive & Marcq arrive at trainstation Toulouse.
May 17th, Biallosterski, Danhaive & Marcq stay in a safehouse above a bicycledealer.
May 18th, Biallosterski and Danhaive are moved to another safehouse, 9 Rue du Mas St.Augustin.
May 23rd, Biallosterski and Danhaive leave Toulouse for Perpignan.
May 24rd, Biallosterski and Danhaive leave Perpignan for a village 7 kms further south.
May 26th, Biallosterski and Danhaive return to a safehouse Toulouse, 6 Rue Rossignol.

June 11th, Biallosterski, Danhaive and Pero leave Toulouse for Montrejeau.
June 11th, Biallosterski, Danhaive and Pero cycle towards the Pyrenees, spent the night in La Cabane.
June 12th, Drapier, Soudan and Elliott are moved from Toulouse to La Cabane.
June 13th, Whole party with at least two guides starting their walk towards the Spanish border.
June 16th, Crossing the French / Spanish border.
June 17th
, Late afternoon, begin of the evening. Party arrives at hidding place La Caverne.
June 18th, Resting.
June 19th, Car for transport to Barcelona is found during the evening.
June 20th, Party is arrested by the Guardia Civil just outside Graus.
June 21st, Everbody is moved under escort from Graus to Barbastro.
June 22nd, All group members are moved from Barbastro via Huesca to Zaragossa.
June 29th, Party moves from Zaragossa to Madrid.

July  6th, Biallosterski leaves Madrid for Gibraltar.
July  8th, Biallosterski arrives in Gibraltar en takes a BOAC plane to the UK.
July  9th, Biallosterski arrives in Bristol.
July 26th, Danhaive, Drapier & Soudan leave Madrid for Gibraltar.



It is unclear which route the party exactly took across the Pyrenees. This is still under investigation.
Versie 2.1
Bouwjaar 2021
Datum 20-12
Pub. 22-12-2021
Blad 1.
Nadat Tobias van uit Arnhem naar Vught was teruggekeerd nam hij contact op met pater Hubertus die speciaal uit Belgie was overgekomen om de terugreis van Tobias te organiseren. Die avond reisde Tobias nog naar Den Haag waar hij in het Vredespaleis, de basis van Cor van Paaschen, de RAF aanval op Huize 'De Kleykamp' meemaakte.

After Tobias had travelled through to Vught, he contacts Father Hubertus who had travelled specially from Belgium in order to organise Tobias's travel back to England. That evening Tobias went back to The Hague to the Peace Palace, the headquarter of Cor van Paaschen. From this building he witnessed the brutal RAF attack on House Kleykamp in which many Dutch people were burned alive trapped in the cellars.

Vervolgens ontmoet Tobias op dinsdag 11 april THEO. Slank van bouw, lengte 1.77 mtr, blond haar, bril dragend, gladgeschoren, leeftijd tussen 26 en 27 jaar, was drukker geweest. Droeg een opvallende hoed, blanke huid en blauwe ogen. De echte naam van THEO is Erik Berding, hij was hoofd van de Amsterdamse Persoons Bewijs Sectie. Hij zou Tobias kunnen voorzien van de laatste gegevens over Gestapo agenten en daarom maakte Tobias een afspraak met hem om elkaar op donderdag 13 april in Ermelo te ontmoeten.

On April 11th, Tobias meets 'Theo', slim build, 1.77 mtr tall, fair hair, wearing glasses, clean shaven, aged between 26 and 27. He had been a printer,was wearing a remarkable hat, bleek skin and had blue eyes. His real name was Erik Berding, he was in charge of the Amsterdam Identity Card Section. He would be able to provide Tobias with the latest data on Gestapo agents, therefore Tobias made an appointment to meet him again on Thursday April 13th in Ermelo.


