User:Agazarian

Jack Charles Stanmore Agazarian

Jack Agazarian was the second of six children, the first five borne within six years of each other, Levon, Jack, Noel, Raoul, Monique. The youngest, Yvonne, came ten years later. His father, Berdge Rupen, was American, wisely sent to England by his family in his teens to protect him from being drafted into the Turkisk army, and thus the sole survivor of his family after the massacre of 1921 in Izmir. Jack's mother, Jacqueline Marie-Louise Le Chavalier, was french. French as well as English was spoken in the home, and the "boys" (as we called them) went to prep school in Belgium and then on to Dulwich College.

When war was declared in 1939, the eldest boy, Levon, was in the HAC (Horse Artillery Corp), Jack was in business with his father, Noel was at Oxford, studying law, and Raoul (called "Buddy")was apprenticing as a farmer. Monique, the youngest of the five, was at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and Yvonne, was at school the Convent of the Scared Heart, Roehampton. Buddy (married, a young father, and a farmer) and Yvonne were the only two who could not join up.

Levon resined his commission in the HAC to fight with the ski troops in Finland. The war was over in Findland before they got back. He was the only one of the three boys who survived- flying Spitfires, Hurricanes and Thunderbolts in Burma until the end of the war.

Noel, as a member of the Oxford University Air Squadron, got an early start in the Battle of Britian (609 squadron) shooting down four planes and crippling another three. His Spitfire is in the Imperial Was Musuem. When the Battle of Britian quieted down, Noel volunteered for the Middle east where he was shot down near Trobruk in 1941 in an un marked location. An amazing thing was to happen 50 years later. The daughter of an eighth army soldier, going through her fathers things, discovered a packet marked "found in the desert". Inside was Noel's identity bracelet. She traced the family and I, JAcik's sister, now has it. Monique first joined the VAD's (Voluntary Aid Detachment) until she was able to get ATA (Air Transport Auxillary) where she happily ferried spitfires and other planes between airfields and factories for the rest of the war.

Jack, also a pilot, was recruited by the S.O.E. Jacks's story in the SOE is sad and gallant. There were many sad and gallant deaths in the SOE, like jack's resulting in betrayal. Often the betrayal was inadvertent, and apparently stupid, like Archambaud's who radioed London using the agreed code that signaled that he had been taken, only to recieve London's reply in the form of a scolding for not maintaining radio protocol.

Some of those betrayed were so angry that they in turn betrayed SOE to the Germans. Others were victime of the betrayal of hte Prosper Network-many of whom died in concentration camps or under torture. JAck was one of the few who survived torture without giving away any information, even though he knew that the Germans already knew, what he knew, and even though he knew he had been set up.

Jacks's betrayal was different from Prosper agents in that it was political, deliberate and personal. Jack had returned from his last mission concerned that there might be a double agent among the members of Prosper. He suspected Dericourt. Dericourt was responsible for arranging the landings in France, and had an agreement with Boemelburg, the head of the "Geheimstaatspolizei" in Paris, that the agents being flown into France be allowed to land safely, knowing that they would then be followed and identified. Jack repoted his suspicions to Bodington, his superior in London, never suspecting that Bodington already knew.

There are many interpretations of the liasion between Bodington and Dericourt. It was known that they were pre-war friends and had expensive tastes. Certainly Dericourt's acquittal at his post-war trial, where he was accused of betraying Jack, was almost certainly influenced by Bodington's testimony. Jean Overton Fuller in her open letter [www.bouldewr.demon.uk.co] says: "It should be remembered that the charge against Dericourt was expressly that he had betrayed Agazarian to the Germans. Ironically, and that had Bodington not testified for him, Dericourt could have said, not me who betrayed Agazarian, but him". Ironically, after the war, Bodington was awarded an OBE.

Liane Jones1 reports Bodington as giving the following ccount. "He (bodington) and Agazarian were landed safely in france, thanks to Dericourt's arrangements. They went to Paris where Dericourt also found them lodgings in Paris. They could find no Prosper contacts at large and snet messages to Baker Street, over Agazarian had doubts about the security of the address; they therefore tossed a coin to decide who should go and Agazarian lost. On 30 July he went to the address and didn't come back...

