Secret WW2 bravery of Welsh mum who survived Nazi Germany and saved an historic church

Mabel Wulff risked her life to protect the St Thomas à Becket Church in Hamburg

Eddie Wulff In a black and white photograph Mabel Wulff stands at a stone font in the English Church in Hamburg. Dressed in a cheque pinafore with her dark hair pinned back, she's working in the church. — Mabel Wulff risked her life to protect the St Thomas à Becket Church in Hamburg

Hidden away in a church in Hamburg is a plaque dedicated to a relatively unknown Welsh woman, outlining astonishing acts of bravery.

Mabel Wulff from Newport lived in Nazi Germany – surviving years of Gestapo harassment and bravely fighting fires caused by falling bombs.

The plaque says the St Thomas à Becket Anglican Church, known as simply “the English church” for many years, would have been destroyed without her – after she hid its artwork to save it from damage, smothered fires as they started.

She also sheltered people to save their lives.

“She’s a part of history – Newport history and Hamburg history,” says Eddie Wulff, Mabel’s grandson who has spent the past few years trying to learn more about his grandmother’s life.

“But very few in Wales seem to know about it. She was formidable.”

Eddie Wulff, 82, believes his grandmother Mabel’s actions should be remembered

Eddie Wulff holds a large sepia photograph of his grandmother, Mabel Wulff. Dressed in a blue and white stripy polo shirt, Eddie smiles for the camera in his family house. His grandmother's photograph, in his hands, is an old portrait. She wears a white shirt. — Eddie Wulff, 82, believes his grandmother Mabel’s actions should be remembered

It is a story that begins in Newport in 1909 when seamstress Mabel Phillips married Max Wulff, a German sailor.

They couldn’t have imagined the difficulties ahead, with Max setting up a restaurant on Alexandra Road in the Pill area of the city and the couple welcoming two sons in 1911 and 1913.

Max and Mabel Wulff met and fell in love in Newport

Eddie Wulff Max and Mabel Wulff, a Welsh-German couple, are photographed in black and white. Sat side by side Max and Mabel are dressed smartly in a three piece suit and a white blouse with a skirt respectively. — Max and Mabel Wulff met and fell in love in Newport

But the family were separated, with Max seen as an enemy of the state by the British government and sent to prisoner of war camps in Lancaster and on the Isle of Man.

This photo shows the horse and carriage used for Max and Mabel’s wedding on Alexandra Road in Pill

Eddie Wulff Pictured here is the wedding procession of Max and Mabel Wulff. Six large black and white horses pull three carriages along Alexandra Road in Pill, South Wales. The photograph is black and white and depicts a typical high street in the UK at the turn of the century. — This photo shows the horse and carriage used for Max and Mabel’s wedding on Alexandra Road in Pill

Life for Mabel and her sons Edward and Leonard became difficult, says Eddie.

“There was a lot of anti German feeling in Newport. They asked Mabel whether she would divorce Max because he was a German – she refused to do that.”

It was a feeling Eddie himself remembers, being in school in Newport at the end of the 1940s, where he recalled being called “Nazi” and “Gestapo”.

“They must have had it even worse” he said.

Sent back to Germany

As soon as the war ended, Max wasn’t allowed to return to Newport but sent back to Germany, where his young family would soon join him.

“They had so much hassle – every stage of their life had been hard,” Eddie said.

That became apparent again in 1930s Hamburg. By then Mabel was the caretaker of “the English church”, a Church of England church originally established because of the trade links between the city and the UK.

The English Church was rebuilt in the years after the war and reconsecrated as St Thomas a Becket Church in 1947

Eddie Wulff This photograph shows the English Church in Hamburg after its reconstruction in 1947. A large white/cream stoned church is pictured here in a black and white photograph. With four large columns, it's an imposing church surrounded by black railings. — The English Church was rebuilt in the years after the war and reconsecrated as St Thomas a Becket Church in 1947

Once war broke out, an Anglican church with a British caretaker attracted numerous visits from the Gestapo.

“She said they really were nasty and they were strutting about. They were always looking for the Union flag and the British Legion flag which Mabel had hidden under the altar,” Max said.

“They were bouncing about, asking where these things were – they were actually walking on top of them.”

Mabel returned the flag she’d hidden to the British Legion in Hamburg at the end of the war – it is still used to this day

Eddie Wulff In another black and white photograph, Mabel Wulff is pictured on the right holding the British Legion flag aloft in the English Church in Hamburg. Pictured with two men in suits, the trio are holding the flag up in front of the altar. — Mabel returned the flag she’d hidden to the British Legion in Hamburg at the end of the war – it is still used to this day

As a key port city, Hamburg was targeted by sustained bombing raids, most notably during Operation Gomorrah in 1943.

In anticipation of this, Mabel hid and stored some of the beautiful paintings and engravings from the church, meaning they were saved from damage.

The painting above the alter, a copy of Raphael’s Sistine Madonna dating back to 1838, was protected by Mabel during the War – it still hangs in the church.

Madeleine Resühr Pictured here is the church in the modern day. This colourful photograph from the back of the church is facing the alter with a copy of Raphael's Sistine Madonna at its centre. The congregation is stood, facing the alter, engaged in worship as clergymen lead at the front. — The painting above the alter, a copy of Raphael’s Sistine Madonna dating back to 1838, was protected by Mabel during the War – it still hangs in the church.

It seemed there was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect the building during the raids, putting her life at risk.

“She did put fires out, she went around and smothered them and got water and put them out on numerous occasions. She did save the church,” said Eddie.

The church was badly damaged by bombings

Madeleine Resühr In a black and white photograph we get a brief insight into the damaged caused to the church during the bombings of World War Two. Pictured is a large hole in the side of the building as well as exposed wood in the roof. — The church was badly damaged by bombings

Mabel Wulff also let families, displaced by the bombings, shelter in the church – again drawing the attention of the Gestapo.

“She was a good person. You didn’t mess with Mabel – she was formidable,” Eddie recalls.

Mabel was caretaker of the church for 40 years

Stood on the steps by the alter, Mabel Wulff is pictured in a black and white photograph sweeping the church floor with a large broom. Dressed in a cheque pinafore over a black dress, the post-war photograph depicts her efforts to bring the church back to life after months of battle in the city of Hamburg. — Mabel was caretaker of the church for 40 years

At the end of the war, Mabel brought out the union flag she had hidden under the altar and draped it over the church’s balcony as British Troops entered the city.

Mabel’s bravery was noted by Church of England officials in 1947, thanking her for the “great personal danger” she put herself in.

In 1956 she was awards a British Empire Medal for her actions.

The plaque in St Thomas à Becket church in Hamburg

Madeleine Resühr A gold plaque is now up in the church in Hamburg where Welsh-born Mabel Wulff spent so many of her years. A large gold plaque with black writing, it outlines Mabel's contribution to the German building during the second world war. — The plaque in St Thomas à Becket church in Hamburg

Even though Mabel returned to Newport in her later years and lived with Eddie and his family when he was a child, much of her story was unknown until relatively recently.

“You would have to drag it out of her. I am very proud of her. Most of it passed me by most of my life. I am in my 80s now and I’m just realising how important my grandmother was.”