Op woensdag 12 april legt Tobias aan Cor uit hoe hij telegrammen moet coderen en hoe het systeem van de 'innocent letter' werkt. Dit is het sturen van berichten via neutrale laden zoals Zweden en Zwitserland naar Engeland. Dezelfde dag gaat er nog een innocent letter op de bus richting Zweden. Tobias vraagt Cor elke week zo'n brief te sturen om Londen op de hoogte te houden. Dit is noodzakelijk omdat men zonder zender zit. Tobias vertrekt 's avonds naar Santpoort waar hij een voorbeeld van een innocent letter opstelt voor Jan die hem naar Zwitserland moet sturen.
Ondertussen heeft Mr. Holla een Persoonsbewijs met stempel voor Jan laten maken.

After this eventful experience Tobias explains the next day, Wednesday April 12th, to Cor how to encode telegrams and how the system of the so called 'innocent letter' works. This is a methode of sending information to England through neutral countries like Switzerland and Sweden. That same day an innocent letter is posted to Sweden. Tobias asks Cor to send such a letter every week in order to keep London informed. This is a necessity because Cor and Jan can not contact London by wireless. Tobias leaves that evening for Santpoort where me makes an example for Jan how to send an innocent letter to London through Switzerland. In the meantime Harry Holla has an identity card made for Jan with the necessary marks on it.

Donderdag 13 april, Tobias reist van Santpoort naar Amersfoort waar hij Cor op het perron ontmoet, samen reizen zij verder naar Ermelo.
THEO komt echter niet opdagen en daarom besluiten Tobias en Cor per taxi (peperduur) door te reizen naar een kennis van Cor in Putten die ook voor 'Je Maintiendrai' werkt.

The next day, Thursday April 13th, Tobias travels from Santpoort to Amersfoort where he meets Cor van Paaschen at the railway station. together they travel to Ermelo in order to meet a certain Theo. However Theo doesn't turn up and the two friends take a very expensive cab to Putten where a acquaintance of Cor lives, who is also working for 'Je Maintiendrai'.

Vrijdag 14 april reizen beide vrienden door naar Vught waar zij weer een ontmoeting met Mr. Holla hebben. Hier verschijnt ook
THEO ten tonele, hij vertrouwde de situatie in Ermelo niet helemaal en liet daarom verstek gaan. Hij overhandigde Tobias talloze documenten, waaronder Ausweisen, hij bedong bij de overhandiging dat indien Londen deze ging produceren hij daar ook gebruik van zou mogen maken. Theo had ook een radiozender ter beschikking die eigenlijk naar Zeeland zou moeten worden vervoerd, hij stelde deze ook aan Tobias ter beschikking, maar weer onder de voorwaarde dat hij ook van deze verbinding gebruik zou mogen maken. Afgesproken werd dat Jan en Cor het apparaat op dinsdag 18 april in Eindhoven zouden ophalen. Die avond reist Tobias weer naar Santpoort en neemt daar contact op met wachtmeester De Vries. Hij verzoekt hem een onderzoek naar de verdwenen zender in Brabant in te stellen. Tobias stelt De Vries wat geld ter beschikking om zijn onderzoek uit te kunnen voeren.

Erik Berding is op 13 juni 1944 gearresteerd en is op 21 januari 1945 in het concentratiekamp Oranienburg bij Berlijn overleden.


Friday April 14th , the two friends travel once more to Vught to see Harry Holla. Here Theo also appears, he didn't trust the situation at Ermelo and therefore didn't turn up. He hands over a stack of documents among them 'Ausweisen' and other German papers to Tobias so that London will be able to produce them themselves for operatives in occupied countries. Theo asks if this is done he will receive his share of falsified documents. Theo also processes a wireless set, that had to be taken to the province Zeeland, but he provides it to Tobias with again the possibility he can also  make use of the radio link with London. A deal is made that Cor and Jan will pick up this wireless set in Eindhoven on Tuesday, April 18th. That evening Tobias travels back to Santpoort and contacts Sergeant De Vries and asks him to investigate in Brabant how the wireless sets could have disappeared. Tobias hands over some money to him to cover his expenses for the investigation.

