Welsh Woman’s WWII Bravery in Nazi Germany Honored for Saving Historic Church

A plaque within a church in Hamburg commemorates the remarkable courage of Mabel Wulff, a Welsh woman from Newport, whose story remains largely untold. During her time in Nazi Germany, she endured years of Gestapo harassment and valiantly extinguished fires ignited by falling bombs. According to the plaque, the St Thomas à Becket Anglican Church, long referred to as “the English church,” would have been lost were it not for her efforts. She safeguarded its artwork from destruction by concealing it and suppressed nascent fires. Furthermore, she provided refuge to individuals, thereby saving their lives. Eddie Wulff, Mabel’s grandson, who has dedicated recent years to researching his grandmother’s life, stated, “She’s a part of history – Newport history and Hamburg history.” He added, “But very few in Wales seem to know about it. She was formidable.” The narrative of Mabel Wulff commenced in Newport in 1909, when Mabel Phillips, a seamstress, wed Max Wulff, a German sailor. The couple, who would later have two sons in 1911 and 1913, could not have foreseen the future hardships, even as Max established a restaurant on Alexandra Road in the city’s Pill area. However, the family was subsequently separated when the British government deemed Max an enemy, leading to his internment in camps in Lancaster and on the Isle of Man. Eddie reported that life for Mabel and her sons, Edward and Leonard, grew challenging. “There was a lot of anti German feeling in Newport,” Eddie explained. “They asked Mabel whether she would divorce Max because he was a German – she refused to do that.” Eddie himself recalled experiencing similar anti-German sentiment in Newport schools in the late 1940s, where he was called “Nazi” and “Gestapo.” He reflected, “They must have had it even worse.” Following the conclusion of World War One, Max was prohibited from returning to Newport and was instead repatriated to Germany, where his young family would later reunite with him. Eddie commented, “They had so much hassle – every stage of their life had been hard.” These difficulties resurfaced in Hamburg during the 1930s. By this period, Mabel served as the caretaker of “the English church,” a Church of England institution initially founded due to the trade connections between Hamburg and the UK. With the outbreak of war, an Anglican church overseen by a British caretaker became a frequent target for Gestapo visits. Max recounted, “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.” He added, “They were bouncing about, asking where these things were – they were actually walking on top of them.” As a crucial port city, Hamburg endured continuous bombing raids, with Operation Gomorrah in 1943 being particularly significant. In preparation for these attacks, Mabel concealed and safeguarded several exquisite paintings and engravings from the church, thereby protecting them from harm. During the raids, she appeared to undertake any necessary action to protect the edifice, often jeopardizing her own life. Eddie stated, “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.” Mabel Wulff additionally offered sanctuary in the church to families displaced by the bombings, which once more attracted the Gestapo’s scrutiny. Eddie recalled, “She was a good person. You didn’t mess with Mabel – she was formidable.” Upon the war’s conclusion, Mabel retrieved the union flag she had hidden beneath the altar and unfurled it over the church’s balcony as British forces entered Hamburg. Church of England officials acknowledged Mabel’s courage in 1947, expressing gratitude for the “great personal danger” she had faced. In 1956, she received a British Empire Medal in recognition of her deeds. Despite Mabel returning to Newport later in life and residing with Eddie and his family during his childhood, a significant portion of her narrative remained undisclosed until recent times. Eddie remarked, “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.”