Peter Kemp (writer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Kemp M.C., D.S.O.
Peter Kemp in the uniform of the Spanish Legion.
Born	19 August 1913 (1913-08-19) Bombay, India
Died	30 October 1993 (1993-10-31) (aged 80) London, England
Allegiance	Nationalist  United Kingdom
Service/branch	Spanish Army Special Operations Executive
Years of service	1936-1938 (Spanish Army) 1941-1946 (British Army)
Unit	Requetés Spanish Legion
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II War in Vietnam
Alma mater	University of Cambridge

Peter Mant MacIntyre Kemp (born August 19, 1913 – died October 30, 1993) was an English soldier and writer. He became well-known for fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Later, during World War II, he was a member of a secret British group called the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Early Life and Education

Peter Kemp was born in Bombay, India. His father was a judge there. Peter went to a school called Wellington College. After that, he studied old languages and history (classics) and law at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Fighting in the Spanish Civil War

Peter Kemp strongly believed in traditional values and supported the king (he was a monarchist). He was worried about the rise of communism in Spain. He heard about terrible things happening in areas controlled by the Republican side. Because of this, he decided to join the fight against them.

In November 1936, Peter stopped studying for his law exams. He traveled to Spain and joined a group called the Carlist Requetés militia. This group was part of the Nationalists. He later joined the Spanish Legion. Peter was given a special job as a journalist to help him get into Spain. This allowed him to report from the war zones.

He later moved to the Spanish Legion. It was unusual for someone who wasn't Spanish to lead a group of soldiers, but Peter did. He fought in the Battle of Belchite (1937). Peter was sometimes asked by his Spanish friends if he was a Freemason because he was Protestant. Once, his unit captured a man who had left the Republican side. Peter tried to help him, but he was ordered to watch the man's execution.

Peter was hurt several times during the war. In the summer of 1938, a mortar bomb badly injured his jaw and hands. He had to return to England to recover. Before he left Spain, he had a private meeting with Francisco Franco, the leader of the Nationalists.

Secret Missions in World War II

Peter Kemp had just started to recover from his jaw injury. He met Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker, who worked for a secret part of the British army. This group later became the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Peter was one of the first people to train at a special commando school.

He went on a mission to find a German U-boat (submarine). But a British ship accidentally fired at the submarine Peter was on, and the mission had to stop. After more training, including parachuting, he went on several secret raids into Occupied France.

Raids into France

Peter was part of the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF). One mission, called 'Operation Dryad', happened on September 2-3, 1942. During this mission, Peter and his team captured seven German soldiers from a lighthouse off the coast of France.

Another SSRF mission, 'Operation Fahrenheit', was led by Peter. The goal was to capture German soldiers for questioning by attacking a signals station in France. This mission, on November 11-12, 1942, was not successful.

Working in Albania

Next, Peter was sent to Albania. He spent 10 months there on secret missions. He met Enver Hoxha, who later became the leader of Albania. Peter worked with a communist group called the National Liberation Front.

Peter felt frustrated because the communist fighters didn't seem to do much. He also thought they were dishonest. For example, a commander named Mehmet Shehu refused to attack 20 German soldiers, even with 800 of his own fighters. He was afraid of losing too many men. Peter later learned that Shehu was saving his troops to fight against other non-communist groups after the war, not just the Germans. Peter thought Shehu was a "thug" and that the group was more interested in fighting other Albanian groups than the Germans.

Helping in Poland

In August 1944, Peter learned his next mission was in Poland. He was to help the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising. This mission was delayed because Stalin, the Soviet leader, didn't want the British or Americans to help the Poles.

The SOE eventually decided to go ahead with a mission to help the Polish resistance. But by then, the Warsaw Uprising had already been crushed. Peter and other SOE agents parachuted into southeastern Poland. Their job was to advise the Home Army.

On New Year's Day, the farm where the SOE agents were staying was attacked by Germans. Peter and the other agents barely escaped. Polish resistance fighters held back the German vehicles to cover their retreat. After the Red Army took over Poland, Peter and his team were ordered to surrender to the Soviets. They expected to be welcomed as friends. Instead, they were put in prison by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police.

They were questioned often while in prison. Peter believed this was because of the Yalta Conference, a meeting between world leaders. The Soviets wanted to see how British-Soviet relations would turn out before releasing the SOE agents. After three weeks, Peter was released. He spent two more months in Moscow waiting for permission to leave. Finally, he was returned to the British Army.

Missions in Asia

For his next mission, Peter was sent to Siam (now Thailand) in the summer of 1945. He helped French refugees who were escaping from French Indochina (now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). He then secretly supplied weapons to the French across the border in Laos. These weapons were used to fight against the Viet Minh rebels.

His last SOE mission was to Bali, which was then part of the Dutch East Indies. He spent four months there (December 1945-March 1946). Japanese forces still occupied Bali. Peter's job was to find out what the Japanese planned to do and help them surrender.

After the war ended, Peter had to leave the British Army because he got Tuberculosis, a serious lung illness.

Life After the War

After the war, Peter Kemp sold insurance. He also started writing. He became a reporter for a newspaper called The Tablet. He traveled to Hungary to report on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He even helped some students escape to Austria.

He was also in the Belgian Congo (now Congo) when it was becoming independent. He reported on revolutions in Central and South America. He was a foreign reporter for The Spectator in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in December 1979.

Peter Kemp's Books

Peter Kemp wrote several books about his life and experiences:

• His first book, Mine Were of Trouble (1957), was about his time in the Spanish Civil War.
• No Colours or Crest (1958) described his secret wartime missions in Albania and Poland for the SOE.
• Alms for Oblivion (1962) was about his experiences in Bali and Lombok after the war.
• These three books have been published together as Ten Years of War (2020).
• In 1990, he wrote his autobiography, The Thorns of Memory.
• Peter also worked with David Smiley, another SOE agent, on a book called Arabian Assignment (1984).

Images for kids

• 

  Xhelal Staravecke shaking hands with Major David Smiley at Shtylla, August 1943 during the first SOE mission to Albania. To the right, Peter Kemp

See also

In Spanish: Peter Kemp (soldado y escritor) para niños