Erik Berding was arrested on June 13th 1944 and passed away in Oranienburg concentration camp near Berlin on January 21st 1945.


Op zondag 16 april maakt Tobias kennis met Anton van der Braak, de leider van ontvangstcommité van het droppingsveld. Hij woont in de gemeente Esch. Anton van der Braak is een vriend van Harry Holla en heeft al veel goed werk verricht door het helpen van Joden. Hij is een intelligente boerenzoon die veel onderduik adressen heeft geoorganiseerd en zich verder bezig houdt met de verdeling van voedsel. Hij heeft een sterk gevoel voor veiligheid. Samen met Cor bezoekt hij een aantal velden waar droppings uitgevoerd zouden kunnen worden. Tobias heeft Cor uitgelegd waar deze velden aan moeten voldoen en dat alleen uiterst betrouwbare mannen deel mogen uitmaken van de ontvangst commité's. Tobias heeft vanaf enige afstand een van deze kandidaten geobserveerd, het was een ambtenaar van de gemeente Esch. Tobias kende de naam van deze persoon niet.

Sunday April 16th, Tobias is in Vught again and meets Anton van der Braak, leader of the newly formed reception committee of the droppingfield. He lives in the Esch township, is a friend of Harry Holla and has already done a lot of resistance work, for instance helping Jews. He is an intelligent farmer's son who was able to find a lot of safehouses for Jews and who is also involved in distributing food for the ones living underground. He has a strong sense of security. Tobias has explained to Cor the conditions for a safe droppingfield and together they visit a couple of fields which could be turned into droppingfields. The reception committee should only be formed with trustful men. Tobias has watched one the candidates from a distance, it was a civil servant from Esch, Tobias doesn't know his name.

Waarschijnlijk was dit Giel Konings, hij was ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand in Esch.

This unknown man is probably Giel Konings, he was a civil servant in the Esch township.



Maandag 17 april, Tobias reist per trein van Vught naar Eindhoven en verder per fiets naar Reusel. Hier informeert hij de heer A.A. Willekens, ex Burgemeester van Reusel, over zijn voorgenomen vertrek uit Nederland. Zijn vertrek wordt vastgesteld op woensdag 19 april 1944.

Monday April 17th, Tobias travels by train to Eindhoven and continues his journey by bicycle to Reusel. Here he meets the former burgomaster of Reusel, mr. A.A. Willekens and talks about his intension to leave The Netherlands. His departure is set for Wednesday April 19th 1944.

Cor en Jan reizen samen op dinsdag 18 april naar Eindhoven om de zender van THEO te bekijken. Hier blijkt dat de zender te weinig vermogen heeft om met Engeland contact te maken. De technici (
Philips?) zijn wel in staat om een zender te bouwen die aan de eisen voldoet, maar dat gaat vreselijk lang duren. Waarschijnlijk omdat alle onderdelen 'geregeld' moeten worden. Tobias adviseert Cor rustig af te wachten en tezijner tijd het resultaat te beoordelen.

Jan and Cor travel together in Tuesday April 18th to Eindhoven to take a look at the transmitter of 'Theo'. It turns out that the transmitter is not powerful enough to contact England. The engineers are able to build a stronger version, but this will take a very long time, because all parts have to be 'organised' (stolen from the Germans who are running Philips). Tobias advises Cor to take it easy and wait and see what the engineers come up with.

Op woensdag 19 april vertrok Tobias uit Vught en nam de trein naar Eindhoven en ging verder per fiets naar Reusel waar hij contact opnam met de heer Willekens. Tobias stak 's middags de Belgische grens over in het gezelschap van twee douaniers. Ze hadden hem een armband van de douane gegeven zodat het leek dat het om drie douaniers ging.
Die zelfde middag bereikte hij het klooster in Postel waar hij werd opgevangen door vader Nicolaas Boon.
Hij bleef die nacht in het klooster en vertrok de volgende dag, donderdag 20 April, in het gezelschap van vader Hubertus per tram via Turnhout naar Antwerpen waar zij om 9 uur 's avonds aankwamen.

