sidevalve, how amazing that the Comet Line lost only 2 evaders, one of them being one of its own, despite the great number that was passed along its extended length. That it was only really brought to a stand by the growing threat of blue on blue Allied air attacks is an ironic twist, as were the French forest camps established in its stead to house and hide those who were evading and/or escaping from.....German camps! Irony also extended I suspect to the title of Tante adopted by these courageous girls and young women who were at the very heart of this lifeline.
If we can have a generic memorial to women of WWII in Whitehall, then we should have a specific one there to those men and women who thwarted the enemy in occupied territories by aiding the escape and evasion of our Armed Forces. The constant fear of your door being battered down at 3am requires a very cold courage indeed to overcome.
Thank you for reminding present generations of the sacrifice made back then to return democracy to the nations of Western Europe, and why it is important to go on defending it today.
Warmtoast, the colourful rickshaw drivers in your pictures might well be the sons of those who met my father's outbound troopship in Durban in December 1941. He duly got snapped in such a rickshaw and sent the photo home before embarking again for Singapore. Events however intervened and they disembarked in the Dutch East Indies instead, before being overrun by the Japanese Imperial Army. No Comet Line there I'm afraid!