Jones, L. (1958) A quiet Courage, the story of SOE women agents in France. ISBN 0-593-01663-7

There had indeed been a message from Baker Street to go to Archambaud's address; it had been sent in good faith. Baker Street was still in touch with Archambaud's set, now controlled by the Germans, and had recieved the address from it. Atthis point, though theywere still inclined to think that Archambaud was genuinely free; Bodington, of course, knew better. But when the coin was tossed - if indeed it ever was- Bodington kept his knowledge to himself. and Jack Agazarian, potential trouble-maker for the Dericourt camp, went off to a bogus rendezvous; finallyBelatedly, the last member of the Prosper inner circle was captured." (P. 143)

Michael Foot writes of Jack's capture2. "...In the end, instead of devising some cover excuse a third person could use to reconnoiter, they tossed for which of them should go. Agazarain lost; not best pleased, he called at the suspect apartment on 30 July and was at once arrested."

"His captors identified him at sight; they knew quite as much about him as they had known about his companions in PROSPER, and knew that he had plenty he could tell them; but he refused to talk, in spite of brutal torture promptly and long applied.

Telling him he might as well save himself pain and come across with the few fragments he had that the enemy needed to complete their jig-saw of information was waste of breath; nor was he shifted by legends of a traitor in high places at home. He maintained this stubborn silence to the end; which came on March 29, 1945. One of the most striking ironies in the history of F section's work is this: that many decorations have been conferred on less deserving colleagues, and much ink has been expended in effortsto make some of the least worhty appear as heroes; while Agazarian's truly heroic conduct has remined, offically, or unofficially, practically unnoticed." (P. 323) This is not, however, quite the end of Jack's story. Not all the facts were out when Michael Foot wrote his devoted history of the SOE. It is true that Jack was tortured for six months in Fresnes in Paris, and then transferred into soltiary conefinement in Flossenburg, where he survived for almost 18 months. It is also true, that on March the 29th, he and twelve other agents were executed. Not, however, by a firing squad, which is the accepted and traditional death of those who are caught and executed as agents- a death that Jack himself knew he might face. rather, he and his brother officers were hung.

2 Foot, M. (1966) SOE in France, An account of the work of the British Special Operations Executive in France, 1940-1944. Her majesty's Stationery Office, London.

Toni Siegert3, reports the execution in his translation from the German into French the history of Flossenburg: " On 29th March, the jailers hung Allied officers, who had been brought in as underground partisans who had been uncovered just before the Normandy landings. The group comprised one Amereican, one Canadian, six, British, as well, as seven French officers, and Belgians. (P40)

The arresting officer, SS Erhard Wolf ( who was executed for his crimes by the Americans in 1947) stated the following at his trial regarding these secrete executions; "With regard to the hangings, the condemned man went up a double ladder. My colleague Weihe, or myself, wnet up the other side of the ladder and put the noose over. I would then hung- dead..." (P. 47)

In May, 1991, The F Section Memorial was inaugurate at Valencay, the hub of early F Section activity. It Commemorates 91 men 13 women ("those who brought hope") who lost their lives as agents of F section. On joining F section, each had been told that thier chances of survival were 50/50. In fact, only one in four survived.

There are a few more paragraphs in this account of Jack's history in the SOE. One is Jack's mention in dispatches. He had elder brother levon not relentlessly researched for this, this would probably not have come to light. I, as the survivor of this generation of the family, am grateful, not just for myself, but also for Jack's nieces and newphews, his great nieces and newphews, when they become interested in his story. Jack's mention in dispatches is below. Also below, are a tribute to his wofe, francou, and some of my personal memories of Jack.

3Toni Siegert: 30,00 morts nous mettent en garde! L'histoire du camp de concentration de Flosenburg et de ses 100 camps annexes de 1938 a 1945. P. 40 ( Translated from Greman. P. 57 copyright 1984. 1987 3. Auglage. ISBN 3-924783-00-4

Mention in Dispatches

By the KING'S Order the name of Honorary Flight Lieutentant J.C.S. Agazarian, Reserve of Air Forces Officers, was published in the London Gazette on 13 June, 1946 as mentioned in a Despacth for distinguished service. I am charged to record His Majesty's high appreciation.

