#1966, Marion Edith WHITE

Marion's brother, Frank White served in the Royal Air Force and accumulated considerable experience in the shipping business.  With Walter Gander he formed the business of Gander & White, international shippers of priceless art for which they hold a Royal Warrant.  Frank married Andree Griotteray who, as a 19-year old, after the German invasion of Paris, found herself living in an occupied city, forced to work alongside the invaders.  Unable to stand by and do nothing, her younger brother Alain set up his own resistance network to do whatever he could to defy the Nazis.  Andree risked her life to help him without hesitation.

While working at the Police Headquarters in Paris, she printed and distributed copies of an underground news sheet and stole blank ID cards that were passed on to men and women attempting to escape France.  She travelled across France picking up and dropping off intelligence ultimately destined for British and Americans always fearless in the face of immense pressure.  And then, one day, she was betrayed and arrested.

Based on Andree's diaries from the time and conversations over the years, Francelle Bradford White recounts her mother's incredible story: the narrow escapes and moments of terror alongside a typical teenager's concerns about food, fashion and boys in Andree's War - How One Young Woman Outwitted the Nazis.  This fascinating story tells of one woman's struggle and of the bravery that ultimately led to her being awarded the Medaille de la  Resistance, the Croix de guerre and the Legion d'honneur. A copy of this extraordinary book was given to The Trust by Bill Humphreys (#2727) in 2023.

Gander & White retains its premier position to this day with Francelle Bradford White as one of its directors. In the 2020 New Year's Honours List Francelle was awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of her voluntary and charitable work across numerous sectors.  Inter alia, in 2014 Francelle founded the Andree Griotterray White Charitable Trust, in her mother's name, which is dedicated to funding research into any form of Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Anthony Cobbold  2023