HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – ÉLIANE SOPHIE PLEWMAN MBE

 

She was French born

But served as an agent for the SOE

In March 1944 “Gaby”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

And was brutally interrogated

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to Dachau

Along with three other agents

And in the early morning hours

Of 13th September 1944,

They were shot in the back of the head

Their bodies then immediately

Burned in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded an MBE

(later withdrawn due to the policy on posthumous awards)

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And a French Croix de Guerre with bronze star

She is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – ANDRÉE RAYMONDE BORREL

 

She was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In June 1943 “Monique”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

And transported for interrogation to

84 Avenue Foch, their HQ in Paris

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to

The Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France

Where on the 6th July 1944,

Along with three other agents

She was taken to the crematorium

After being beaten senseless

They were burned alive in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And a French Croix de Guerre with bronze star

A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur

And the Médaille de la Résistance

And is commemorated on the Tempsford Memorial

In the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford

And at the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – DIANA HOPE ROWDEN MBE

 

She was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In November 1943 “Paulette”

Was arrested by German Military Police

Along with other members of her group

And transported for interrogation to

84 Avenue Foch, their HQ in Paris

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to

The Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France

Where on the 6th July 1944,

Along with three other agents

She was taken to the crematorium

After being beaten senseless

They were burned alive in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded an MBE

(later withdrawn due to the policy on posthumous awards)

She was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And is commemorated on the Tempsford Memorial

in the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford

And is registered with the Scottish National War Memorial

In Edinburgh Castle, and at the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – VERA LEIGH

 

She was raised outside Paris

But was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In October 1943 “Simone”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

Then transported to Fresnes Prison

And interrogated and brutalized repeatedly

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to

The Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France

Where on the 6th July 1944,

Along with three other agents

She was taken to the crematorium

After being beaten senseless

They were burned alive in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And is commemorated on the Tempsford Memorial

In the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – MURIEL BYCK

 

She was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In May 1943 “Violette”

Was overcome by fatigue

And collapsed while at the radio.

She was diagnosed with Meningitis

And sent to Hospital in Romorantin

But died shortly after

Being given a lumbar puncture,

For her dedicated conduct

She was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches,

Her name is recorded on the FANY memorial

At St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

As well as the war memorial 

At the Lycee Francais in Kensington.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – SONIA OLSCHANEZKY

 

She was German born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In January 1944 “Tania”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

Then transported to Fresnes Prison

And interrogated and brutalized repeatedly

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to

The Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France

Where on the 6th July 1944,

Along with three other agents

She was taken to the crematorium

After being beaten senseless

They were burned alive in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing.

To the great shame of the allies

Her name is not recorded on any

Of the SOE memorials

Despite having served as an agent for four years

And dying at the age of 20

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – YVONNE CLAIRE RUDELLAT MBE

 

She was French born

But served as an agent for the SOE

In June 1943 “Jacqueline”

Was shot in the back of the head

While she and a fellow agent

While being pursued by the Germans.

She was taken to Blois hospital

Where they found her wound was not fatal

And transferred her to Hôpital de la Pitié in Paris.

Though still gravely ill, in late September

She was moved to Fresnes prison,

Before being forwarded in July the following year

To the Ravensbrück concentration camp for women.

And then in March 1945 she arrived at

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp 

In the middle of a typhus epidemic

The camp was liberated by the Allies a month later

She was hospitalised but died late in April.

Yvonne was recommended for the Military Cross,

But she was ineligible as it was not awarded to women

She was later made an MBE,

Honorary because she was not a British citizen

She is commemorated by an obelisk at Romorantin-Lanthenay,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

And also, on the FANY memorial

At St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – CECILY MARGOT GORDON LEFORT

 

She was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In September 1943 “Alice”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Sent, first to a prison in Lyon

Then transported to Fresnes Prison

And interrogated and brutalized repeatedly

She was then transferred to Germany

To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück

Where she was held until,

Her name was called out one morning

In February 1945,

And she was taken to the gas chambers.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded an MBE

(later withdrawn due to the policy on posthumous awards)

She was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 

And is commemorated on the Tempsford Memorial

In the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford

Also, on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

And is also recorded on the FANY memorial

At St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge

I REALLY MISS THE PLACE

 

I really miss the place

Where I journeyed into this world

Where a loving mother

Kissed me and gently brushed my curls

 

I really miss the place

Where mother taught me the joys of life

And my father

Taught me to seek harmony from strife

 

I really miss the place

Where my school days first began

And those friends

That made up our inseparable band

 

I really miss the place

Where my heart had an optimistic view

And I miss the face

Of my one and only love so true

 

I really miss the place

Where summer days seemed without end

Where nature’s bounty

Spilled from the fields we had to tend

 

I really miss the place

Where the bones of my parents lay

And the times

When our days were full with play

 

I really miss the place

I knew before I grew into a man

And took up arms

To fight for the King in a foreign land

 

I really miss the place

That is the home I shall never see again

Never smell the grasses green

Or taste those gentle summer rains

 

I really miss the place

My distant home far across the sea

The place I left behind

So, I could die fighting for the free

THE RETURN HOME

 

Through leafy glades we walked together

In the dappled shade beneath the trees, where

Spots of light chase each other frantically

As the soft summer breeze moves the canopy

And the patterns change on the forest floor

In some places shafts of golden sunlight

Burst through the canopy, like sunbeams

Sent down from God, lighting the darkness

In the sunnier spots the blue bells dance

As if to entertain the weary travelers

While the path leads us upwards into the light

Each step taking us to ever lighter skies

Until we finally emerge atop a green hill

And we look out across the land, England,

And knew what we had fought and died for

To save this land from the spoils of war

HUMPHREY LYTTELTON

 

On Victory in Europe Day

On the eighth of May 1945

Amidst the happy throng

Outside Buck House

He was joyfully playing

“Roll out the Barrel”

On his trumpet

Whilst being perambulated

In a wheelbarrow

And that was how

Lt Humphrey Lyttelton

Inadvertently gave his

First ever performance

On the BBC

And the live debut rendition

To a sellout crowd

Survives to this day

On the BBC news reels

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – VERA MAY ATKINS CBE

 

She was a Romanian born

British intelligence officer

During the Second World War

Working in the France Section

Of the Special Operations Executive.

