# Eileen Nearne- The War Hero Nobody Knew About



## Bruce Monkhouse (17 Sep 2010)

I was just browsing the paper when I read this story and knew I had to log back in and post it. 

Recluse found to be UK war heroine after her death

By GREGORY KATZ (AP) – 2 days ago

LONDON — Eileen Nearne died alone, uncelebrated, facing a pauper's funeral despite her extraordinary record of wartime heroism for Britain.

It wasn't that no one cared about her clandestine service, it was simply that no one knew what she had done during the harrowing days of World War II when Britain's very future hung in the balance.
All that changed when officials searching her apartment found the medals and records linking her to undercover operations behind enemy lines. Historians say she operated as an undercover radio transmitter in France during the D-Day invasion, helping coordinate the allied war effort until she was caught by the Gestapo. Now plans are being made for a funeral that will, officials say, give Nearne the recognition her heroism merits.

"We will make sure she gets the dignity and respect and homage that befits a lady of her experience," John Pentreath, county manager for veterans' charity the Royal British Legion, said Tuesday.
Nearne died Sept. 2 of a heart attack at age 89.

Pentreath said it was not until after her death that reports surfaced about Nearne's work with the Special Operations Executive, a clandestine operation set up by wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill to carry out acts of sabotage and espionage against the Nazis, who were occupying western Europe.
Pentreath said Nearne was captured behind enemy lines with a radio transmitter and was sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp, but later escaped and was ultimately liberated by American forces.

"It's a staggering story for a young girl," he said. "We hold her in awe and huge respect. All Brits do. We are very disappointed we didn't know about her when she was alive, we would have dearly loved to have made contact with her."
He said it was terribly sad that her story had not been known before her death.

Historian M.R.D. Foot, who had access to Nearne's secret account of her activities, said Nearne had entered France in 1944 and operated a secret radio transmitter. He said Nearne was the only British agent with an operating transmitter in the Paris area during the crucial period from March, 1944 until she was caught by the Germans in July, 1944.

"She was there during D-Day," he said. "What she did was extremely important. She was arranging for weapons and explosive drops, and those were used to help cut the Germans' rail lines."
He said Nearne showed bravery and discretion when she refused to talk about clandestine operations even after the Gestapo subjected her to extreme treatment.
"Thank goodness I was spared that," said Foot, who was also a clandestine operator inside France in 1944. "She maintained she was just a little French shop girl who went into the Resistance for fun."

Nearne managed to escape from a forest camp set up near the main Ravensbruck concentration camp, he said.
"She was well above average," in her abilities and courage, he said, adding that her sister also managed to operate as an undercover courier in France without being caught.

The saga of Nearne's lonely death and her wartime service seems to have touched a nerve in Britain. The Times newspaper said in an editorial Tuesday that Nearne seemed to resemble Eleanor Rigby, the spinster who died alone in a song by The Beatles.

The newspaper said it is not too late to honor Nearne for her sacrifices.
"Her life deserves to be sung about every bit as much as Eleanor Rigby's," the editorial said.

Nearne apparently did not discuss her wartime service with any of her neighbors in the seaside town of Torquay, 190 miles (300 kilometers) southwest of London.
Officials at Torbay Council who are organizing Nearne's funeral for next week said the wartime artifacts in her apartment have been turned over to the Treasury and intelligence officials.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (17 Sep 2010)

By Richard Smith 15/09/2010


Reclusive Second World War spy Eileen Nearne will get a proper burial after offers to pay for her funeral poured in.

We revealed yesterday that brave Eileen, 89, was found dead in her flat and officials were unable to trace any family.
Personal documents revealed she had been tortured and escaped three times from the SS in occupied France where she was an undercover radio operator.

Eileen was due to be cremated in a cheap funeral in Torquay paid for by the council with costs claimed from her estate.
But after we highlighted her wartime heroism, volunteers offered to help fund a more fitting send-off.
T h e Royal British Legion will attend and the Foreign Office may send a representative.

The original funeral set for next Tuesday has been postponed and a new date will be now be found.
Torbay Council said it had received offers from war veterans, historians and members of the public willing to pay.
A spokesman said: "We are liaising with the Royal British Legion so Ms Nearne can be laid to rest with the dignity and respect she deserves."
John Pentreath, of the British Legion, promised: "We will do her proud."

Eileen's niece - who lives in Italy and does not want to be named - yesterday paid tribute to her aunt and revealed she wanted her ashes scattered at sea.
She said: "I am very touched to hear the Royal British Legion are keen to honour her. She was extremely modest and highly courageous."

