She was born in Switzerland
But
worked for the French Resistance
Under
the Codename “Colette”
From
January 1944 until August 1944
She
operated as a courier
Working
in southwestern France
For
the Wheelwright network,
When
she arrived in France,
Anne-Marie
was Twenty-years old,
She
was almost the youngest
Female
agent in the field for SOE
After
the war she was awarded
An
MBE, a Croix de Guerre,
And
Médaille de la Résistance
She
died October 2nd, 1998, aged 75
Yvonne was born in France
And served as
an agent for the SOE
Under
the codename “Jacqueline”,
She
was the first female
SOE-trained
agent to go to France
Sailing
from Gibraltar to Cannes
On
board a felucca called Seadog
Arriving
on July 30th 1942
Once
there she was a courier
For
the Prosper or Physician network
Before
joining the Monkeypuzzle circuit
After
Prosper was infiltrated
In
June 1943 she was captured
After
being shot in the head
By
the Germans and imprisoned.
She
died of typhus in April 1945
At
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
A
few days after the camp was liberated
She
was posthumously awarded an MBE
Maureen was born in Ireland
And served as an agent for the
SOE
Under
the Codename “Simone”
She
was also known as Josette
And
Micheline Marcelle Simonet,
Operating
as Wireless operator,
For
the SOE Fireman network
She
parachuted into France
On
a foggy night in March 1944
And
survived after landing heavily
But
was temporarily concussed,
She
operated around Limoge
With
great success until returning
To
England October 5th 1944
After
the War she was made a member
Of
the Order of the British Empire
And
was awarded a Croix de Guerre
Sonia was a German born Jew
And served as
an agent for the SOE
After
working for the Resistance
Under
the Codename “Tania”
Also
known as Suzanne Ouvrard,
She
was recruited in France
And
worked as a courier
For
the SOE's Juggler network
Until
her capture on January 21st 1944
After
being interrogated by the Gestapo,
She
was imprisoned at Fresnes Prison
Before
going to the Natzweiler-Struthof
Concentration
camp in France
Where
she was executed July 6th 1944
After
the war she was awarded
The King's
Commendation for Brave Conduct
She was born in France
But served as
an agent for the SOE
And
was Codenamed “Adele”
She
parachuted into France
Near
the village of Saint-Viâtre
On
the day after D-day, in 1944
Jullian
was a wireless operator
Operating
for the Permit network
Working
from a safe house in Chartres,
They
began by arranging for weapons
To
be air-dropped to the resistance fighters
After
the Americans liberated Chartres
She
worked with them as a wireless operator,
Accompanying
the army to Dijon
Before
returning to Britain in September 1944
She
tragically died while in Tahiti
In
a scuba diving accident in 1962
Françoise was French born
But served as
an agent for the SOE
She
was Codenamed “Marguerite”
And
flew by Lysander in March 1943
And
operated as a courier
For
the Prosper network in Paris
With
her husband Jack Agazarian,
Who
did not survive the war,
Francine
served with distinction
And
was Mentioned in Dispatches
For
her actions while in France
She
settled in London after the war
But
lived with the guilt of the survivor
Sonya was English born
And
served as an agent for the SOE
And only a few
days before D-Day
Sonya
was parachuted into France
To operate as a courier in Le Mans
For the Headmaster network
Injuring
her shoulder on arrival
She
was the youngest agent of either sex
Sent
by the SOE to work in France
Her
work and bravery were recognised
With
the award of the MBE
And
she was Mentioned in Dispatches
While
the French made her
A
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
For
her actions while in Le Mans
After
the war she and her husband
Fellow
SOE Agent Guy D'Artois
Made
a life for themselves in Canada
Her
husband died in March 1999 and Sonya
Died
on December 21st 2014, aged 90
She was English born
And
served as an agent for the SOE
She
was Codenamed “Josette”
Early
on a January night in 1943
She
was parachuted into France
to
operate as a courier in the north
For
the Stationer network
Remained
in France until April 1944,
When
the same Westland Lysander
That
dropped off younger sister Eileen
Returned
Jacqueline to England
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
She died in London on 15 August 1982
She was French born
But served as
