Lieutenant-Colonel James Maydon Langley (12 March 1916 – 10 April 1983) was an officer in the British Army, who served during World War II. Wounded and captured at the

battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

in mid-1940, he later returned to Britain and served in

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held b ...

Biography

Langley was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, the son of Francis Oswald Langley (1884–1947), a

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

. He was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

. Having served as a cadet under officer in the Uppingham School Contingent of the Junior Division of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

(Supplementary Reserve) on 4 July 1936, and promoted to lieutenant on 4 July 1939. Langley was mobilised on 24 August 1939 to serve in the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, part of the 1st Guards Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham, in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). In early June 1940, during the battle of Dunkirk, he was seriously wounded in the head and arm. Unable to walk, he was left behind at a Casualty Clearing Station, where he was captured, and later had his left arm amputated by a German Army doctor. On 10 October he escaped from a hospital in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

and made his way to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. Like other British prisoners in the Vichy Zone Langley was held at Fort Saint-Jean, though this confinement was nominal, as they were only required to attend roll-call once a week, but were otherwise free. While in Marseille Langley worked as a courier for the escape line run by the Scottish officer

Ian Garrow Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Grant Garrow DSO (24 August 1908 - 28 March 1976) was a British army officer with the Highland Light Infantry. He was the founder of the Pat O'Leary Line in Marseilles which helped Allied soldiers and airmen escape Nazi ...

and Minister

Donald Caskie Donald Currie Caskie, OBE, DD (22 May 190227 December 1983) was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his work in France during World War II. He was a member of the Pat O'Leary escape line which helped up to 500 Allied sail ...

. In February 1941 Langley was declared "unfit for further military service" by a Medical Board containing Dr. George Rodocanachi, and was repatriated in March. On his return to England he was recruited by

Claude Dansey Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey, KCMG (10 September 1876 – 11 June 1947), also known as Colonel Z, Haywood, Uncle Claude, and codenamed Z, was the assistant chief of the Secret Intelligence Service known as ACSS, of ...

into the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

(MI6) to serve as liaison officer between MI6 and

, where most of his work involved the support of escape and evasion lines in north-west Europe. He was promoted to captain (

war substantive Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, an ...

) on 30 October 1943, and to major on 14 April 1944, and then to

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

lieutenant-colonel on 14 January 1944. In January 1944 Langley was appointed to joint command of a new Anglo-American unit; Intelligence School 9 (Western European Area), which was attached to

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

during the western campaign of 1944–45. IS9(WEA)'s role was to organise escape and evasion, setting up reception centres, collating intelligence and organising the return of personnel to the UK. These operations extended to liberated POWs as their camps were overrun. It was also involved setting up "safe areas" such as Operation Marathon, behind enemy lines in which men could congregate until liberated, rather than risk breaking through the front line. The organisation was also involved in "

Operation Pegasus Operation Pegasus was a military operation carried out on the Lower Rhine near the village of Renkum, close to Arnhem in the Netherlands. Overnight on 22–23 October 1944, Allied military forces, Britain's MI9 intelligence organisation, an ...

" at

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. Langley was demobilised on 4 July 1946, being transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers with the rank of lieutenant (war substantive major), retaining his seniority. He was promoted to major in the Reserves on 1 January 1949, eventually relinquishing his commission, having reached the age limit, on 12 March 1966, and was granted the

honorary rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, a ...

of lieutenant-colonel. Post-war he worked for

Fisons Fisons plc was a British Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical, scientific instruments and horticultural chemicals company headquartered in Ipswich, United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a cons ...

until 1967, then ran a bookshop in Suffolk with his wife, the former

Peggy van Lier Marguerite "Peggy" van Lier Langley (born 16 March 1915, South Africa; d. 20 July 2000, England) (code named ''Michele'', ''Melle'', and ''Mitchell'') was a guide in Belgium for the Comet Line which helped allies of World War II, allied airmen sho ...

(1915–2000), a member of the Belgian "

Comet line The Comet Line (; 1941–1944) was a Resistance organization in occupied Belgium and France in the Second World War. The Comet Line helped Allied soldiers and airmen shot down over occupied Belgium evade capture by Germans and return to Great ...

", whom he had married in 1944. They had four sons and a daughter. Langley retired in 1976, and died in 1983. Langley was portrayed by the actor

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

in the 2004 BBC series ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

''.

Awards

On 20 December 1940 Langley was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

"in recognition of gallant conduct in action with the enemy" in France, and on 29 April 1941 was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) "in recognition of distinguished services in the field". On 2 August 1945 Langley received a

mention in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe".

Publications

* *, with

M. R. D. Foot Michael Richard Daniell Foot, (14 December 1919 – 18 February 2012) was a British political and military historian, and former British Army intelligence officer with the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Foot was the a ...

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, James Maydon 1916 births 1983 deaths English amputees British escapees World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British World War II prisoners of war Military personnel from Wolverhampton People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Coldstream Guards officers MI6 personnel Recipients of the Military Cross Members of the Order of the British Empire