From 1941 to 1945.

But worked as a “stringer”

For British intelligence

Until emigrating to Britain in 1937.

Her first mission once in England

Was as part of the British team

To help Poland's Enigma code breakers

Cross the border into her native Romania

And then ultimately got them to England

Along with their replica Enigma machines 

Which they had reverse engineered.

 

Though not a British national,

She joined the French section of the SOE.

Firstly, as a secretary but rose through the ranks

Until she was appointed F Section's intelligence officer.

And was responsible for sending agents into France

Many of whom never returned.

At the end of 1945 SOE was wound up,

 

But in January of the following year

She went to Europe in search

Of information on her missing agents.

After countless interrogations

Of captured Nazi’s in Germany and France

And managed to locate all but one.

Of the 118 who disappeared in enemy territory

she was able to confirm 117 of them

Had died in German captivity.

She ensured that all those who died

Were honoured and remembered

She was personally appointed CBE

In the 1997 Birthday Honours

Was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1948

And was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour

By the French government in 1995

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – MADELEINE ZOE DAMERMENT

 

She was French born

But served as an agent for the SOE

In February 1944 “Martine”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

And the SD interrogated them at

84 Avenue Foch, their HQ in Paris

After they had been tortured

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to Dachau

Along with three other agents

And in the early morning hours

Of 13th September 1944,

They were shot in the back of the head

Their bodies then immediately

Burned in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And a French Croix de Guerre

A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur

And the Médaille de la Résistance

She is recorded on the FANY memorial

At St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge

She is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – YOLANDE ELSA MARIA BEEKMAN

 

She was French born

But served as an agent for the SOE

In January 1944 “Mariette”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

Then transported to Fresnes Prison

And interrogated and brutalized repeatedly

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to Dachau

Along with three other agents

And in the early morning hours

Of 13th September 1944,

They were shot in the back of the head

Their bodies then immediately

Burned in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded

A French Croix de Guerre.

She is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

THE BATTLE OF HENDERSON FIELD

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1942

The Battle of Henderson Field

In the Pacific theatre

Of World War Two

In and around Guadalcanal

In the Solomon Islands.

A land, sea, and air battle

Of the Pacific campaign

Between the forces

Of Japan and the United States

THE SECOND BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1942

The Second Battle of El Alamein,

The Eighth Army offensive, led by

Lieutenant-General Montgomery

Ending in an Allied victory

Which proved to be

The beginning of the end

Of the Western Desert Campaign.

Eliminating the Axis threat

To Egypt, the Suez Canal

And the Middle Eastern

And the Persian oil fields

THE BANASTRE REBELLION

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1315

A century before Agincourt,

Was the Banastre Rebellion

Against the Earl of Lancaster

When disaffected Knights

Adam Banastre, Henry de Lea

And William Bradshaw,

Led an attack on Liverpool Castle

THE BATTLE OF TRADING POST

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1864

The Battle of Trading Post

In the American Civil War

Fought between Union

And Confederate forces

In Linn County, Kansas

During the Missouri Raid

By the Confederate Army

Of Missouri, led by

Major General Sterling Price

THE BATTLE OF OSAGE

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1864

The Battle of Osage

In the American Civil War

Fought between Union

And Confederate forces

In Linn County, Kansas

During the Missouri Raid

By the Confederate Army

Of Missouri, led by

Major General Sterling Price

THE BATTLE OF MARAIS DES CYGNES

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1864

The Battle of Marais des Cygnes

In the American Civil War

Fought between Union

And Confederate forces

In Linn County, Kansas

During the Missouri Raid

By the Confederate Army

Of Missouri, led by

Major General Sterling Price

THE FIRST BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1861

The first Battle of Springfield

Was an early battle

Of the American Civil War

Between Union and

Confederate forces

In Springfield, Missouri

THE BATTLE OF SHANGANI

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1893

The Battle of Shangani

In the First Matabele War

When a British column

Was attacked by a large force

Of Matabele warriors.

The British repulsed them

With heavy loss of life

To the Matabele force.

The battle is best noted

For being the first battle

In which the Maxim gun

Was used to great effect

THE BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1944

The Battle of Leyte Gulf

In the Pacific theatre

Of World War Two

Fought in the waters

Of the Philippine Islands

Off Cape Engaño, Samar Island

And in the Straits of Surigao

The largest naval combat

In history, between

The Navy’s of the Japanese

And the United States

When the Japanese fleet

Was comprehensive destroyed

THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1854

Was the Battle of Balaclava

Or more specifically

The Charge of the Light Brigade

A disastrous tactical blunder

By ill commanded British forces

Against the Russian Artillery

In the Crimean War

THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1415

Was the Battle of Agincourt

When King Henry V

And his band of brothers

Faced overwhelming odds

Against the numerous French

And emerged victorious

ARE YOU WEARING A YELLOW STAR?

 

Are you wearing a Yellow Star?

Stitched to your winter coat

A heinous mark of foul indignity

While Nazis look on and gloat

WHATEVER THE OUTCOME OF WAR

 

Whatever the outcome of war

It leaves many people bereft

And doesn’t prove who is right,

But it certainly proves who is left