PLOT: 5424

The grave site includes a stone memorial in the form of an Orthodox cross for American Vladimir Bouryschkine (also known as Val Williams), who supported the French Resistance and assisted in the evasion of over 100 Allied aircrew members from German-occupied areas in Europe during World War II. The base of the cross is inscribed VAL BOURYSCHKINE WILLIAMS - 1913-1968 with additional text which has been weathered. Also buried with him in the small family plot are his wife Monica (Luigi) Bouryschkine and his father, Pavel Afanasyevich Bouryschkin.

Escape and evasion lines in World War II helped people escape European countries occupied by Nazi Germany. The focus of most escape lines in Western Europe was assisting Allied airmen shot down over occupied Europe to evade capture and escape to Gibraltar, neutral Spain, or Sweden, from where they could return to the United Kingdom. British Military Intelligence Section 9 (MI9), British Special Operations Executive (SOE), and other Allied organizations, including the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), coordinated most operations and support for the effort to recover soldiers and airmen who escaped from German captivity, or attempted to evade capture after landing in hostile territory. About 7,000 airmen and soldiers, mostly American, British, and Canadian, were helped to evade German capture in Western Europe and successfully returned through the United Kingdom during World War II.

MI9s first attempt, called the Oaktree Line, to set up an escape line to move aircrew by boat from Brittany to England failed in mid-1943 due to German infiltration, poor leadership, and extreme risk-taking under Vladimir Pavlovich Bouryschkine, a Russian-born American MI9 agent also known as Val Williams. Bouryschkine worked with MI9, the French Resistance, and helpers such as American civilian Roberta Betty (Laurie) Countess de Mauduit, residing in Plourivo, who provided support and refuge locally, to facilitate the return of about 100 Allied aircrew along the Oaktree Line. After the compromise of Oaktree in July 1943, Bouryschkin helped establish a follow-on evasion channel in the area, the Shelburne Line, responsible for the return of over 135 Allied aircrew and the infiltration of eight British agents during 1943-1944. Since he became well known to enemy intelligence, he had to return to England in late 1944, where he later worked with the U.S. Army on a sensitive program.

Sources of information: www.conscript-heroes.com, warhistory.org, ru.wikipedia.org, dokumen.pub

Source of photo: www.cimetiere-russe.org