Harold Cole

Who was Harold Cole?

Harold Cole, also known as Paul Cole, was a British soldier, who assisted and later betrayed the French Resistance during World War II. According to some accounts, he caused significant damage to the Allied cause. Cole was killed while resisting arrest after the war ended.

On 4 September 1939, Cole, who had recently been released from prison, enlisted in the British Army, and was assigned to an engineering unit, the 18th Field Park Company, part of the 4th Infantry Division. His unit was sent to France in late 1939 as a part of the British Expeditionary Force and was stationed in Loison-sous-Lens. Cole was promoted to Sergeant, but was taken prisoner by German forces during the Fall of France in mid-1940.

Cole escaped soon afterwards, hiding in Lille and then Marseilles, where he helped establish and operate escape lines with the French Resistance. During this period he was known as "Paul Cole".

In 1941, he was re-captured by German forces; the Gestapo persuaded Cole to collaborate and betray the escape lines he had helped to form in occupied France. He denounced many important figures in the resistance movement including Ian Garrow and Albert Guerisse of the Pat Line. It is believed Cole betrayed at least 150 members of the French Resistance, of whom 50 were executed by the Gestapo. The Deputy Commander of Scotland Yard at the time, Reginald Spooner described him as "the worst traitor of the war".