Tobias leaves Vught on April 19th 1944 and took the train to Eindhoven, continued by bicycle to Reusel where he contacted mr. Willekens. Tobias crossed the Dutch/Belgian border in the afternoon in the company of two custom officials, before they crossed the border they had given him an armband of the custom organisation, so it looked like if three custom officials were walking in the border area. That same afternoon Tobias reached the monastery at Postel in Belgium where he was welcomed by Father Boon. Tobias spent the night at the monastery and left it the next day in the company of Father Hubertus. The travelled by tram via Turnhout to Antwerp where they arrived at 21.00 hrs in the evening.

Tobias brengt in Antwerpen de nacht door bij een kennis van vader Hubertus. Op vrijdag 21 april vertrekt hij richting Brussel. Tobias denkt het adres in Brussel zelf te kunnen vinden en verzoekt vader Hubertus terug te keren naar Postel. Tobias reist via Leuven naar Namen waar hij in hotel Vlaanderen verblijft.

They spent the night with an acquaintance of Father Hubertus. On Friday April 21st Tobias leaves for Brussels on his own. He has told Father Hubertus he can find the address given by himself and asks Father Hubertus ti return to the monastery at Postel. Tobias travels via Leuven to Namur where checks in at the Hotel Vlaanderen.

Op zaterdag 22 april gaat hij verder naar Dinant, zijn contact persoon ter plaatse is vader Martens. Deze koopt een fiets voor Tobias waarmee naar Mazee, gelegen aan de Belgisch-Frans grens, fiets.

On Saturday April 22nd, Tobias moves on to Dinant, his contact there is Father Martens. He buys a bicycle for Tobias who then  travels by bicycle to Mazee near the Belgian/French Border.

Hier steekt hij zonder papieren op maandag 24 april de Franse grens over en fietst naar Parijs waar hij dezelfde dag nog aankomt. Zie kaarten & afbeeldingen.

Tobias seems to be impatient, because he crosses the border into France without the necessary papers on Monday April 23rd and heads in the direction of Paris. He reaches the town that same day. Where he spends the night is unknown.

De volgende dag, dinsdag 25 april, gaat Tobias naar de "Garage" dit is een safe house van de Franse SOE escape organisatie SOE-DF. Het adres is Rue Caulaincourt 44 in het 18e arondisement in Parijs. Hier ontmoet hij de SOE officier van de Belgische SOE Sectie-T, Ides Floor. Van wie Tobias dit adres gekregen heeft is niet duidelijk, mogelijk van de medewerker van de Belgische verzetsorganisatie 'Escape Service'. Hij geeft Ides Floor een enveloppe mee met negatieven waarop informatie staat wat voor SOE N-section in Londen bestemd is. Pas op 17 Mei 1944 laat N-Section deze negatieven afdrukken.

transcription

N/HO/829                                                                                                                                17th May 1944
To: EU/P.1                                                                                                                               From: N.

Enclosed please find two envelopes of negatives just received from HOLLAND from our organiser DRAUGHTS.

I should be very glad if you could have these developed as soon as possible, with 6 copies of each.

I should be grateful if you would treat this as being very urgent. Many thanks.




The next day, Tuesday April 24th, Tobias goes to 'The Garage', this is a safehouse of the French escaper organisation SOE/DF.
The Garage is located on 44 Rue Cauaincourt in the 18th district of Paris. Here he meets an officer of the Belgian SOE section, mr. Ides Floor. Floor offers Tobias to make use of his radio link with London and tells him after doing so to return to The Netherland. From whom Tobias got the address of 'the Garage' is unclear. This was a secret safehouse and only a few people knew about it. Tobias might have been informed about it by the Belgian resistance organisation 'Escape Service'.

Jan Steman, alias
FRANS, bleef in Nederland achter om als marconist voor Cor van Paaschen, alias PIETER DEKKER,  te gaan werken.

