Who was Angèle Kneale?
Angèle Kneale was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1926. Daughter to
Robert and Dymphna Van Lierde, she enjoyed a typical childhood
alongside her brother Marcel and loved music, reading and
playing the piano.
In May 1940, following the occupation of Belgium by German
forces during the Second World War, Angèle and her family were
forced to flee to France and live as refugees. This was short
lived as soon, France was also under the German occupation. The
Van Lierdes returned to Brussels.
Angèle's courageous story continued on the shores of the Isle of
Man when she arrived 1947 to marry Philip Kneale, a Manx tank
driver she met during the liberation of Brussels 3 years
earlier.
Anti-nazi resistance worker
After Angèle and her family returned to Brussels following the
occupation of France, they joined the anti-nazi resistance
efforts. They sheltered a Jewish girl called Maia in their home,
risking detection and danger to their lives a number of times.
The Gestapo, the official secret police of Nazi Germany, raided
their flat on one occasion but certain arrest and imprisonment
was avoided thanks to a prior warning.
The Comet Line - Illustration by Jo Davies
Angèle persuaded her parents to join the 'Comet Line' — a
network of over 1000 people that formed several lines of escape
for downed Allied forces out of occupied Europe. Whilst this was
an added burden to the family, they risked their lives in order
to help.
Angèle, who at the time was a teenager completing her education,
played an active role in the resistance. She cycled across the
city, passing clandestine messages between resistance workers,
carrying forged papers for Allied airmen and finding food for
the often-large numbers of aircraft crew in hiding.
Towards the end of the war, she volunteered as a first aider
with the Red Cross. After the liberation of Brussels she
volunteered as a hospital orderly helping to treat casualties of
bombing and concentration camps.
French Consular Agent
In September 1944, during the liberation of Brussels by the
British army, Angèle met her future husband Philip Kneale.
She worked as a secretary for some time, before joining Philip's
family coal delivery business. During the 1950s, a decade which
saw the birth of their 3 children: Michael, Tony and Daniel,
Angèle became a pacifist and a Quaker and she embarked on her
first campaign on the Island which garnered public attention.
In 1957, a trawler was shipwrecked in Port St Mary and 9 Breton
sailors were left stranded. Unable to speak English, Angèle came
to assist the injured and confused crew. 4 years later, she was
appointed as Honorary French Consular agent in the Isle of Man
and the familiar name 'Madame Angèle' was passed round the fleet
of between 300 and 400 French trawlers fishing in the Irish Sea
at that time. She would later receive one of the highest honours
from the French life boat service (Société Nationale de
Sauvetage en Mer) for her voluntary services to the Breton
fleet. In her 21 years in this role, she dealt with over 1800
incidents and 450 vessels, before being succeeded by her son
Michael.
This activity was less than favourably viewed by some members of
the public, however, this did not stop Angèle in fighting her
next cause — the anti-birching campaign — which was spearheaded
by Angèle, Millicent Faragher, Valerie Roach and the Manx Penal
Reform Group.
Madame Angèle - Illustration by Jo Davies
Anti-birch campaigner
The popular Manx public opinion at the time was that birching,
a form of judicial corporal punishment using a birch rod, was 'effective', acted as
a 'deterrent against violence' and even 'helped the tourist industry'. However, in 1969,
after the birching of a 15-year-old boy who had tried to commit suicide, Angèle Kneale,
Millicent Faragher and Valerie Roach were provoked to petition the government to conduct an
independent enquiry into corporal punishment.
In what was originally intended to be 'a quiet, private gesture', their efforts were brought
to the attention of the British national press and whilst this helped their campaign gain momentum,
it also created a media storm.
“Reaction on the Island was swift and predictable. We were troublemakers.
We were not Manx. We had no right to interfere. Leader writers and readers'
letters poured scorn and abuse on us. We did not care for the victims.
We were misguided, and so on ad nauseam. This did not discourage us”
- Angèle Kneale, Against Birching
The adverse reaction to this campaign from the Manx public meant that Angèle
and her collaborators were widely criticised and targeted in the press.
Public columns in local newspapers branded Angèle a 'foreigner by birth'
with a 'foreign' opinion, reflecting the prejudice she faced on a daily basis
and how this was used to undermine their campaign. During the campaign,
she also received a number of abusive letters and on one occasion, a death threat.
In order to battle the tide of public opinion with well-researched,
rational arguments, Angèle examined the Chief Constables' reports
on corporal punishment and produced shocking statistics about birching.
She collated this research for her book 'Against Birching',
which was published by the National Council for Civil Liberties.
The following press conferences and TV appearances this brought about
undoubtedly drove their campaign forward.
In 1975, the island's outdated birching laws were put before the
European Commission of Human Rights and were found to be in
violation of Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The following year, although it still remained in the statute book,
the last birching took place. In 1993, birching was officially repealed.
Throughout the 1970s, Angèle helped lead a just and evidence-based campaign against birching.
There is no doubt that the efforts of Angèle and her collaborators were
instrumental in the eventual abolition of corporal punishment in the Isle of Man.
Legacy
In the last 15 years of her life, Angèle continued to play an active part of the Manx community and beyond.
She volunteered, conducted research for the Celtic League regarding trawlers that were imperilled by submarines around the British Isles.
For a time, she moved back to Brussels to work for the Quaker Council for European Affairs
where she campaigned against the use of cruise missiles and for the rights of refugees.
In her later years, she continued to sing, play the piano and accordion and skilfully accompany the Port St Mary Concert Party.
In 1995, she published her second book, 'Fish and Ships', which recounted her life as French Consular Agent,
and was awarded the top honour from the French SNSM and a medal from the French naval academy.
On the 1st of January 1997, Angèle passed away at her home in Ballasalla surrounded by her sons
and a “constant flow of friends”, a testament to the number of lives she enriched.
Throughout her life as an anti-nazi resistance worker, a volunteer first-aider,
a French Consular agent, a mother and grand-mother, an anti-birch campaigner and advocate
for refugee rights, Angèle showed a bravery and determination in not only making her own
voice heard but championing the voices of the minority, the marginalised and the outnumbered
— a legacy that should be revered.
Against the tide - Illustration by Jo Davies
To learn more about Angèle Kneale:
-
Read her books Against Birching and Fish and Ships.
-
Read New Manx Worthies by Dollin Kelly
Sources
Against Birching: Judicial Corporal Punishment in the Isle of Man by
Angèle Kneale (published by National Council for Civil Liberties)
Corporal Punishment: Birching in the Isle of Man — website by Colin Farrell
(available at: https://www.corpun.com/manx.htm)
Fish and Ships by Angèle Kneale
Millicent Faragher Scrapbooks — 10 scrapbooks featuring press cuttings on the anti-birching campaign from 1969-1981 compiled by Millicent Faragher (Manx Museum, MS 13924)
New Manx Worthies by Dollin Kelly
Personal correspondence with Dave Kneale (Angèle's grandson) and Michael Kneale (Angèle's son)