an agent for the SOE
She
was Codenamed “Clair”
And
flew by Lysander in March 1943
And
operated as a courier
For
the Farrier network in Paris
Narrowly
avoiding capture
And
continued until 1944
After
the war she was awarded
The King's
Commendation for Brave Conduct
Before
returning to France
And
in Paris on 15th February 1947
She
lost her life to cancer, aged 47
But served as an agent for the SOE
And was Codenamed “Nicole”
She parachuted into France
After only one
practice jump
And parachuted
into Vichy France
Where Knight
worked as a courier
For the SOE's
Donkeyman network
Following the
D-Day landings
She
crossed back and forth
Between
battle lines several times,
Carrying
intelligence and information
She
also participated directly in an attack
By
the French resistance on a German convoy
Later
she narrowly escaped capture
And
probable execution when she
When
a group of resistance fighters
Were
betrayed by one of their number
Knight
was one of about 30 fighters
Who
managed to fight their way out
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
A
Croix de Guerre and a Medal of Freedom
Vera was born in England
And served as
an agent for the SOE
After
working for the Resistance
Under
the Codename “Simone”
She
was also known as “Almoner”,
And
Suzanne Chavanne
Leigh
returned to France May 1943,
On
an SOE Westland Lysander
Where
she worked as a courier
For
the SOE's Donkeyman network
And
the Inventor sub circuit
In
October the circuit was betrayed
She
was arrested and taken to Paris
To
Gestapo headquarters at Avenue Foch
Before
going to the Natzweiler-Struthof
Concentration
camp in France
Where
she was executed July 6th 1944
After
the war she was awarded
The King's
Commendation for Brave Conduct
She was born in Thorn, at the time
Part
of the German Empire
But
today its Toruń, in Poland
In
October 1939 she joined
The
Polish resistance in Silesia
Under
the nom de guerre “Zelma”
Which
she later changed to “Zo”
Moving
to Warsaw in 1940
Where
she worked as a courier
In
1943 she travelled to Gibraltar
Via
Germany, France, and Spain,
In
Britain she underwent training,
And
on September 10th 1943
She
parachuted into Poland,
In
1944 she fought in the Warsaw Uprising
After
the war she was awarded
The
Order of the White Eagle,
Golden Cross
of Merit with Swords
Silver
Cross of Order of Virtuti Militari, twice
And
the Cross of Valour five times
She
died in Toruń, Poland aged 99
In
2017 she was posthumously awarded
The
Cross of Freedom and Solidarity
Valentine was English born
And
served as an agent for the SOE
Forty-four
years old when she joined
She
was Codenamed “Christiane”
And
was landed in Vichy France by felucca
On
the 1st of September 1942
In order to operate as a courier
For the
Ventriloquist network
She
was captured in October 1942
A
year later Blanche along with
Three
dozen other prisoners escaped
But
Charlet and fellow courier
Suzanne
Warenghem teamed up
After
they reached open country
They
were helped by a local farmer,
Took
refuge in a Benedictine monastery.
Then
they planned to cross into Spain
But
heavy snow prevented them crossing
The Pyrénées mountains to freedom
So
they travelled to the Jura Mountains
Near
the border of Switzerland
And
worked as a courier and guide for SOE
In
April 1944, Charlet and Warenghem
Then
crossed France again to Brittany
Where
they were picked up on a beach
And
rowed in a small boat offshore
To
an SOE motor torpedo boat,
And
arrived safely in Plymouth
After
out running their German pursuers
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
She was born in France
But served as an agent for the SOE
The oldest female
SOE agent sent to France
And was
Codenamed “Adele”
Landing in
Southern France by felucca
At the beginning
of November 1942
In order to
operate as a courier
For the
Plane/Spruce network
Almost
a year later she was evacuated
By
the SOE via a Westland Lysander
She
was described back in England
As
a middle-aged lady with grey hair
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
And
a French Croix de Guerre
Yvonne was French born
But served as
an agent for the SOE
She
was Codenamed “Odette”
And
was parachuted into France
On
16th March 1944,
And
operated as Radio Operator
For
the Scholar network
Until
her capture on the 26th of June
She
was taken to Gestapo Headquarters
In Dijon and
kept in solitary confinement.
