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Tempsford Memorial
The Tempsford Memorial is a war memorial in the village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire. The village was the home of RAF Tempsford. The memorial commemorates the women who served as secret agents in occupied Europe during the Second World War, the RAF aircrew who transported them, and the personnel from allied secret services who were killed in the war. The memorial bears the names of 75 known women agents, of whom 29 were arrested, 16 were executed, three died of illnesses while imprisoned, and one committed suicide using a cyanide L-pill before being captured. Background Missions by British secret agents to Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War were coordinated by the Special Operations Executive, with participation from the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action, the US Office of Strategic Services, and the Soviet NKVD. Most were flown out by the RAF's Special Duties "moon" squadrons, 138 Squadron and 161 S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tempsford SOE Memorial To The Female Agents And RAF Special Squadrons (geograph 3769098)
Tempsford is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about east north-east of the county town of Bedford. The village is split by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 Great North Road and is located just before the junction with the A428 road, A428 at the Black Cat Roundabout. To the east of the village is the site of the former RAF Tempsford airfield. Geography Tempsford is north of Sandy, Bedfordshire, Sandy, west of Cambridge and north of Central London. Tempsford has two main areas bisected by the A1 road: Church End to the west and Langford End (Station Road) to the east. Tempsford Hall and park lie between the two. The rivers Great Ouse and River Ivel, Ivel form a large part of the parish's western boundary. The East Coast Main Line railway passes through the parish. Area The civil parish covers an area of . Landscape The village lies within the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baroness Crawley
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a ''coronet''. The term originates from the Late Latin, Latin term , via Old French. The use of the title ''baron'' came to England via the Norman Conquest of 1066, then the Normans brought the title to Scotland and Italy. It later spread to Scandinavia and Slavic lands. Etymology The word '':wikt:baron, baron'' comes from the Old French , from a Late Latin "man; servant, soldier, mercenary" (so used in Salic law; Alemannic law has in the same sense). The scholar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vera Leigh
Vera Leigh (17 March 1903 – 6 July 1944) was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive during World War II. Leigh was a member of the SOE's Donkeyman circuit and Inventor sub-circuit in occupied France until she was arrested by the Gestapo. She was subsequently executed at the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Early life Vera Leigh was born Vera Glass on 17 March 1903 in Leeds, England. She had been abandoned as a baby and adopted while still an infant by H. Eugene Leigh, a well-known American racehorse trainer with an English wife, who renamed his adopted daughter Vera Eugenie Leigh. After Mr Leigh's death his wife married Albert Clark, whose son Victor Alexander Dalzell Clark became Leigh's step-brother and friend. When it came necessary to name a next-of-kin Leigh chose Clark. Vera grew up around the stables of Maisons Laffitte, the training centre and racing course near Paris. Clark later remembered that as a child she wanted t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecily Lefort
Cecily Margot Gordon Lefort (30 April 1899 – February 1945) served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and in France for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Lefort arrived in France in June 1943 and was a courier, code named "Alice", for SOE's Jockey network (or circuit). She was arrested by the Gestapo in September 1943 and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she was later executed. Early life Cicely Margot Gordon was born in London on 30 April 1899 to Margaret Humble Close Gordon (Lefort gave a decoy maiden name – "MacKenzie" – when she joined SOE). Although married to Christian Frederic Gordon, her mother claimed Cicel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Latour
Phyllis "Pippa" Latour MBE (born 8 April 1921) is a South African-born former agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organisation during World War II in France. Early life Latour's father, Philippe, was a French doctor and married to Louise, a British citizen living in South Africa, where Phyllis was born in April 1921. Her father died three months later in French Equatorial Africa (AEF) and her mother remarried three years later. Her stepfather was a racing driver, and would let his new wife race his automobiles as well. During one such race, her mother's car malfunctioned and she was killed when the car crashed into a barrier. Latour then went to live with her father's cousin in the AEF. She later returned to South Africa. WAAF and Special Operations Executive She moved from South Africa to England and joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in November 1941 (Service Number 718483) as a flight mechanic for airframes. Because of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marguerite Knight
