Liberty, fraternity ... accidentally!
Bungling WW2 hero who led Paris liberation by mistake
MOST war heroes earn the right to dine out on their hair-raising tales of derring-do.
But the family of one British Second World War soldier have revealed the extraordinary story that saw him ‘liberate’ Paris – purely by accident.
Harry Hamilton signed up to fight and falsely claimed to speak German, winning himself a swift promotion to captain.
His finest moment came when he was due to take part in a convoy up the Champs-Elysees to herald the defeat of the Nazis in France.
Mr Hamilton, who was supposed to be at the rear, got lost when his lorry broke down during the event on August 26, 1944.
He knew where they were heading, so after restarting the engine, he took a short cut and accidentally ended up at the front of the parade. Mr Hamilton arrived on the famous avenue before the rest of the convoy – including even top brass such as US General George Patton and France’s General Charles de Gaulle.
He then unwittingly led the procession, with thousands of cheering French people assuming he was in charge.
Mr Hamilton was met with waves, kisses and applause and even handed bottles of champagne by people thanking him for defeating Hitler. He died of pneumonia last month aged 98 and now his daughter Jemima Hamilton, 36, has paid tribute to her father.
Miss Hamilton said her dad, of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, would always joke that he ‘liberated’ Paris before anyone else.
She said: ‘He beat the rest of the convoy and consequently was the first to drive down the ChampsElysees, which erupted with cheers and applause for him. He was even given a bottle of Lanson champagne by a stranger.’ The former soldier, who served in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry regiment, wrote in his memoirs: ‘There was so much cheering and people in the road that I got out of the lorry and walked down.’
After the war he worked as a journalist, solicitor, private detective and horticulturist. His wife, Gillian, died many years ago. Miss Hamilton said: ‘He always joked that he liberated Paris. He told that to everybody – it’s a brilliant story.’