In
August she went to Saarbrücken prison
Then
onto Ravensbrück concentration camp
She
was one of around 500 women to survive
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
A
French Croix de Guerre with palm,
A
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
And
the Médaille de la Résistance
She
died in October 2017 at the age of 95
Marta was born in Slovakia
But
immigrated to Palestine in 1939
And
was a member of Kibbutz Ma'anit
She
was one of the first female fighters
To
serve in the Palmach striking force
She
was one of thirty-seven
Palestinian
Jewish parachutists
Sent
on missions in Nazi-occupied Europe
For
the Special Operations Executive
She
was killed in November 1944
By
the SS in the Kremnička massacre
Berthe was born in Switzerland
And
was married to Percy Maher
So
chose to work for the SOE
Berthe
and Percy lived on Madagascar
When
the Second World War began
So
they started gathering intelligence
And
sent reports to the SOE in Durban
She
operated the radio for him
And
when he was away on business
She
collected intelligence on her own
When
the Allies invaded in 1942
Berthe
was living in Tananarive
The
Vichy-controlled capital,
But
continued on regardless
Though
she was advised to stop
She
was suspected by the authorities
But
they were unable to prevent her
Despite
looking for her radio
They
were unable to find any evidence
Of
her counterintelligence activities
In
November 1943, Lord Harlech,
the
High Commissioner to South Africa,
Presented
Berthe with an MBE
In
recognition of her clandestine work
Elaine was born in Belgium
But served as
an agent for the SOE
She
escaped to France after Belgium fell
And
managed to get to England
With
evacuating troops from Dunkirk
After
working with the WVS and ARP
She
was recruited at the start of 1944
To
work with SOE’s Belgian section
Elaine parachuted back
into Belgium
After
her training in August 1944
In
order to gather intelligence
On V1 and V2 rocket
launch sites
And
to arrange the escape to Britain
Of Prince
Charles of Belgium
She
was in Brussels for the liberation
Elaine
was Mentioned in Despatches
In
1945 for her service with SOE
And
later she was awarded
The Belgian
Croix de Guerre
Hannah was born in Hungary
But
immigrated to Palestine in 1941
And
was a member of Kibbutz Sdot Yam
She
was one of the first female fighters
To
serve in the Palmach striking force
She
was one of thirty-seven
Palestinian
Jewish parachutists
Sent
on missions in Nazi-occupied Europe
For
the Special Operations Executive
She
was killed in November 1944
By
the SS in the Kremnička massacre
She
was captured by Hungarian gendarmes,
Imprisoned,
tortured and executed
By
the fascist Arrow Cross regime in Budapest
D'Unienville
was born in Mauritius
But
moved to France as a child
Following
the surrender to Germany
She
escaped to England in 1940
And
began writing propaganda leaflets
At
the Free French headquarters
Until
she was recruited by the SOE
Codenamed
“Myrtil” and “Marie”
she
parachuted into Loir-et-Cher
On
31 March 1944, from a Halifax
with
millions of francs in funding
Adopting
the alias Aline Bavelan
She
was working in Paris
And
was very great successful
until
D-day when she was arrested
and
taken to Avenue Foch for interrogation
After
stays in several Nazi prisons
But
she escaped in transit to Germany
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
the Legion
d'honneur and Croix de Guerre
Adie was born in Scotland
And
she worked for the SOE
She
met her American husband
OSS
agent Miles Copeland, Jr
While
working for intelligence
They
married in September 1942
Then
they went to the Near East,
Syria,
Lebanon and Egypt,
And
it was whilst they were there
She
fell in love with archaeology
Which
would become her career
For
her work in counterintelligence
She
was Mentioned in Despatches
And
received a Distinguished Service Cross
Lorraine
died at Chateau Marouatte
In Dordogne,
France, on 27th April 2013
Cecile was born in France
And served as
an agent for the SOE
Her
codenames “Marie” and “Pauline”
She
parachuted into France
In
September 1943 as a courier
For
the SOE Stationer Network
And,
in May 1944, became head
Of
the SOE Wrestler Network
From
where she directed Maquis
Operations
against the Germans
On
September 21st, 1944
She
and her group returned home
After
the war she was awarded
An
MBE, later was advanced to CBE
A
Croix de guerre, Legion of Honour,
And
a Médaille de la Résistance
She died February 2nd, 2008,
In
the Loire Valley aged 93
Odette was born in England
And
worked for the SOE
For
the Stationer network
Her
Codename was “Sophie”
And
she was a Courier,
For
the Labourer network
After
other agents in the circuit
Were
betrayed to the Germans
Wilen
crossed the Pyrénées
On
foot into Spain and onward
To
England in August 1944
In
Buenos Aires in 2015
Wilen
died, at the age of 96
Also known as Yvonne Fauge
She
was French born
But served as
an agent for the SOE
Pre
SOE her Codename was “Nenette”
And
worked with the Tinker network
As
a very competent courier and saboteur
After
escaping to England in 1943
She
was recruited by the SOE
And
her Codename was “Mimi”
She
returned to France by boat
On the
night of 25 March 1944,
Landing
on a beach in Brittany
And
after travelling to Paris
She
became a courier again
This
time for the Minister network
After
the other members of the group
Were
captured and later executed
She
was sole survivor of the network,
And
continued work with the Resistance
Until
the area was liberated in August 1944
She
flew back to England on 16 September
Despite
being “an efficient and loyal courier”
With
a “gift for clandestine work”
She
never received the same recognition
As
other female SOE agents
Because
she was recruited in the field
So
the only award that she received was
The
Médaille de la Résistance
She died in France on May 9th 1996
Mary was also known as Maureen
She
was born in Ireland
But
served as an agent for the SOE
Thirty-nine
years old when she joined
And
was Codenamed “Claudine”
Herbert
travelled from Gibraltar by felucca
And
was landed in Vichy France
On
the 31st of October 1942
In
order to operate as a courier
For
the Scientist network
After
the Prosper network in Paris
Was
betrayed to the Germans in June 1943,
As
Scientist had links with Prosper
They
also dismantled Scientist as well
Those
SOE Agent who weren’t arrested
Had
to go into hiding, including Herbert,
Some
of the group escaped to England
Leaving
Mary Herbert behind
By
which time she was pregnant
Herbert
had hidden her pregnancy
Until
she learned that the father
Was
not coming back to Bordeaux
Forced
to cease all clandestine activities
She
found a nursing home in Bordeaux
And
in early December 1943
She
had a daughter named Claudine
With
her daughter she left the nursing home
And
moved into an apartment in Poitiers
That
SOE agent Lise de Baissac had rented
When
the child was three months old
Mary
was arrested by the Germans because
They
believed her to be Lise de Baissac
The
Germans imprisoned Herbert,
Leaving
the baby with her maid
When
she was released after two months
The
search for her child was a long one
But
she finally found her in a convent
She
was the only SOE agent to give birth
To
a child while in France during the war
Following
liberation she remained in France
And
was awarded a Croix de Guerre
In
1960. she bought a house in Frant, Sussex
And
gave French lessons for a living.
