22. The Jailbird Who Did Bad
If Eddie Chapman was the jailbird who did good in WWII, Harold Cole (1906 – 1946) was the jailbird who did bad. An English criminal, Cole served in the British Army, the French Resistance – and double-crossed both by working for Germans. During his extraordinary wartime career, he lied and conned his way across France, joined the Nazis, and snitched on the Resistance, resulting in the arrest and execution of many.
Cole had already become a burglar, check forger, and embezzler in his teens. By 1939, he had served multiple stints in prison. When WWII began, he lied about his criminal history to enlist in the British Army and was sent to France. Promoted to sergeant, he was arrested for stealing money from the Sergeants’ Mess to spend on hookers. He became a POW in May, 1940 when the Germans captured the guardhouse where he was jailed.