Secretary of State for Air

Hon. Fight Lieutentant Jack Charles Stanmore Agazarian (71106) (deceased) RAFVR. This officer was parachuted into France in December 1942 and worked as W/T operater for an important circuit in the Paris area. He was constantly sought by the Gestapo, narrowly escaping arrest on serveral occassions, but he continued his activities until June, 1943, when he was forced to leave France as he had become so badly compromised. He returned the following month, having volunteered to work with another circuit and, although the Gestapo had a photograph of him, he continued to act as a W/t operator. A few weeks after his arrival, Flt Agazarian volunteered to go to a rendezvous on behalf of his chief, knowing that it might be a trap. He was arrested on his arrival there and imprisoned at Fresnes. Later he was sent to Germany. Throughout his period of activity he displayed great courage and devotion to duty, in face of constant danger.

Jack was also appointed to the Legion d'honneur for his services during the second world war, and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme.

Jack's Wife, Francou Agazarian Francou, (written about as Francine in the SOE literature) was also a member of the SOE. She had joined us for our last family holiday at La Baule in France in 1939. After France had been overrrun by the German, she crossed the Pyrenees on foot- was captured and returned to France- with, as she said, a lettuce leaf in one pocket and a carrot in the other! Not to be outdone she crossed from Brittany to Devon in a French fishing boat and telephoned Jack. She and Jack did several missions together in the SOE.

Liane Jones is one of the few who was able to persuade Francou to talk of her work in France, alongside JAck. I am quoting from her book almost verbatim, with gratitude that she has left is with such a Francou-like account.

"New agents also arrived to be added to the Prosper nuclues, based in Paris. Jack Agazarian had come out at the very end of 1942 as Prosper's second radio operator. His wife, Francine, was landed by Lysander in the night of 17 March and she joined the PArisian group as well. This meant that there were now five agents at the heart of the operation, working together in Paris: Prosper, Andree Borrel, Archambaud, JAck and Francine Agazarian.

The only one who would survive the intrigues and disasters ahead was Francine Agazarian, and when I asked her if she would talk about those days she said she couldn't: being the only one to survive, and woth the knowledge of what the others went through after there arrest, makes the sublect too close to her and too painful. But she wrote to me, describing her sensations and hopes at the time and opening the door for moment on to the way that the Prosper agents worked, separately but in partnership, through these months:

"Although in the same network, my husband and I were not working together; as a radio operator he worked alone and transmitted from different locations every day. I was only responsible to Prosper (whom we called Francois). He liked to use me for special errands because, France being my native land, I could get away from difficulties easily enough, particularly when dealing with officialdom.

Francois was an outstanding leader, clear-headed, precise, confident. I liked working in his instructins, and I enjoyed the small challenges he was placing in fron of me. For instance calling at town halls in various districts of PAris to Exchange the network's expired ration cards ( manufactured in London) for genuine new ones. Mainly was delivering his messages to his helpers: in Paris, in villages, or isolated houses in the countryside. From time to time I was also delivery demolition material recieved from England. And once, woth hand-grenades in my shopping bag, I traveled in a train so full that I had to stand against a german NCO. This odd situation was not new to me. I had already experienced it for the first time in the day of my arrival in French soil, when I had to travel be train from Poitiers to PAris. A very full train also. I sat on my small suitcase in the corrider, a uniformed German standing close against me. But, that first time, tied to my waist, under my clothes, was a wide black cloth belt containing bank-notes for Prosper, a number of blank identity cards and a number of ration cards; while tucked into the sleeves of my coat were crystals for Prosper's radio transmitters; the crystals had been skillfully secured to my sleeves by Vera Atkins herself, before my departure from Orchard Court. My .32 revolover and ammunition were in my suticase. The ludicrousness of the situation somehow eliminated any thoughts of danger.

In any case, I believe none of us in the field ever gave one thought to danger. Germans were everywhere, especially in PAris; one absorbed the sight of them and went on woth the job of living as ordinarily as possible and applying oneself to one's work.

Because I worked alone, the times I liked best were when we could be together, Prosper (Francois), Denise (Andree), Gilbert (Archambaud), Jack (Marcel) and I, sitting round a table, while I was decoding radio messages from London; we were always hoping to read the exciting warning to stand by, which would have meant that the liberating invasion from England was imminent.

