On the 3rd of September 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, Britain declared war on Germany.   After the disastrous British Expeditionary Force campaign, and the Dunkirk Evacuation in May 1940 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and in June issued the famous order to “Set Europe Ablaze”.

The organisation in charge of enacting this mandate was the SOE, or ‘Special Operations Executive’ – a network of civilian and military personnel who worked to conduct clandestine missions within occupied territory, to aid the demise of Nazi power during the Second World War.

Officially (but secretly) formed in July 1940, SOE operated in fourteen different European countries and brought together nationalities from across the globe.

Men and women from Canada, Australia and all of Europe pulled together to organise and carry out acts of sabotage, reconnaissance and espionage within occupied territories.

Little was known about these activities until recently, due in part to the Official Secrets Act of 1939. However, there was a surge of popular interest after the publication of several SOE survivor autobiographies, and particularly the death of Eileen Nearne in 2010.

Eileen, also known as ‘Didi’, chose not discuss her wartime activities, and due to circumstance was left without family connections in Britain. She consequently died without her loved ones ever knowing of her wartime efforts, nor having ever gained any public recognition for her work.  When wartime papers were discovered after her death, her story became
well known.

Women were involved at all levels of SOE organisation, and their efforts were both courageous and vital to the war, from administration and secretarial work on home soil, to masterminding complex and dangerous undercover missions.

Women’s Roles

Courier

The most popular field role for a woman within SOE was that of courier. This involved passing messages, parcels and occasionally people, between members of resistance networks.

Women found that they could move with greater freedom under occupation, as they were not subject to the same restrictions (e.g. military conscription) as men. It was thought less suspicious for a women to be seen out and about in populated areas, under the pretence of shopping/gathering fruit and veg./caring for children. Therefore women were trained specifically for this role.

The ability to hide in plain sight without being discovered, was something that these agents learnt  quickly, and effectively. Couriers often carried incriminating items and were expected to go about their business calmly, using public transport and conversing with those around them, without attracting unwanted attention or ‘giving the game away’.

This could often be lonely and tiring work, with long days and nights spent traversing large resistance networks. However their work was vital, and each courier was attached to a circuit (a group of SOE and local resistors) and reported directly to the circuit organiser.

The organisers were knowledgeable and experienced, engaging with many members of their designated circuit and travelling over wide areas. They tended to rely heavily on their couriers, and the smuggling of Allied airmen out of occupied territory could not have been achieved without the knowledge and courage of SOE couriers.

They made it possible for not only military personnel, but both Jewish and political refugees to gain freedom through escape lines.

Organiser

The SOE had not planned to allow women to become organisers of resistant circuits.  Then, as is still the case now, the idea that women might serve on the front line, was not one that sat comfortably with many.

This was the reason many female SOE agents were recruited through the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, the civilian nursing corps affiliated with the Territorial Army. Many were not offered full military recognition of their service because
of this.

Pearl Witherington who became an Organiser, expressed her opinion on being awarded an MBE (Civil Division): “there was nothing civil about what I did”.
Pearl was courier to the STATIONER circuit run by Maurice Southgate in the south of France. After his arrest the circuit was split, with Pearl taking on organisation of half, renamed WRESTLER.

From this point, Pearl or as she was known by her codename ‘Pauline’, recruited and managed members of the local resistance, organised arms drops and had a high price placed on her head by the Gestapo.

Her story is a romantic one, and her reunion with fiancé Henri Cornioley is said to have inspired Sebastian Faulk’s ‘Charlotte Grey’.

Pearl’s story is a valuable way of highlighting how ‘off the cuff’ resistance work was within occupied territory. London HQ could only orchestrate so much, undercover work during the Second World War.  The operations were almost entirely in the hands of the individual agents.

The people who the SOE drafted into Europe had to rely on their own initiative, moral fibre and determination to survive in a constantly changing situation.

Organisers had to keep a cool head, their ears to the ground and have an instinct for who to trust. As in the case of the PROSPER circuit, the capture of an Organiser could essentially render the entire network lost.

The ability of the Organisers to motivate and equip large groups of people was the real heart of the Resistance.

Wireless Telephony Operator

The most dangerous field job in SOE was that of Wireless Telephony Operator (W/T Operator), with a life expectancy of just six weeks.

Recruits would undergo mental ability and physical testing, extensive role play, learn silent killing and use of weaponry, and practice parachute drops. They would also have all their British dentistry re-done in European methods, and be issued with clothing made specifically in the style and techniques of the country they would be infiltrating. Women trained, assessed and supported the recruits during this process.

One role in particular is that of Decoy. During a role play scenario, a trainee might be asked to go to a location and follow a specific person. This individual was an SOE employee and was known as a Decoy. She would be required to shake the recruit off- putting their newly acquired skills to the test.

These Decoy agents might also be introduced to recruits in bars, ply them with alcohol and attempt to get them to talk. Many have speculated as to whether or not female Decoys flirted the male recruits into bed, with the aim of pillow talk in mind. However the information I am aware of pertains and admits only to romantic persuasion, not sexual. The rigorous testing of trainee agents was vitally important, because after they were dropped into occupied territory they might be on their own.

To my knowledge, between forty six and fifty five women (sources differ) were recruited into the field section of the Special Operations Executive between 1940 and 1946. Out of these women fifteen to seventeen were Killed in Action, most after suffering terrible torture. Espionage agents were not covered by the Geneva Convention and were treated appallingly.

Many of those who survived were disinclined to discuss their experiences and perhaps this can account in part for the lack of solid numerical evidence.

In recent years these women have been shown greater recognition by the British government and the military, and I hope that many others find their lives as inspiring as I do.

I feel WWII brought out the best and the worst in people, and for that reason the period makes a very good case study for the human experience. This article has been written from my own research and is entirely subject to opinion. If you can offer any corrections, or would like to continue a discussion about women’s experiences please get in touch with me via avaaviacion@gmail.com, I would love to hear your thoughts.