Peter Fowler "MI9"

Captain Peter Seymour Fowler B.A. (Cantab.).Service No: 177534

Regiment: Royal Fusiliers attached to M.I.9

Died 21 August 1944 age 24

He is buried in the Mourèze Communal Cemetery, where his grave is maintained as a Commonwealth War Grave.

Son of Henry Seymour Fowler and Ida Margaret Fowler, The Lynch House, Totteridge Common, Totteridge.

Grave of Peter Fowler

Fowler's military career began with the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). His name appears in the London Gazette of April 1, 1941, suggesting that this may have been the date he received his commission or appointment. While his complete service record before 1944 is not fully detailed in the available sources, it is clear that at some point, he was attached to MI9, a department of the British War Office tasked with aiding Allied personnel to escape from behind enemy lines and recovering Allied prisoners of war.

MI9, established in December 1939, operated escape lines across Nazi-occupied Europe, working closely with resistance networks to facilitate the return of downed airmen and escaped prisoners to Britain.

Fowler's attachment to this specialised unit indicates his involvement in these highly sensitive operations, requiring discretion, courage, and specialised training.

By mid-1944, as Allied forces advanced through Europe following the D-Day landings, covert operations intensified to support resistance efforts and disrupt German troops. On August 15, 1944, Captain Fowler received permission from Lieutenant Commander Brooks Richards of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to accompany Major Andrew Croft on a secret mission to Southern France.

Major Croft recounts in his biography, " Captain Peter Fowler joined our unit. He was in the Italian Branch of "A" Force, which was set up to organise escapes for Prisoners of War on the run. Peter was a tall, well-built, fair-haired man with sensitive hands that befit a pianist. He frequently entertained us at the piano with his favourite tunes."

In the early hours of August 17, 1944, at precisely 02:15 AM, Fowler parachuted into France near the village of St Pons in Herault. He served as second-in-command to Major Croft, leading a team of nine men on this covert operation. The mission was significant in scale and purpose – along with the personnel, the drop included 30 containers and 28 packages containing arms, ammunition, and substantial quantities of money and gold. These resources were likely intended to support local resistance fighters as part of broader efforts to disrupt German forces during the Allied advance through France. Fowler reported that they parachuted in a tight stick, landed impeccably on either side of a line of landing lights placed by the resistance. The parachute team were driven away by the resistance leader for a meal of roast mutton at his HQ. It was too dark to collect the equipment. These were collected at first light.

Following several skirmishes with German troops, Croft and Fowler spent the day briefing local people and sending them off on motorcycles to collect intelligence on German troop movements. They decided to leave the strongly defended villages and attack the Germans elsewhere. With this intelligence, they mounted two ambushes and took German prisoners for interrogation. It seemed that the 198 Division was proceeding north at speed. It was imperative to cut the road C32. More information revealed that the Germans were avoiding the main roads. Division 198 was travelling East on the road to Montpellier through Montagnac. Other German Forces, notably the 11th Panzer Division, were in the area. It was decided that Fowler should blow the bridge over the River Douro. Fowler set out on a reconnaissance with two French Gendarmes on motorcycles. As they turned the corner, they met eighty young SS trainees on bicycles. They tried to run and hide in the vines at the side of the road, but were shot and wounded. Fowler was shot at point-blank range in the head.

The timing of Fowler's death occurred during a pivotal period in the liberation of southern France. The Allied landings in Operation Dragoon had begun just days earlier on August 15, 1944, and Nazi forces were increasingly under pressure throughout the region. His sacrifice came as the tide of war was turning decisively against German occupation forces.

Mention in Dispatches

Captain Fowler's bravery and service were formally recognised when he was Mentioned in Dispatches, as published in the London Gazette on July 19, 1945. The gazette entry for Captain (acting) P.S. Fowler (177534) notes "since killed in action," acknowledging that this recognition was posthumous.

His service is further documented in records noting his attachment to MI9 and his actions in both Italy and France during 1944, suggesting that the mission in which he lost his life was not his first covert operation in occupied territory.

Major Andrew Croft, subsequently Colonel,  later became an Arctic explorer and the founder of the Metropolitan Police Cadet Corps at Hendon. (by co-incidence the authors first boss)

 Sources:

"A Talent for Adventure" Andrew Croft

MI9

National Archives