Wireless operator Jan Steman stays in The Netherlands to assist Cor van Paaschen, who is now known as Pieter Dekker. Cor takes over Tobias's duties to be the liaison officer between Londen and the underground press in The Netherlands.

Wanneer Tobias al hoog en droog in Madrid zit schrijft hij een rapport waarin hij met name beschrijft wie hij in Parijs ontmoet heeft en waarom hij teruggaat naar Brussel. Tobias noemt zichzelf hier OLIVER en de FORMAN die hij hier noemt is in werkelijk een Belgische SOE officier genaamd Ides Floor. Deze geeft Tobias toestemming om gebruik te maken van een Belgische radio verbinding met England. Tobias verzendt via deze verbinding drie telegrammen, maar krijgt geen antwoord. Hij besluit daarop naar Parijs terug te keren. Voor telegrammen klik hier.

When Tobias is already in Madrid he writes a report about the person he had met in Paris and why he went back to Brussels. Tobias calls himself Oliver and he calls the man he met in Paris Forman, this is in fact the Belgian T section officer Ides Floor. He had given Tobia spermission to use his radio link with Londen. Tobias sends three telegrams to London, but receives no answer. Therefore he decides to return to Paris and to continue his journey to England. To see the three telegrams click here.

Op vrijdag 12 mei komt Tobias opnieuw in Parijs aan. Om naar Spanje te reizen gebruikt hij dezelfde escape-line als Ides Floor, de VIC/DODGE line. Ides Floor reist over de weg naar Toulouse, waarschijnlijk met een auto, of meerdere auto's etappegewijs.
Tobias verplaatst zich met een gids en de Belgen Danhaive en Marcq per trein, zij komen daar op woensdag 17 mei aan. Op dinsdag 23 mei komt hij in Perpignan aan. Hier zouden twee Belgen en een Nederlander op hem wachten alvorens de Spaanse grens over te steken, deze drie zijn echter gearresteerd. Hierop besluit Tobias naar Toulouse terug te keren.
Hij wacht hier twee weken en reist vervolgens per trein op zondag 11 juni via Tabres naar Montrejeau (
Gourdan-Poligan) aan de voet van de Pyreneen. Voor aanvullende informatie over dit deel van de reis van Tobias, klik hier.
Vijf dagen later is hij in Spanje en wordt op weg naar Barcelona gearresteerd samen met drie Belgen en twee Amerikanen. Onder politie begeleiding wordt de groep naar Barbastro gebracht waar Tobias op woensdag 21 juni de gelegenheid krijgt om zich met de Vice Consul in Saragossa contact op te nemen. Dezelfde dag komt de groep in Huesca, de provincie hoofdstand aan. Hier krijgt men de gelegenheid zich met de Britse Consul in verbinding te stellen en deze draagt zorg voor transport naar Saragossa.

Tobias arrives in Paris again on May 12th. To travel to Spain he uses the same escape-line as Ides Floor, the so called Vic/Dodge line. Floor probably travels by car to Toulouse, or more cars in several stages. Tobias travels by train with a French guide and the Belgian Danhaive who wants to travel to England too. They arrive at the trainstation of Toulouse May 17th. Together with an other Belgian they stay several days in a safehouse in Toulouse. May 23rd, Tobias travels with Danhaive and a guide to Perpignan and from there by foot to a village near the French/Spanish border. Here they must wait for two other Belgians and an other Dutchman before they can cross the border. However this party has been arrested and it is decided to return to Toulouse. Tobias must wait here an other two weeks before he is able to start his journey to Spain. Sunday June 11 he is taken to the trainstation in Toulouse and via Tabres he travels by train to Montrejeau. Here a group is formed, they are given bicycles and with a guide they travel to the foot of the Pyrenees. On foot the cross the mountains into Spain, which they reach after five days. While travelling by car to Barcelona all of them are arrested by the Spanish police and taken Barbastro. Here Tobias is able to contact the British Consul on June 21st. That same they they are once again moved and arrive in Huesca. Here the group is able to get in touch with the British Consul who arranges the journey to Saragossa for them.