She
died with her daughter at her side
Of
pneumonia on January 23rd 1983
Madeleine was born in France
But served as
an agent for the SOE
And
she parachuted into France
In
May 1944 and moved north
To Reims in
order to work
As
a wireless operator and courier
For
the Silversmith network
When
the network was compromised
She
had to hide out in a safe house
Until
the Americans liberated Reims
And
her mission with SOE was over
Tragically
on February 25th, 1945
She
died of an embolism in Paris
Giliana was Chilean born
But served as
an agent for the SOE
She
had worked as an actress in Paris
Where
she met and married
Victor
Gerson, a dealer in fine rugs
The
couple escaped to England
On
18 June 1940 and both joined
The Special
Operations Executive
To
facilitate ways to more easily
Enter
and exit occupied France
Giliana
volunteered to go
In
order to reconnoitre the territory
She
was the first female SOE agent
To
be sent to occupied France
Seemingly
on holiday she travelled freely
On
her Chilean passport in France,
During
her three weeks in Vichy France
She
compiled a long list of names
And
addresses of those willing to help
And
who she believed could be trusted
She
also collected timetables,
Details
of bus and railway controls
Required
Administrative documents
Ration
cards, and identity papers
Which
could be reproduced by SOE
She
returned to the England via Spain
And
the British base at Gibraltar
But worked for the
French Resistance
Under
the Codename “Andrée”
Also
known as Nancy Fiocca
And
also Madame Fiocca
In
1940, Wake became a courier
For
the Pat O'Leary escape network
With
her husband Henri Fiocca
The Gestapo called
her the “White Mouse.”
In
1943, the Germans got too close
So
she escaped to Spain and on to England
Her
husband was captured and executed
Which
she didn’t know until 1945
In
England she joined the SOE
Under
the codename “Hélène”,
On
a morning in April 1944
She
was parachuted into France
To
operate as a courier
Liaising
between the SOE and several
Maquis groups
in the Auvergne region
For
the Stationer network
Remaining
in France until
She
took part in a battle
Between
The Maquis in June 1944
And
a large German force
Which
ended in a defeat for the Maquis,
She
had to cycle some distance
To
send a situation report to SOE
She
remained in Southern France
Until
the invasion by the Americans
When
she and the Resistance groups
Harried
the retreating Germans
After
the war she received a host of awards
The
Companion of the Order of Australia
George Medal, Croix de guerre
Legion
of Honour, Medal of Freedom
Médaille de la Résistance
And RSA Badge in Gold
Madeleine was born in France
But
served as an agent for the SOE
Who
served Aboard HMS Fidelity
As
First Officer Madeleine Barclay
Running
agents and operations
Into Vichy
France and North Africa
But
on the way to the Far East
For
a new mission in 1943
The
ship was sunk by two U boats
Madeleine
and most of the crew were lost
Born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld
In
Shanghai China in 1909
She
served as an agent for the SOE
And
was Codenamed “Annette”
Landing
in Southern France by felucca
At
the beginning of November 1942
In
order to operate as a courier
For
the Plane/Spruce network
But
was the wireless operator
For
the Wheelwright network
From
August 1943 until the liberation
Of
France in September 1944
She
was acclaimed for the quality and quantity
Of
her wireless transmissions.
In
more than 400 transmissions
She
never made a single mistake.
In
June 1944, Cormeau was shot in the leg
While
escaping from a German attack on Castelnau
But
managed to escape with her wireless.
The
dress she wore on that occasion
And
the bloodstained briefcase she carried
Are
on permanent display in London’s
Imperial
War Museum along with
Her
WAAF officer's uniform
When
the liberation happened, she drove
Into
Toulouse, with allied flags on the car
After
the war she was awarded an MBE
A
French Croix de Guerre with palm,
A
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
She
died at the Tall Pines nursing home,
Fleet Hampshire in 1997
