WOMAN PIMPERNEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24542, 26 March 1943, Page 3

WOMAN PIMPERNEL

YOUNG LONDON DANCER DARING WORK IN NORWAY (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, March 24 After three years of desperate workas a saboteur and as leader of a band assisting Norwegians to escape from their country, a 22-year-old London dancer, Helen Dallas, has arrived in Stockholm. She had a narrow escape from the Germans. ]u reporting this, the Stockholm correspondent of the Daily Mail says few of the 9000 Norwegians who have escaped since the German occupation have a more thrilling story than hers. She is legally a Norwegian, because she escaped internment by paying a young Norwegian/£25 to marry her. She saw her husband twice —the day of the marriage and again early this month, when she paid another £25 for a divorce. She was one of the key operatives in a naticin-wide organisation arranging escapes, sabotage and tho dissemination of Allied propaganda. Many Norwegians serving in the Allied forces owe their freedom to her. The Germans caught her girl friend and pulled out one fingernail a day until none were left. Several of her men associates had every nail and tooth extracted in this manner. Miss Dallas only consented to escape when friends who knew that the German net was closing round her threatened to take her to the frontier by force. "The only thing to encourage us in Norway," she said, a Avas the 8.8.C. news, which I helped to distribute '' RIVAL GOVERNORS FRENCH GUIANA'S STATUS LONDON, March 24 Morocco radio says that General Giraud's new Governor ' of French Guiana is M. Capenne, former Governor of the Niger' Colony, who is understood at present to be in French West Africa. A New York message states that an early clarification of French Guiana's status is expected to follow the arrival at Cayenne of Colonel Albert Lebel, General Giraud's representative. Colonel Vanegue. commander of the French forces in French Guiana for General Giraud, said that Colonel Lebel brought from Washington assurances of food shipments and other assistance, and planned to serve until the early arrival of M. Capenne, whom General Giraud has designated permanent Governor. M. Capenne is already en route and should arrive before M. Maurice Bertaut. General de Gaulle's nominee for the Governorship. Berlin radio, quoting the Stockholm newspaper Tidningen. says that Count Devaux Saint Cvr and the remainder of the personnel of the French Legation at Stockholm, except the military attache, Colonel Poupard, have broken from the Vichy Government, which has already chosen its successors. They are awaiting orders to go to Stockholm. Vichy has long considered sending a "reliable" representative to Stockholm, but has postponed the decision as long as possible in order not to disclose Count Saint Cyr's opposition to its policy. POLITICAL PRISONERS NORTH AFRICAN CONDITIONS LONDON, March 24 The Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mr. R. K. Law, replying to a House of Commons motion asking that an appeal be made to General Giraud to release all political prisoners in North Africa, said that Mr. Eden on March 3 gave the figure of political prisoners under detention as between 5000 and 13000, ef whom about 3000 were Spanish nationals. The inter-Allied Commission visited four camps, covering about 130Q prisoners, nearly half of whom were Spanish nationals. T!u- Commission's report showed thai the great majority of these prisoner* were not, in fact, in camps at all, but were working in local industries at local rates of pay. They were able to live in towns in the locality and there was no restraint whatever upon their movements. Prisoners in one cam]) told the Commission that they were very satisfied with their conditions and hoped they would not be removed. Mr. Law added: "We are unlikely to obtain the objectives of complete restoration of political liberty in North Africa and the release of all political prisoners by lecturing the French authorities in a rather high-handed manner. Sometimes we do well to remember that while we are talking here our fellow countrymen are dving. We are giving our opinions while they are giving their lives. "The picture drawn of suffering political prisoners does not conform" with the report received from the Commission. Wo have every reason to believe that the situation in North Africa in respect to political prisoners is developing fairly quickly in the direction we would like to see." FRENCH CONSULS DESIGN (Reed. 10.50 p.tu.) MADRID, March 25 Many French diplomats in Spain, hitherto loyal to Vichy, have resigned. They include the Madrid Embassy counsellor and first secretary. French consuls, with their entire staffs, at Barcelona, Bilbao. Valencia and Malaga have also resigned. I