Op donderdag 29 juni komt men in Saragossa aan en reist de volgende dag door naar Madrid. Tobias schrijft hier een voorlopig rapport over zijn missie in Nederland.

Zaterdag 8 juli komt Tobias in Gibraltar aan en vliegt enkele uren na aankomst door naar Engeland waar hij op zondag 9 juli aankomt.

Thursday June 29th the group arrive in Zaragossa and the next day Tobias travels on to Madrid. Here he writes his report about his mission in Holland. On Saturday July 8th Tobias arrives in Gibraltar where he is put on a BOAC plane and he arrives back in England on June 9th 1944.


Al met al heeft deze missie 100 dagen in beslag genomen, waarvan slechts 19 in Nederland. Zie tijdlijn.

All in all this mission lasted for about a 100 days, only 19 of them were spent in Holland.
Begin 2014 komt er meer informatie binnen over de reis van Tobias, met name over de periode dat hij door Frankrijk reist. Zijn alias duikt in verschillende telegrammen op. Ten eerst is er het derde telegram van GLOVE uit Brussel dat Tobias op vrijdag 12 Mei weer naar Parijs reist. Dit telegram is echter pas op donderdag 18 Mei verzonden. Dezelfde dag stuurt wireless operator REMBRANDT een telegram naar Londen waarin Tobias met zijn alias BRUIN genoemde wordt.

In 2014 new information reaches us about Tobias's journey through France. His alias 'BRUIN' appears in several telegrams sent to or from London. The first one is the last telegram sent by GLOVE from Brussels. It says that Tobias will travel from Brussels to Paris on May 12th. Strangely this telegram was sent over to London on May 18th. That same day, May 18th. REMBRANDT in Toulouse sends a telegram to London in which the name BRUIN is mentioned:

DF  JULIEN  STOP  REMAIN  BRUIN  JE  SUIS  BRUIN  STOP  IK  DAME  ROUSSUAX KJRRETEE (ARRETTEE?)  HONNER  (DONNER?) SI  POSSIBLE  NOUVEAU  CONTACT  POUR  CONTINER KFFAKRE  STOP  EMMHI(X)NS  DEUX  AVIATEUR  AMERICAIN  SUIVANTS POUR  LUI  VERIFIER  SI  RADIO  WALTER  WILLIAMS  TROIS  SEPT  CINQ QUATRE NEUF  SIX  NEUF  TROIS (37549693)  BOX TROIS  DEUX UN (321) RUGBYN  DAKOTA ACYEZ LUI  VOUS CINQ  RODE  AVEX  DRAPEAU  AMERICAIN ET  SI  LIEUTENANT  DOUGLAS EAMES ZERO HUIT ZERO ZERO ZERO SEPT UN (0800071) QUATORZE (14) BEYCON STREET  HYDE  PARK BOSTON  MASSACHUSETS  AU  NFOERE  JIMMY  LNNTLEFLIRT(U)SEPREN  MONE  CHERRY
TRENTE CINQ (
35)


Onderstaand telegram is waarschijnlijk afkomstig van een operator in Toulouse, Tobias is namelijk op 17 Mei in Toulouse gearriveerd. Hij blijft hier enkele dagen en komt op 23 Mei in Perpignan aan. Het onderstaande telegram geeft aan dat Tobias dezelfde dag vanuit Perpignan weer teruggaat naar Toulouse.

