Canadian Spies: Tales of Espionage in Nazi-Occupied Europe During World War II

Clint MacNeil teaches history, geography, and world religion at St.
Charles College in Sudbury, Ontario.

Canadian agents travelled behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied France to
help establish escape routes for downed Allied pilots prior to the
Normandy invasion in 1944. Intelligence and luck helped these men
perform gracefully under intense pressure and with minimal resources.
Detection by the Gestapo usually meant certain torture and death for the
unsuspecting agent.

Men such as Frank Pickersgill and Gustav “Guy” Belier were fearless
patriotic Canadians to their end at the hands of the Nazis. Pickersgill,
a freelance journalist caught in France during the outbreak of war,
joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) to help “set
Europe ablaze.” Following his arrest by the Gestapo, he refused to
co-operate with his captors and consequently found himself at the
notorious Buchenwald camp, from which he never returned. Belier, a
highly successful saboteur, gave the Nazis well-deserved angst. Under
unspeakable torture, Belier did not divulge the names of his associates.
Impressed with his resolve, his Nazi captors at Flossenburg executed him
with dignity by firing squad.

More important were the combined efforts of Lucien Dumais and Raymond
LaBrosse. These two agents worked tirelessly to help Allied pilots and
POWs escape. Following their earlier successes, Dumais and LaBrosse
teamed up and returned to France to direct Operation Bonaparte, which
was part of a larger escape network called the Shelbourne Line. This
human chain of agents and resistance fighters worked together under the
noses of the Nazis to smuggle Allies out. Despite close calls and
breaches of security, these intrepid men between 1943 and 1945
successfully smuggled 300 Allies out through the French coastal village
Plouha and across the English Channel.

On the whole, Canadian Spies is an interesting account of World War II
espionage and heroism. With information gleaned from modest research and
interviews, Douglas retells the agents’ stories, though in minimal
detail. Had he provided more analysis that evaluated the agents’
successes or discussed their overall value to the war effort, he would
have done greater justice to this fascinating topic.