Yolande Elsa Maria Beekman (7 January 1911 – 13 September 1944) was a British spy in World War II who served in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

and the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

. She was a member of SOE's

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

circuit in

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

during World War II where she operated as a

wireless operator A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...

until arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. She was subsequently executed at the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

Early life

Beekman was born Yolande Elsa Maria Unternährer to a Swiss father and an English mother in Paris. As a child, she moved to London and grew up fluent in English, German, and French. Young Yolande had a gentle disposition and liked to draw, so her family expected that she would become a designer or illustrator. After schooling in England she was sent to a Swiss finishing school.

Wartime service

WAAF and SOE

When World War II broke out, Beekman joined the

WAAF WAAF may refer to: * w3af, (short for web application attack and audit framework), an open-source web application security scanner * Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a British military service in World War II ** Waaf, a member of the service * WAAF (AM ...

where she trained as a W/T operator. Because of her language skills and wireless expertise, Beekman was recruited by the SOE for work in occupied France, officially joining the SOE on 15 February 1943. She trained with

Noor Inayat Khan Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The purpose of S ...

and

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 ...

. In 1943, Beekman married Sergeant

Jaap Beekman Jaap may refer to: * Jaap Sahib Jaap Sahib (or Japu ''Sahib'') (Gurmukhi: ਜਾਪੁ ਸਾਹਿਬ'')'' is the morning prayer of the Sikhs. The beaded prayers were composed by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh and is found at the st ...

of the

Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

, whom she had met on the W/T operator's course, but a short time after her marriage she said goodbye to her husband and was flown behind enemy lines in France. Beekman was landed in France on the night of 17/18 September 1943, having been flown in a Double Lysander aircraft in operation Millner.

Lands in France

In France, Beekman operated the wireless for Gustave Biéler, the Canadian in charge of the

circuit at Saint-Quentin in the département of

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345. She also transmitted messages for the adjacent Farmer network, headed by

Michael Trotobas Michael Alfred Raymond Trotobas (20 May 1914 – 27 November 1943), code named Sylvestre and known in France as Capitaine Michel, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War ...

. Beekman became an efficient and valued agent who, in addition to her all important radio transmissions to London, took charge of the distribution of materials dropped by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

planes. Beekman's first lodgings were with a long serving résistant and schoolmistress, Mlle Lefevre, but this could only be a temporary stay. At the beginning of October, she moved to the house of Camille Boury, who worked at the Pharmacie Corteel, and lived on the corner of Rue Baudelaire. Odette Gobeaux, who worked with Boury at the pharmacy, offered Beekman the draughty attic of her house from which to transmit. Beekman began quietly visiting Gobeaux's house in Rue de la Fère, letting herself in with her own key during the day, placing her set on a small table and passing the long aerial out through the window above. Interviewed after the war, Gobeaux remembered Beekman often waiting for the next transmission, lying on a divan with her head in a book, apparently unruffled by the possibility of arrest. Eugène Cordelette, one of MUSICIAN's lieutenants, later described Bieler and Beekman as being "both of the finest stuff imaginable", but her training should have left her more mindful of security. Following her instructions from London, Beekman transmitted using a pre‐arranged schedule (or "sked"), sending messages at specific times and frequencies three times a week. This was standard practice for SOE wireless operators in France, though most would try and set up several sets at different safe houses, switching between them to avoid detection (some safety improvements such as more flexible transmission skeds were introduced only after Beekman was sent to France). Operating from a single static radio post greatly increased the chances of being hunted down by German direction finding (D/F) teams, which were known to prowl the streets of major towns and cities across the country, and it is not clear why Beekman apparently did not use additional hideouts – perhaps it was too difficult to find suitable locations in such a densely populated area, or she might have had technical problems with the wireless sets available. Beekman's steadfast and fearless approach had proved invaluable to the circuit, but her work was becoming riskier every day. German interception of radio signals had become very efficient by this time, and the regular times of her transmissions was helping her pursuers to gradually narrow down the area of the source. Beekman and Bieler spent Christmas Eve at the Bourys' house; they listened to the BBC and did their best to be festive. On Christmas Day she made contact with London as usual, but the following week a direction finding van was seen passing the house, an ominous sign that the net was closing in. Beekman moved her set to the Boury house, where she was still living, but on 12 January Camille Boury noticed a man walking along the street, with his collar turned up and apparently listening to earphones. Beekman's radio signal had been traced to their block. Beekman immediately packed up her set and moved again, this time to the Café Moulin Brulé, a lonely safe house on the north eastern edge of the city, on the northern bank of the canal. Shaken by her narrow escape, she could rely on the café owners sheltering her for the night.

Arrest and execution

Arrest

The next day Biéler arrived at the café to discuss where she should go next, but the Gestapo were now ready to make their haul. Two men walked in and drew revolvers, arresting all those inside.

Prison

Separated from Biéler, who was later executed, Beekman was transported to

Fresnes Prison Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...

several kilometres outside Paris. Again she was interrogated and brutalized repeatedly. In May 1944, Beekman was moved with several other captured SOE agents to the civilian prison for women at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

in Germany, where she encountered a prisoner named Hedwig Müller (a nurse arrested by the Gestapo in 1944). Müller said after the war that Beekman "didn't leave her cell much as she suffered badly with her legs." She was confined there until September 1944, sharing a cell with Elise Johe (a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

), Annie Hagen (arrested for working as a black marketeer) and Clara Frank (jailed for slaughtering a cow on her family farm without permission). While imprisoned, Beekman drew and embroidered. She would take a needle and prick her finger to use the blood as ink and draw on toilet paper as there was no paper and pencils.

