The Heroines of SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France: F Section

Front Cover
The History Press, Dec 26, 2010 - History - 240 pages

Britain's war in the shadows of male spies and subterfuge in the heart of occupied France is a story well known, but what of the women who also risked their lives for Britain and the liberation of France? In 1942 a desperate need for new recruits, saw SOE turn to a previously overlooked group – women.

These extraordinary women came from different backgrounds, but were joined in their idealistic love of France and a desire to play a part in its liberation. They formed SOE's F Section. From the famous White Mouse, Nancy Wake, to the courageous, Noor Inayat Khan, they all risked their lives for King, Country and the Resistance. Many of them died bravely and painfully, and often those who survived, like Eileen Nearne, never told their stories, yet their secret missions of intelligence-gathering and sabotage undoubtedly helped the Resistance to drive out their occupiers and free France.

Here, for the first time is the extraordinary account of all forty SOE F women agents. It is a story that deserves to be read by everyone.

'They were the war's bravest women, devoted to defeating the Nazis yet reluctant ever to reveal their heroic pasts. Now a new book tells their intrepid tales.' Daily Express

Squadron Leader BERYL E. ESCOTT served in the RAF and is one of the foremost experts on the women of SOE.

 

Contents

Acknowledgements
5
Introduction
7
BeginningsGillian Gerson
31
Virginia Hall
34
Yvonne Rudellat
39
Blanche Charlet
44
Andrée Borrel
49
Lise de Baissac
54
AnneMarie Walters
135
Madeleine Damerment
140
Denise Bloch
143
Eileen Nearne
149
Yvonne Baseden
153
Maureen OSullivan
158
Yvonne Fontaine
162
Lilian Rolfe
166

Mary Herbert
59
Odette Sansom
64
MarieThérèse Le Chêne
69
Sonia Olschanezky
74
Jacqueline Nearne
78
Francine Agazarian
83
Julienne Aisner
87
Vera Leigh
92
NoorunNisa Inayat Khan
97
Cecily Lefort
103
Diana Rowden
107
Elaine Plewman
111
Yvonne Cormeau
115
Yolande Beekman
121
Pearl Witherington
125
Elizabeth Reynolds
130
Violette Szabo
171
Muriel Byck
176
Odette Wilen
181
Nancy Wake
185
Phyllis Latour
190
Marguerite Knight
194
Madeleine Lavigne
198
Sonya Butt
203
Ginette Jullian
207
Christine Granville
211
Imprisonment
216
Epilogue
228
Glossary
234
Bibliography
235
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

Beryl Escott served for 26 years as a WRAF officer, after completing her degree and working as a teacher. She is now a prolific writer and historian, her books include Our Wartime Days.

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