Harry Rée
Encyclopedia
Harry Alfred Rée DSO
OBE (15 October 1914 - 17 May 1991) was a British
educationist and wartime member of the Special Operations Executive
.
Harry Rée was born in England
, the son of Dr Alfred Rée, a chemist who was descended from an illustrious Danish Jewish family, and Lavinia Dimmick, the American-born great granddaughter of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
.
He was educated at Shrewsbury School
, Cambridge University, and the Institute of Education
, University of London
. In 1937 he became a language master at Bradford Grammar School
, and later at Beckenham and Penge County School for Boys
. In 1940 he married Hetty, daughter of Eardley Vine, of Beaconsfield
.
conditional upon working in the National Fire Service
, but in 1941 re-registered for military service and was called up to the army. He later volunteered for the Special Operations Executive
, receiving a captaincy in the Intelligence Corps and the codename "César". In April 1943 he was parachuted to France and joined the Acrobat Network around Montbéliard
. Later he became active in the Stockbroker Network around Belfort
.
Rée spoke against RAF
bombing in France, arguing it was turning French public opinion
against the Allies. He suggested that SOE agents could organize effective sabotage
of factories on the ground. He organized destruction of the Peugeot
factory at Sochaux
by convincing the local director already resisting to cooperate with the SOE. The local director's sabotage became more efficient and visible to the SOE, and manage to share tactical informations on the Wehrmacht projects they had to be involved in (Especially the [V-1]).
On 5 November 1943 Rée organized a decoy attack against compressors and transformers at Sochaux to transfer the blame.
Therefor the RAF did not bomb the factory.
Germans tried to capture Rée, who escaped a Feldgendarmerie group after he had been shot four times and, according to his own account, had to swim over a river and crawl through a nearby forest. He managed to reach Switzerland
and still keep some contact with his organization. In May 1944 he was replaced by an American officer, E.F. Floege, and returned to Britain. He starred in the movie Now it Can be Told (aka School for Danger), produced by the RAF Film Unit, which told the story of SOE's activities in France.
1961-1974, and was an advocate of comprehensive education. He was active in the Society for the Promotion of Education Reform and the Programme for Reform in Secondary Education.
In 1974 he left the university and went to Woodberry Down
Comprehensive School
in Hackney
, where he became an ordinary classroom teacher. He retired in 1980. Rée continued to advocate close links between schools of the European Community and the repeal of the 1988 Education Act
.
Rée wrote a biography of the educator and inventor of Village College
s, Henry Morris
: Extraordinary: The Life and Achievements of Henry Morris (Longman
, 1973) and produced a compilation of Morris' talks and articles, The Henry Morris Collection (Cambridge University Press
, 1984). He died in 1991.
Archives http://ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid=9347&9347_0=1530. A list of these papers can be found on the online catalogue.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
OBE (15 October 1914 - 17 May 1991) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
educationist and wartime member of the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
.
Harry Rée was born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Dr Alfred Rée, a chemist who was descended from an illustrious Danish Jewish family, and Lavinia Dimmick, the American-born great granddaughter of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours , known as Irénée du Pont, or E.I. du Pont, was a French-born Huguenot chemist and industrialist who immigrated to the United States in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company...
.
He was educated at Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, Cambridge University, and the Institute of Education
Institute of Education
The Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. In 1937 he became a language master at Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School is a co-educational, independent school in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Headmaster, Stephen Davidson is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference . The school was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1662...
, and later at Beckenham and Penge County School for Boys
Langley Park School for Boys
Langley Park School for Boys is a boys' comprehensive secondary school in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, with a mixed-gender sixth form...
. In 1940 he married Hetty, daughter of Eardley Vine, of Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
.
Wartime exploits
In the Second World War Rée was registered in 1940 as a conscientious objectorConscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
conditional upon working in the National Fire Service
National Fire Service
The National Fire Service was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service was created in 1942....
, but in 1941 re-registered for military service and was called up to the army. He later volunteered for the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
, receiving a captaincy in the Intelligence Corps and the codename "César". In April 1943 he was parachuted to France and joined the Acrobat Network around Montbéliard
Montbéliard
Montbéliard is a city in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.-History:...
. Later he became active in the Stockbroker Network around Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
.
Rée spoke against RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
bombing in France, arguing it was turning French public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
against the Allies. He suggested that SOE agents could organize effective sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
of factories on the ground. He organized destruction of the Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
factory at Sochaux
Sochaux
Sochaux is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-Population:Inhabitants are known as Sochaliens.-Economy:...
by convincing the local director already resisting to cooperate with the SOE. The local director's sabotage became more efficient and visible to the SOE, and manage to share tactical informations on the Wehrmacht projects they had to be involved in (Especially the [V-1]).
On 5 November 1943 Rée organized a decoy attack against compressors and transformers at Sochaux to transfer the blame.
Therefor the RAF did not bomb the factory.
Germans tried to capture Rée, who escaped a Feldgendarmerie group after he had been shot four times and, according to his own account, had to swim over a river and crawl through a nearby forest. He managed to reach Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and still keep some contact with his organization. In May 1944 he was replaced by an American officer, E.F. Floege, and returned to Britain. He starred in the movie Now it Can be Told (aka School for Danger), produced by the RAF Film Unit, which told the story of SOE's activities in France.
Educational career
After the war, Rée became headmaster of Watford Grammar School for Boys. He was the first professor of educational studies at the University of YorkUniversity of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
1961-1974, and was an advocate of comprehensive education. He was active in the Society for the Promotion of Education Reform and the Programme for Reform in Secondary Education.
In 1974 he left the university and went to Woodberry Down
Stoke Newington School Media Arts College
Stoke Newington School is a media arts and science college, situated in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney. The school is an amalgamation of Clissold School and Woodberry Down School, with the new school founded in 1982 in the building of the former Clissold School...
Comprehensive School
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, where he became an ordinary classroom teacher. He retired in 1980. Rée continued to advocate close links between schools of the European Community and the repeal of the 1988 Education Act
Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944...
.
Rée wrote a biography of the educator and inventor of Village College
Village College
The village college is an institution specific to Cambridgeshire, England . It caters for the education of 11 to 16 year olds during the day,...
s, Henry Morris
Henry Morris (education)
Henry Morris is known primarily as the founder of Village Colleges. He was the Chief Education Officer for Cambridgeshire for over thirty years, taking up the post in 1922 during a time of depression in the United Kingdom following the First World War.-Early life:Morris was born in Southport in...
: Extraordinary: The Life and Achievements of Henry Morris (Longman
Longman
Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
, 1973) and produced a compilation of Morris' talks and articles, The Henry Morris Collection (Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1984). He died in 1991.
Primary sources
The personal papers and recordings of Harry Rée are held by the Institute of EducationInstitute of Education
The Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
Archives http://ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid=9347&9347_0=1530. A list of these papers can be found on the online catalogue.
External links
- Spartacus Educational about Harry A. Rée
- Papers and recordings of Harry Alfred Rée, The Institute of EducationInstitute of EducationThe Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Portrait of Harry Rée by Margaret Foreman