Execution at Dachau

Beekman was abruptly transferred to

with fellow agents Madeleine Damerment,

, and

Eliane Plewman Éliane Sophie Plewman (6 December 1917 – 13 September 1944) was a British agent of Special Operations Executive (SOE) and member of the French Resistance working as a courier for the "MONK circuit" in occupied France during World War II. SOE' ...

. At dawn on the following morning, 13 September, the four women were executed by Wilhelm Ruppert. A Gestapo man named Max Wassmer was in charge of prisoner transports at Karlsruhe and accompanied the women to Dachau. Another Gestapo man named Christian Ott gave a statement to American investigators after the war as to the fate of Beekman and her three companions. Ott was stationed at Karlsruhe and volunteered to accompany the four women to Dachau as he wanted to visit his family in Stuttgart on the return journey. Though not present at the execution, Ott told investigators what Wassmer had told him.

Awards and honours

Beekman's actions were recognized by the government of France with the posthumous awarding of the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. In addition, she is recorded on the

Runnymede Memorial The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey, England is a memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from air forces of the British Empire who were lost in air and other operations during World War ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England and as one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France, she is listed on the "Roll of Honour" on the

Valençay SOE Memorial The Valençay SOE Memorial is a monument in France to the members of the Special Operations Executive F Section who lost their lives working to liberate the country during World War II. The memorial was unveiled in the town of Valençay, in the ...

in the town of Valençay, in the

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

département of France. A later memorial, the SOE Agents Memorial in Lambeth Palace Road (Westminster, London), is dedicated to all SOE agents.

Related cultural works

* '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958) :Movie based on the book by R.J. Minney about

Violette Szabo Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo, GC ( née Bushell; 26 June 1921 – February 1945) was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War and a posthumous recipient of the George Cross. On her second mission ...

, starring

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...

and

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

. * ''Churchill's Spy School'' (2010) :Documentary about the SOE "finishing school" on the Beaulieu estate in Hampshire. * ''

Les Femmes de l'Ombre ''Female Agents'' (french: Les Femmes de l'ombre) is a 2008 French historical drama film directed by Jean-Paul Salomé and starring Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Déborah François, and Moritz Bleibtreu. Written by Salomé and L ...

'' (aka ''Female Agents'') (2008) :French film about five SOE female agents and their contribution towards the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

invasions. * ''Nancy Wake Codename: The White Mouse'' (1987) :

Docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

about Nancy Wake's work for SOE, partly narrated by Wake (Wake was disappointed that the film was changed from an 8-hour resistance story to a 4-hour love story). * '' Now It Can Be Told'' (aka ''School for Danger'') (1946) :Filming began in 1944 and starred real-life SOE agents Captain

Harry Rée Harry Alfred Rée, DSO, OBE (15 October 1914 – 17 May 1991) was a British educationist and wartime member of the Special Operations Executive. Of the more than 400 SOE agents who worked in France during World War II, M.R.D. Foot, the offici ...

and

Jacqueline Nearne Jacqueline Nearne MBE (born 27 May 1916, Brighton, England, died 15 August 1982 in London, England), code named Jacqueline and Josette, was an agent for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. ...

codenamed "Felix" and "Cat", respectively. The film tells the story of the training of agents for SOE and their operations in France. The training sequences were filmed using the SOE equipment at the training schools at Traigh and Garramor (South Morar) and at Ringway. * '' Odette'' (1950) :Movie based on the book by

Jerrard Tickell Edward Jerrard Tickell (14 February 1905 – 27 March 1966) was an Irish writer, known for his novels and historical books on the Second World War. Biography Jerrard Tickell was born in Dublin and educated in Tipperary and, from 1919 until 1922 a ...

about

Odette Sansom Odette Sansom (28 April 1912 – 13 March 1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War. S ...

, starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

and

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

. The film includes an interview with

Maurice Buckmaster Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster (11 January 1902 – 17 April 1992) was the leader of the French section of Special Operations Executive and was awarded the ''Croix de Guerre''. Apart from his war service, he was a corporate manager with the ...

, head of SOE's F-Section. * ''Robert and the Shadows'' (2004) :French documentary on

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...

. Did General De Gaulle tell the whole truth about the French resistance? This is the purpose of this documentary. Jean Marie Barrere, the French director, uses the story of his own grandfather (Robert) to tell the French what SOE did at that time. Robert was a French teacher based in the southwest of France, who worked with SOE agent

George Reginald Starr George Reginald Starr (6 April 1904 – 2 September 1980), code name Hilaire, was a British mining engineer and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organisation in World War II. He was the organiser ...

(codenamed "Hilaire", in charge of the "Wheelwright" circuit). * ''

Wish Me Luck ''Wish Me Luck'' is a British television drama about the exploits of British women undercover agents during the Second World War. The series was made by London Weekend Television for the ITV network between 17 January 1988 and 25 February 199 ...

'' (1987) :Television series that was broadcast between 1987 and 1990 featuring the exploits of the women and, less frequently, the men of SOE, which was renamed the 'Outfit'.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''The full story of the thirty-nine female agents of the

who went undercover in France during the Second World War.'' * ''Documents Atkins' post-war search for missing SOE agents including Borrel.'' * ''Focus on the four female SOE agents (Borrel, Leigh, Olschanezky and Rowden) executed in the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.'' * ''Documents RAF small aircraft landings in France during WW2 (author was one of the pilots).''

External links

*Nigel Perrin
SOE Agent Profiles: Yolande Beekman
*Spartacus Educational

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beekman, Yolande 1911 births 1944 deaths Executed spies Female wartime spies French Special Operations Executive personnel Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen Spies who died in Nazi concentration camps French people who died in Dachau concentration camp World War II spies for the United Kingdom Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II French people executed in Nazi concentration camps People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Executed people from Île-de-France Female recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Special Operations Executive personnel killed in World War II