Eileen, whose Special Operations Executive codename was Rose, spoke fluent French and spied there under the covername Mlle du Tort. She was later awarded an MBE and lived in London but moved to Devon two decades ago.


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## Arctic Acorn (20 Sep 2010)

Quite an inspiring story. There are many examples of such people, many of whom are buried in unknown graves in Europe. Sadly, many Canadians serving as members of the Canadian Intelligence Corps doing similar work, go largely unrecognized by the current Intelligence Branch. 2 Intelligence Company used to do their annual Remembrance Day parades at the Camp X memorial. I hope they still do. 

Partly it's a function of the nature of their work that it isn't in the public eye, and partly (I suspect) that since the transition from C Int C to the Security Branch, and then to the current Branch we lost sight of much of our own history.


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## mariomike (20 Sep 2010)

Her sister was also a remarkable woman:
http://www.sameshield.com/spies/nearne.html


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## krustyrl (20 Sep 2010)

Great story...thank you for your Service.


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## wildman0101 (20 Sep 2010)

RIP Eileene Nearne  
We will remember you.  :'(
Scoty B


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## prouver (20 Sep 2010)

She is a classic example of the ideal spy who died with the state's secrets buried inside her. She did not give her handlers trouble by extorting money from them just like what the 'hero' in Andrew Mitrovica's COVERT ENTRY did. She fended for and assured herself that 'there are lots of jobs out  there'. She did not complain of dying a pauper. She indeed was not egocentric nor somebody whose ego is bloated like Mitrovica's 'ideal spy', Farrell. More power to military intelligence !!


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## Journeyman (20 Sep 2010)

prouver said:
			
		

> .....like what the 'hero' in Andrew Mitrovica's COVERT ENTRY did.


I'm sorry, but anyone citing Mitrovica for _anything_, other than an example of abysmal yellow journalism, really isn't particularly well informed. He is routinely trashed within academic and intelligence circles for his insistence on using biased gossip, rumours, and innuendo in lieu of even the most basic facts or simple analysis -- his goal is merely to bash the government in general, and CSIS in particular. 

As one review from Amazon.ca states:


> This is a sensationalist book that does not decisively prove the alleged crimes within CSIS. The research fails to withstand even the most casual scrutiny. "Covert Entry," unfortunately, raises more questions than it answers, and hinges upon *very* limited evidence that does little more than show the improper conduct of a middle-ranking operational chief. An exaggeration of gross proportions, the book only contributes incidentally to our understanding of the inner workings and problems within Canada's intelligence service.
> The most palpable and rather annoying characteristic of this book is that Mitrovica frequently digresses in an attempt to mask his lack of raw information.


 But if that's what informs your world-view, well then, you just giddy-up.


In the mean time, we should stick to honouring Ms Nearne.


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## prouver (20 Sep 2010)

Mitrovica romanticized the deeds of a CSIS spy who ran a surveillance operation against a convicted Russian spy while also romanticizing the dastardly deeds of an ex-CSIS spy, Farrell whom the readers would dismiss as a greedy person milking CSIS or "else scandalize and then spill the beans on them." Mitrovica ill-conceived of a book where he can sensatonalize to make money by relating the events that happened in busting a Russian spy,  made a hero of Farrell but  accused CSIS of spying on postal workers when Farrell was dispatched by the spy agency to pass on mail of suspected terrorists or spies. Passing on mail to CSIS is not spying on postal workers. But still, Mitrovica portrayed it to be that way. There was bad faith on his part. No wonder his book did not sell.

I wonder what will happen to Farrell if he was an intelligence officer of CF Military intelligence. They'll either throw him out aboard a cruiser ship or down from a 50 story balconey. You don't do that to MI director or CF Chiefs of Staff! They'll hang you. I'll hang him too. Ward Elcock indeed must be congratulated for his tolerance, patience and respect for human rights with regards Farrell and Mitrovica.

Mitrovica was also a vociferous warrior against Chinese espionage but when prompted to write about Cuban espionage refused to do so. Logic then dictates us to come to the conclusion that he is probably a Cuban agent of influence. Cubans despise the Chinese because of their market economy. The Communist Party of Canada (Cuban oriented) has no kind words for China's North Korea, China or the Filipino Maoists. How else can you come up with a conclusion but of that kind: that Mitrovica is an agent of influence for Cuba.  Period..


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## Journeyman (20 Sep 2010)

Maybe if I'd used a larger, more colourful font.....

In the mean time, we should stick to honouring Ms Nearne.


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## observor 69 (23 Sep 2010)

Eileen Nearne, Wartime Spy, Dies at 89

More from The New York Times


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