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The Heroines of SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France: F Section
Female spies are often the stuff of legend and myth. Here, for the first time, