The Women Who Spied for Britain: Female Secret Agents of the Second World War

The Women Who Spied for Britain: Female Secret Agents of the Second World War

Robyn Walker

Language: English

Pages: 133

ISBN: B017PNVX7I

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Espionage is one of the world's oldest professions, and it played an integral role in Allied successes and failures during the Second World War. Equal to men in both their bravery and in the sacrifices they made, the female undercover operatives of the Second World War deserve to have their incredible stories told.

The Women Who Spied for Britain traces the fascinating and sometimes tragic stories of eight women who put their lives on the line and made invaluable contributions to the British war effort. Drawn from many different walks of life, including a princess, a beauty queen, a war widow, a teenage girl and a bawdy Australian journalist, all of these women shared a sense of adventure, daring and determination that allowed them to embrace the role of secret agent.

Trained in the art of clandestine warfare, guerilla tactics and radio operation, these women worked closely with resistance movements throughout Occupied Europe. Their stories are portraits of courage, offering a mixture of thrilling adventure, gutsy humour, hard-fought triumphs and, for far too many, horrific tragedy.

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wooded areas of a main road, making sure that there was a country road or trail nearby, to which they could escape after the attack, making a speedy exit from the area by either bike or car. As the convoy approached, the ambushers would attack the lead vehicle with Sten guns, disabling it, and then rake the rest of the convoy with gunfire and grenades before slipping away into the woods to make their escape. These ambushes, led by Butt and Hudson, were tremendously successful but required a

named Benoit, was supposed to meet Rowden and Young to join up with the STOCKBROKER network. Neither Rowden nor Young had ever met Benoit, so he carried with him a letter from Young’s wife in order to verify his identity. The Germans immediately sent one of their own officers, in place of Benoit, to rendezvous with Rowden and Young in Lons-le-Saunier. Young received a message that a new agent had arrived in the area, and both he and Rowden were excited about the agent’s arrival, hoping perhaps

the job of an undercover agent. Although she was still aware of her physical limitations, she felt that mentally she would be able to endure quite a lot. Her growing confidence, combined with her increasing knowledge of the desperate conditions the French were facing under German occupation, made her determined to become an undercover operative. She was devastated that her report was not wholly satisfactory, and begged for the opportunity to prove herself. Buckmaster, either impressed by Sansom’s

locations of the hangars and anti-aircraft installations, while Carré conversed with the café owner. Carré and Czerniawski also combed the daily newspapers, searching for news items describing the political situation in France as well as propaganda items that might interest the British. Every Wednesday, Carré carried their full written military report to the Gare de Lyon (train station) where she handed it to another agent (an example of a ‘live’ letter drop). This agent would board the train to

was executed at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. (Susan Ottaway) 37. Diana Rowden memorial plaque, All Saints church, Tilford. (John Horrocks and the Tilford Bach Society) 38. Odette Sansom, one of only four agents arrested in France who returned home. (Susan Ottaway) 39. Vera Atkins, assistant to Maurice Buckmaster; she travelled to Europe after the Second World War attempting to track down what had happened to the agents who had not returned. (David Harrison) 40. Odette and Peter

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