Maureen Patricia O'Sullivan (3 January 1918 – 5 March 1994) was a member of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) during World War II and worked as a wireless operator for the French Section. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1918, the daughter of John Aloysius O'Sullivan (1873–1949), an Irish journalist and a German mother, Johanna Repen (1889–1919), who died when Paddy was only 15 months old, she began her schooling at St Louis Convent in Dublin. At the age of seven she was sent to live with an aunt in Belgium. There she attended convent school in Coutrai and then the Athenée Royale in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. At the beginning of the war she was a nurse working at

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

Hospital in London. She joined the WAAF on 7 July 1941, as an Aircraft Handler General Duties, and was later promoted to Section officer. After being recruited by the SOE due to her French language fluency, and becoming a fully fledged wireless operator, Paddy was dropped to the FIREMAN circuit (network) near

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

few weeks after Eileen Nearne's arrival on 22/23 March March 1944. The weather was extremely foggy and the pilot suggested that they return to England, but Paddy was determined and she jumped. Landing heavily, she was temporarily concussed, but always said her life was saved by the 2 million francs strapped to her back. Paddy's alias was Micheline Marcelle Simonet and her cover story was that she was a 'dame de compagnie' of a doctor in Paris, where she helped the doctor in the surgery as well as with his children; she was taking one month's leave to look for a lost Belgian parent in the

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

area. Following successful work with the FIREMAN circuit, Paddy returned to England on 5 October 1944. After her cover was blown in June 1945 she was posted to

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...

in Calcutta as a liaison officer to work with the French.

Honours and awards

She was awarded the MBE Civil, which was gazetted on 4 September 1945, she was also awarded the

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France) Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

Family

She settled in England and went on to marry Eric Alvey, a chartered accountant, and lived near

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

; the couple had two sons, John and Robin.

References

"The mystery of Ireland's lethally seductive spy", independent.ie, 21 March 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Paddy 1918 births 1994 deaths Female wartime spies Special Operations Executive personnel Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Place of death missing Military personnel from Dublin (city) World War II spies from Ireland