The telegram below is probably sent by an operator in Toulouse, because Tobias did arrive in Toulouse on May 17th. He stays here for several days and arrives in Perpignan May 23rd. The telegram informs London that Tobias will return to Toulouse that same day:

FR  ANDRE,  RONALD  ET  UN BELGE  ARETTE  FRONTIERE  STOP  DEUX  BELGES UN  HOLLANDE  REVIENNEAT  A  GGG  STOP  SUITE  ARRESTATION   VICTOR HALGRE  CONFIANCE  NECESSAIRE  BRULOR  BBB  MAINTIENDRONS  JUSQUA
NOUVELLES  ADRESSES  ANCIENS  CONTACTS  STOP  FINANCES  ET  TEURRIER BRULES  DESWITE  LOUIS  MAINTIEN  TEGROSENNUIS  STOP  TROIS  SIX  (
36) STOP GERRY  RUNS  A  WIRELESS  STATION  IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD  RUE  CONSTANTINE GGG  THREE  HORIZONTAL  AERIALS  SEVERAL  VERITAL  WIRES  ON  ROOF  COULD THIS  BE  A  DF  REPEAT  DF  (Direction Finding) STATION  ONE FOUR (14)

In het onderstaande telegram wordt aangegeven dat Tobias de grens met Spanje gepasseerd heeft, het is nog niet helemaal duidelijk welke route men genomen heeft. Volgens de Escape and Evasion reports van de twee Amerikanen werden zij in Toulouse op de trein gezet en reden vervolgens naar Montrejeau. Per fiets ging men verder tot er verder gelopen moest worden. Volgens een van hen duurde de tocht door de Pyreneen vijf dagen, terwijl men nog twee dagen in een grot heeft doorgebracht wachtend op vervoer per auto naar Barcelona. In de buurt van Graus zou men aangehouden zijn en door de politie naar de gevangenis zijn gebracht. Waar deze stond wordt niet vermeldt.

The telegram below sent by wireless operator Andre indicates that Tobias has arrived in Spain. It is not really clear which route they took. According to the Escape and Evasion reports of the two American who were part of the group they were put on a train in Toulouse and travelled to Montrejeau. They continued by bicycle and further by foot. All in all the journey across the Pyrenees took 5 days and after crossing the border they spent two days in a cave at the Spanish side waiting for a car to arrive which would take them to Barcelona. Just before entering Graus the car was halted by the Spanish police and everyone in it was taken to the local jail.

FR  ANDRE  CIRCUIT  CLERMONT  FERRAND  DELPECH ANCIENNEMENT  JERTHON  QUARTIER  DU  PONT  AU  MUR  A  COTE GENDARMERIE  STOP  FIVE  THREE (35) DEUX  EBCQONBEWNEFFILLE PARTIS  LE VENGT  SIX  JUIN STOP  BRUIN, TROIS BELGES ET DEUX AMERICAINS ARRIVES EN ESPAGNE STOP LAST BROADCAST HEAD ONE FIVE  FIVE (155) XX


De twee Amerikanen die in dit telegram genoemd worden zijn Norman V. Pero (32548143) uit Rochester, Monroe County, New York en Richard H. Elliott (18227025) uit Harris County, Texas. Beiden schreven een zogenaamd Escape & Evasion report na te zijn teruggekeerd in Engeland. Hier onder een transcriptie van het rapport van Norman Pero, waistgunner op een bommenwerper van het 401 Bomb Squadron van de 91ste Bomber Group (H):

"My ship was shot down on March 20th 1944  over NW France by an FW-190 while on a mission to Frankfurt. I made a delayed jump from about 10.000 feet, opening my chute at 2000 feet. I followed the waist gunner but passed him on the way down. I landed, hid my chute, and immediately started walking SE by compass. I asked several people for help when I had gotten clear of the area, but they either could not understand me or were unwilling to assist. About three hours after I started walking I encountered a man who understood English, and from here on my journey was arranged".

