In 1941, Fidelity was sent to land agents and bring off Polish evaders from southern France. The first operation was 25 April when she landed Egbert H Rizzo, a Maltese civil engineer and Bitner, previously Polish Consul at Toulouse, at Canet Plage. Both men were sent to establish [SIS/SOE] routes out of France across the Pyrenees to Spain. The next night she took part in an aborted operation to embark Polish servicemen from Cerbere and it was then that Pat O'Leary and three other crew members, Fergusson, Rogers and Forde, were left behind and all but NCO Forde subsequently arrested by French officials
I'll have to check out Rizzo and Bitner, neither ar immediately familiar. Nor have I heard of the Polish evaders in a large group - but from THAT point on O'Leary's career is summed up HERE
http://www.rafinfo.org.uk/rafescape/guerisse.htm
This is the part that deals directly with the Fidelity and O'Leary's arrival in France. You'll note the details of THAT bit are different to what you have.
Guérisse was Médecin-Capitaine with a Belgian cavalry regiment during their eighteen day campaign in May 1940. He managed to escape to England through Dunkirk. Unimpressed with the early efforts at setting up a Belgian Government in exile he took up with the crew of a former French ship, the Rhin. This heavily armed merchantman of Marsellais origin had been renamed HMS Fidelity and was serving in the Mediterranean on secret missions.
He secured entry into the British Navy and was commissioned as Lieutenant Commander Patrick Albert O'Leary RN, taking the name of a Canadian friend. He told no-one but the Captain of the Fidelity of his medical background, preferring adventure rather than the duties of an MO.
His entry to the Royal Navy instead of the RNVR followed the precedent set by his friend Peri, Captain of the Fidelity, who adopted the nomme de guerre Langlais. Peri had noticed that the gold lace on his uniform cuffs was wavy, unlike that of other RN Captains.
When told that it was wavy because he was RNVR, being a wartime holder of a temporary commission, he advised their Lordships that neither he nor his ship would fight unless Captain Langlais RN was on the bridge of the Fidelity. The Admiralty compromised by allowing him to wear RN insignia. Peri had also came with a lady friend whom he insisted be part of the crew. Again the Admiralty gave way and she was signed on.
Early on 25th April 1941 two SOE agents were put ashore by skiff from the Fidelity on a beach at Collioure near the Etang de Canet. Returning that night the skiff overturned in a squall:from it Guérisse managed to swim ashore.
Not long afterwards the Fidelity was lost with all hands when torpedoed in the South Atlantic.
Here the TWO stories you have, about the events of the 25th
AND the 26th, are telescoped into ONE event on the 25th - one landing party of two SOE agents, no Poles, and O'Leary going overboard. I honestly can't see the Fidelity stooging around the French coast for TWO nights running....
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle." - Malcolm Reynolds
