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Sometimes I even had to wear a German uniform so that I
wouldn’t be spotted
Jean Warren was born in Pointe-au-Pic in 1914. He was
accepted into the Canadian Army as a pilot in June 1942 but
then during the night of 18th to 19th November 1943, his
aircraft was shot down by German fighters. Even though he
was all alone in his aircraft, he managed to land in
Germany. He was taken prisoner but he managed to escape on
three occasions, taking huge risks to do so each time. Here
he is talking about some of his experiences: “Getting to
Holland was just one long series of misadventures. You
really had to want to get away. We were risking everything,
but we had everything to gain… After all sorts of
difficulties, I managed to jump on board a train which was
taking rolls of paper to Holland. I headed northwards until
we managed to get in touch with a member of the Maquis. By
that time I’d got as far as Borns. I crossed Holland on
foot. I stayed in Borns for 5 weeks. Then I headed towards
Nijverdal. Sometimes I even had to wear a German uniform so
that I wouldn’t be spotted. In early August 1944, I went to
Deveter in Holland. When I got there I managed to get onto a
boat where I hid for three weeks. I don’t need to remind you
that the Germans were constantly patrolling the area for the
whole of this time. But I managed to evade the tight
surveillance by the German military police. We stayed in
Corsell for eight weeks.” On 1st February 1945, at long last
Jean Warren managed to escape from Osedorg camp in Germany
along with 93 of his companions. A Dutch citizen called Miss
Hans Dersken helped him to escape and cross the Rhine. On
6th May 1945, Jean Warren received the British Empire Medal.
He later returned to the Charlevoix region and received an
enthusiastic welcome at Pointe-au-Pic station on 20th July
1945. Jean Warren returned to Europe in 1975 and spent 25
days visiting the Netherlands. He found himself back in the
same places he’d stayed in 30 years earlier. Amongst other
people he was reunited with Miss Hans Dersken who had helped
him to escape. Mr Jean Warren died in 1987. Here are the
names of other Second World War soldiers from Charlevoix who
went overseas: Jacques Jean, Clermont; Benoît Hudon,
Clermont; Florent Fournier, Clermont; Jean-Philippe
Bergeron, La Malbaie; Antoine Tremblay, La Malbaie;
Jean-Louis Goupil, Clermont; Robert Savard, La Malbaie;
Raymond Bhérer, La Malbaie
Jean Warren’s full story appears in the following book:
Léo
Simard. “La petite histoire de Charlevoix”
(Charlevoix
Anecdotes).
La Malbaie, s.é. 1987: 109-118.
Extracts selected by
Serge Gauthier and Christian Harvey
from Charlevoix Historical Society |
