Saturday, October 26, 2019

Mosley's Women Blackshirts: Eileen Gleave

Part Two: Harbouring an Escaped German Prisoner of War

Part One can be found here

 Left - Glamorous Fascist Eileen Gleave

A Metropolitan Police report from 1943, 3 years after British Union was banned, described her as 34 years old, 5' 4" tall, dark wavy hair, small build, attractive appearance, dark complexion, well spoken. Ex-member of South Harrow or Ealing district of British Union. Pro-Nazi.


In the 1930s, Eileen Gleave was Women's Leader of the Harrow branch of the British Union of Fascists.  She was, above all else, a National Socialist and during the war attempted to pass information to the Germans. The information was being intercepted by M.I.5.  Instead of imprisoning her she was allowed to remain free so that M.I.5 could find out the names of her associates.

At the end of the second World War, in 1946, there was a Prisoner-of-War Camp, known as P.O.W. Camp 32, in Scrubbs Lane, Shepherds Bush.  One of the prisoners was Joachim Kirmse, an Oberleutnant in the S.S.  Kirmse was born on 24th November 1912 in Cottbus, Germany.  He was 34 years old and had been imprisoned in the Scrubbs Lane camp for about 9 months.

Kirmse joined the Nazi Party in the 1920s, and was recruited as a Gestapo agent in 1934, when he formed a dance band as a cover job.

In 1939, at the outbreak of war, he was transferred to the S.S. and given a commission in the Paratroop Regiment.  In May 1943 he was taken prisoner in North Africa shipped to the United States and in 1946 was brought to England.

Kirmse first saw Eileen Gleave by the gate of the Scrubbs Lane P.O.W. camp about a week before the Christmas holidays in 1946.  She was there to find out the conditions subject to which German prisoners-of-war could be invited to British families as guests over the Christmas holidays.  At the time, Gleave was living in flat 96, a large six-room flat on the top floor of Talgarth Mansions, Barons Court. 

 Talgarth Mansions, Barons Court is a 4 storey building.
Eileen Gleave occupied flat 96 on the top floor.

With her strong pro-Nazi views she was more than willing to accommodate a German P.O.W. over the Christmas holiday.  Kirmse accepted an invitation to visit Gleave's flat on 28 December 1946.

He was picked up outside the camp by Eileen Gleave and Oliver Gilbert who was known to Special Branch as a Fascist and former British Union member.  Gleave had sublet part of her flat to Gilbert and his mother who didn't get on with Gleave.  When they arrived back at the flat with Kirmse, there were others waiting there to welcome him including former British Union member Marita Perigoe.  Marita Perigoe lived opposite Gleave in flat 95.  Flats 95 and 96 occupied the whole of the top floor.  Fascist meetings were often held in the two flats under the guise of spiritual seances.  The attendees at these meetings were mostly male which prompted Gilbert's mother to accuse Gleave of running a brothel. 

Gleave and Kirmse were instantly drawn to each other at the Christmas social event in Gleave's flat and she promised to see him again whenever he had the opportunity.

Kirmse's good behaviour and excellent character had earned him full privileges at the Scrubbs Lane camp and he was allowed to leave the camp during the day without supervision.  On April 23, 1947 Kirmse made his escape.  He put on his raincoat, walked to the nearest bus stop and boarded a number 23 Trolleybus to Brooks Green.  From there he walked to Eileen Gleave's flat.

For the next three months they lived a very inconspicuous life, one day was very much like any other.  Oliver Gilbert and his mother had given up their sub-tenancy and the cleaner was given notice.  Kirmse remained in the flat on his own all day while Eileen Gleave went out to work.  At that time she was doing shop work and didn't return home until after 6 pm every evening.  Kirmse passed the time by carving houses out of cork.  The radio was never switched on when he was alone in the flat and when Gleave was there they spoke in soft tones.  They planned to get married and live in the United States if it became impossible for them to continue living in England.

It all came to an end on the morning of 28 July, 1947 when the police visited the flat and found Kirmse hiding naked in the wardrobe.  Gleave thought she had been betrayed and demanded to know who had given her away.  Kirmse got dressed and was taken to Hammersmith Police Station where he made a written statement.

Kirmse was sentenced to 28 days at Brahan P.O.W. camp at Dingwall, Ross-shire for escaping from his Scrubbs Lane camp.

On Wednesday 20 August 1947, Eileen Gleave appeared at the West London Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to the offence of knowingly harbouring Kirmse from April 23 to July 25 1947.  Gleave was then asked by the magistrate if there was anything she wished to say.  Her answer was that there was little to be said but that she was in love with Kirmse.  

It wasn't until Kirmse was captured that it became known that he had a wife and five children living in Germany.  Gleave certainly didn't know about it when she was living with him.  The magistrate took pity on her, thinking that she had been deceived by Kirmse. She was fined £5 and given 12 months probation.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, August 25, 1947, Gleave said she was madly in love with Kirmse:
"On Saturday I went to Euston Station and saw him under escort get on the train for Scotland.  I got on the train too but his guards would not let me speak to him.  We only smiled at each other.  I sat in the next carriage and had to get off the train at Crewe.  I cried all the way back."
There is no further information available on either Kirmse or Eileen Gleave.  Mosley founded Union Movement in 1948 and it seems likely that Gleave joined Union Movement like many other former British Union members.

References:

National Archives, KV 2/2677


Daily Mail, 25th August 1947

Evening Standard, 20 August 1947


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