Sgt. Pero came down in 21 March 1944 a short distance north of Auffray. He walked to the outskirts of Auffay where he met a man who spoke English. He said that he had been an interperter during the last war. He was middle-aged, of heavy build, cleanshaven and about 5'9" tall. This helper took him to a friend's farm and put him in a hayloft, where his heated suit was taken by Frenchmen. From here he was taken on foot to the interperter's house in Auffay. The interperter gave him a civilian sweater and kept him there for the night, taken him by train to Rouen the next morning. They went to a cafe, apparently the headquaters of an organisation, where the interperter left him. the cafe owner was a short man with a moustache, of medium build, about 45 years old, who owned a Ford truck. At sundown the cafe owner took him to a house in Rouen which was owned by an old man and his wife. The next night he was taken to a warehouse presided over by a man with a wooden leg. Thence he was taken to the house of Ralf Henning, 10 Rue de Poisson. Hennig's sister took care of Sgt. Pero for 6 or 7 days.
He was told by these people that he would be returned to the UK by plane. Henning took him by train from Rouen to Formerie and thence on foot to Vergenet where he was left at a farmhouse where he stayed 7 days with the farmer and his family. He believes their name was Luc. After 7 days a young man, about 21 years old, who seemed to be the head of the organisation (black curly hair, 5'11", medium build, carried a gun) came to give Pero an identity card for paris, ration stamps and cigarettes. They took bicycles to Bois de Puits where they sent the night in a farmhouse. Next day the organisation leader gave Pero a gun and took him by motorcycle to Le Caule, where he stayed in a butcher's house for one day. Here he met Sgt. Elliott. Sgts Pero and Elliott were taken to Mortemer by motorcycle and thence to Neufchatel by horse and buggy. The spent the night at a lumbercamp where they were questioned as to their identity by a onelegged men who treated them very kindly. Next day they went by bicycle to Bully where they stayed at the house of a Mme. Dumont for 10 days. Sgt. Faulkner another American Air Force evader, joined them here. A helper Jean Macron came from Paris and took all three evaders to Paris by train. Macron took them to his house for two days and made up identity cards for them, it being found that their previous cards were not suitable. Pero and Elliott were delayed due to not having any more photos. Faulkner however was taken to the coast by Macron and was returned to the UK by boat at this time. The next day the two sergeants had their photos taken at a department store. Also on this day they met Capt. Raymond, U.S. Intelligence Officer and where taken to the house of Mme. Germaine, where they were kept for about 23 days. They received new identity cards there and left with a guide named Lucie to Toulouse by rail. They picked up new guides from time to time enroute to Toulouse. Here they spent 22 days at the house of Joseph Corraze, at 30 Rue Dinetard. Guides took them by train to Montrejeau and thence by bicycle to the Pyrenees where they were met by other guides including Belgian helpers and a
British officer (Tobias). They immediately set out to cross the mountains. The crossing took 7 days as they were delayed by the poor health of one of the Belgians. In Spain they stayed hidden a a cave for two days while waiting to contact a driver. From here they started for Barcelona by automobile, but were arrested by police at Gros (Graus) where they declared themselves to be escaped prisoners of war. They spent the night in jail and where questioned the next morning as to name, rank and serial number. They gave their actual ranks. They were also asked how much money they had. They were kept here for two days. They were fingerprinted and through a Red Cross representative they contacted the British Vice-Consul at Zaragoza. The Vice-Consul told them that under no circumstances should they declare themselves to be airmen. From here they went to Madrid where they remained for four weeks, then moved to Gibraltar. At Gibraltar they were questioned by a British IO who asked them for all details of their trip, including helpers, etc. From here they reurned to the UK where they arrived on the 31st of July.
w.muge@home.nl
Click here for viewing page containing telegrams concerning 'BRUIN'.

Click here for viewing page containing telegrams concerning Marcq.

Click here for more information about SOE agent Roland.

Click here for more information about the VIC escape line.

Click here for more documents about the VIC line.

Click here for a transcription about the first operations of BBO in Holland

Click here for maps of the Pyrenees and the route taken.

Click here for photos taken by me in Spain.

Click here for more details about the last leg of the journey to England.

Click here for to view maps of the last leg.

Click here to view Tobias's network during his first mission.

Click here to view Tobias's report of his first mission.

Click here to view the edited version of Tobias's report about his first mission.

Click here to view the actual reports.

Click here for more information about SOE agent Johan Grün.

Click here for more information about SOE agent Ides Floor.