Marguerite Diana Frances Knight (later Smith) MBE (born Paris, 19 April 1920 – died, 2004) was a member of the Women's Transport Service and in 1944 served with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. With the code name Nicole, she worked as a courier with the Donkeyman network (or circuit) in France. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe and Asia against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Biography Early years Marguerite Knight, best known by her nickname "Peggy," was born 19 April 1920 in Paris, France, the daughter of Capt. Alfred Rex Knight and his wife, the former Charlotte Beatrice Mary Ditkowski. She worked as a shorthand typist for the Asea Electric Company of Walthamstow, a district northeast of London, England. Special Operations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olga Jackson
Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, an urban-type settlement in Primorsky Krai * Olga Bay, a bay of the Sea of Japan in Primorsky Krai * Olga (river), Primorsky Krai United States * Olga, Florida, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Olga, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Olga, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Olga, Washington, an unincorporated community * Olga Bay, Alaska, a bay on the south end of Kodiak Island * Olga, a neighborhood of South Pasadena, California Elsewhere * Kata Tjuta, Northern Territory, Australia, also known as the Olgas, a group of domed rock formations ** Mount Olga, the tallest of these rock formations * Olga, Greece, a settlement * 304 Olga, a main belt asteroid Arts and entertainment * ''Olga'' (opera), a 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yvonne Fontaine
Yvonne Yvette Fontaine (8 August 1913 – 9 May 1996), also known as Yvonne Fauge, code named Nenette and Mimi, was a member of the French Resistance and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Fontaine worked as a courier for the Tinker and Minister networks (or circuits) in France in 1943 and 1944. She was, in the words of author Beryl E. Escott, "a highly successful and competent agent."Escott, Beryl E. (2010), ''The Heroines of SOE,'' Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, pp. 164–165 Early life Yvonne Fontaine was born in Longuyon on 8 August 1913. In the early days of World War II, she was described as "twice married, once divorce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lise De Baissac
Lise Marie Jeanette de Baissac MBE CdeG (11 May 1905 – 29 March 2004), code names ''Odile'' and ''Marguerite,'' was a Mauritian agent in the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in France during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. De Baissac was one of the first SOE female agents to be parachuted into occupied France in 1942. During her two missions to France she often worked with her brother Claude who headed the Scientist network of SOE. The couple was most useful shortly before and after the D-Day invasion of France by the allies. The de Baissacs armed and organized French Resistance forces to hinder the German response to the invasion and to assist the allies. Lise de Baissac had frequent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yvonne Cormeau
Yvonne Cormeau, born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld (18 December 1909 – 25 December 1997), code name ''Annette,'' was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine organization, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), in World War II. She was the wireless operator for the SOE F Section networks, Wheelwright network led by George Reginald Starr, George Starr in southwestern France from August 1943 until the liberation of France from Nazi Germany, Nazi German occupation in September 1944. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Cormeau was acclaimed for the quality and quantity of her wireless transmissions. SOE cryptographer Leo Marks said that in more than 400 transmissions Cormeau never made a single mistake. Cormeau also survived an unusually long time for wireless operator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanche Charlet
Valentine Blanche Charlet MBE (May 23, 1898–October 11, 1985), code named Christiane, served in France as an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents in France allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Charlet was a courier. She was arrested and imprisoned by the Germans occupying France but escaped and returned safely to England. Background Charlet was born in London of Belgian parents on 23 May 1898. As an adult she managed an art gallery in Brussels. When Nazi Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940, she fled to England. She joined the Women's Transport Service. Her fluency in French brought her to the attention of the SOE. Her English was only "passable." She never married. SOE Forty-four years old when she joined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muriel Byck
Muriel Byck (4 June 1918 – 23 May 1944) was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in France during World War II. She died of meningitis. Early life Muriel Tamara Byck was the daughter of French Jews, Luba Basia (née Golinska) and Jacques Itzko Byck, who had both taken British nationality. She was born in London. Her SOE file revealed that from 1923 to 1924 she had lived with her family in Wiesbaden, Germany. The family must have moved to France in 1926 as she went to school at the Lycee de Jeunes Filles, St Germain, France, before moving to England in 1930 as Byck attended the Lycee Francais in Kensington, London, SW7, where she took the Baccalaureate in 1935 and then proceeded to the University of Lille. Byck worked as a secretary from 1936 to 1938 in London before becoming an Assistant Stage Manager at the Gate Theatre in 1937. At the outbreak of war, she joined the Red Cross as a voluntary worker and the WVS. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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