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
