Liesel Ethel Marie Sara (Lucas) Harrison (1923 - 2016)

Born 8 Mar 1923 in Düsseldorf, Rhineland, Prussia, Germany

Died 10 Jul 2016 at age 93 in United Kingdom [uncertain]

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Biography

Elizabeth (Lucas) Harrison has Jewish Roots.

Member of the French Resistance.

The daughter of a Jewish banker who had served in the Imperial German Army and was wounded at Verdun in 1916, Liesel Ethel Marie Lucas – always known as Elizabeth – was born on March 8 1923 in Dusseldorf. ^[1]

Elizabeth was born in Germany, but moved to Belgium as the Nazi's power grew.

Whilst there, Elizabeth joined the Belgian Girl Guides!

When Belgium was invaded she began helping with the Belgian Red Cross and the local resistance. But soon she had to flee to France.

Elizabeth joined the French Resistance and helped people flee to safety. As France became free, she worked as a nurse.

Elizabeth didn't stop helping when the war was over. She published a newsletter in German for the prisoners of war.

Elizabeth Lucas married Alexander Manson in 1947 and the marriage was later dissolved.

On 8 April 1954, Liesel Manson arrived in the UK with daughter Claire (aged 4) and son Andrew (aged 1), aboard the Zuiderkruis. Last resident in Rhodesia, they travelled from Cape Town in South Africa, arriving in Southampton, with a destination of New Malden, Surrey. ^[2]

In 1963 she married John Harrison, who died in 1982. A daughter from her first marriage survives her; a son predeceased her.

She settled in Britain in 1968.

In 1978 she answered an advertisement for a secretary for the Royal Air Force Escaping Society. She was perfectly qualified and for 18 years she devoted her life to maintaining links with evaders and their helpers across Europe. She attended countless reunions and made annual pilgrimages along the major escape routes. For her work she was appointed MBE in 1996. She had also been decorated by the Belgian Red Cross.

She died on 10th July 2016.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: "Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944"
   National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Name Index of Jews Whose German Nationality Was Annulled by the Nazi Regime (Berlin Documents Center); Record Group: 242, National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 - 1958; Record Group ARC ID: 569; Publication Number: T355; Roll: 6, Lewinsohn, Martha Anna (Neumann) – Mosbacher, Hanna
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2027 #26612 (accessed 18 January 2024)
   Liesel Ethel Maria Sara Lucas born on 8 Mar 1923 in Düsseldorf.
2. ↑ Passenger List: "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960"
   The National Archives in Washington, DC; London, England, UK; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Inwards Passenger Lists; Class: Bt26; Piece: 1309; Item: 207
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1518 #6683396 (accessed 18 January 2024)
   Port of Arrival: Southampton, England; Ship Name: Zuiderkruis; Arrival Age: 1; Ports of Voyage: Cape Town and Walvis Bay; Birth Date: abt 1953; Arrival Date: 8 Apr 1954; Name: Andrew Manson; Shipping Line: Netherlands Government; Official Number: 9956/20; Port of Departure: Cape Town, South Africa.

• https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/programme-and-activities/activity-cards/guides-remembrance-stories.pdf
• https://ww2escapelines.co.uk/elizabeth-lucas-harrison-1923-2016/
• Wikipedia contributors, "Valençay SOE Memorial," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valen%C3%A7ay_SOE_Memorial&oldid=1194879121 (accessed January 18, 2024).