Francou lived on until the spring of 1999. She kept very much to herself in the years after the war- and her grief and memory of Jack was a constant throughout her life. As Liam Jones expressed it: "Francine Agazarian feels that honoring of these memories is her raison d'etre. She honors them alone...she embodies the courage of remebering, and the refusal to forget."

Notes from Jack's Sister.

All my brothers were good to me, each in their own special way. It was Jack who always made me laugh. It was Jack who, in his little red MG, took me to my very first film (Susanna of the Mounties). It was Jack who would sneak me out of bed in the middle of the night to make "Dagwood" sandwiches in the kitchen. Jack who took me to tea at Gunthers. It was Jack who, walking in the middle of an air raid, just when Mummy was saying "where's the eiderdon" said "Iderdo!" He had a knack for making real things both real and bearable, and he always had us laughing.

On his last leave he came to visit me at boarding school. We were walking by the river and I was showing him the tree I climbed into to read, (safe: the nuns never looked up) and got the courage to ask him question that had been worrying me. "Jack, are you a spy?" It must, I imagine, have taken him completely by surprise. "No of course not, darling" he said. I felt muddled, I thought I knew and yet if he said no, then I'd made it up. Did he see my confusion? Know that my world had gone tilt? He stopped and looked at me and told me the truth. "I'm sorry darling" he said" Yes. How did you know? I told him I'd noticed him practicing morse code at the wireless, and that he had gone off for special training but it wasn't at an aerodrome- filmsy resons really for such a strong conviction. He then told me that I must never, ever, tell anyone, not Mummy or Monique or any of the boys. And that I mustn't call him a spy, he was an agent! (He was only 27) Then I asked him a question I would never have asked any other grouwn up. "Are you frightened?" "Yes" he said. This was a starburst. If Jack was frightened adn could do what he had to do in his war, then I could do what I had to do in mine.

Francou had come with Jack to visit me, and they were giving a party for me and my friends in their digs in the village when he got the telegram recalling him from leave for his last mission. The bell rang, the telegram came. He read it, crumpled it up and threw it in the fire, and went on playing charades- with my school hat on his head, a hockey skick in his hand, and his clowning-around kind of grin.

It was Francou who told me a month later that JAck had gone overseas. Knowing what that meant- I turned away- careful not to betray what I knew by look or reaction or word. Francou called me back and said and said, "If you are good girl and promise not to make a fuss, I will tell you somwthing else". I hoped very deeply that she would then tell me that Jack was working as an agent, and that I could talk to her about it. Instead, she said, "he has been taken and is a prisoner in Japan". And that was the cover story. Much later, after the war, I discovered that in fact the rest of the family did know, and that my mother had been writing to him throug red cross. After the war, also, Harry Pepper, in the next cellto Jack, came to visit us with JAck's last words. HArry Pepper had been spared because he was "in transit" through Flossenburg, and JAck had sent him a message (morse code tapped on the iron bedstead and the wall) "Looks like my turn now chaps. Cheerio, and love to my wife."

After the war, when I was 18, I left for Canada, and later, emigrated to America. I missed the inauguration of the F Section Memorial at Valencay in 1991, and did not go with Francou and my sister when they visited Flossenburg. However, in a way, my own life has been a tribute to Jack. Whenever the hard times come, I remeber JAck's courage and scrape together my own. When I am tempted to compromise, I remember that Jack did not. And finally the books of my work are published, they are dedicated to Jack "who did not go gentle into that good noght." One of the things that give me pleasure is the pleasure that Francou took in these dedications.

And one last note: I did not know until I read Levon's files after his death in 1995 that JAck had been hanged, not shot. This news temporarily turned Levon insane, and may have hastened hhis death. for myself, it is a grim reality that requires fortitude if I am to accept it, and if I am to be able to maintain the equilibrum that I have finally gained in relationship to the Germans and the betrayals of the war. As Israeli friend of mine said to me "reconciliation does not require forgiveness." This is very helpful statement in the ongoing task of accepting realities that are unacceptable and almost unbearable. It is a statement that may resonate with other survivors of the tragedies and triumphs that are SOE.

Yvonne Agazarian, Philadelphia, 2001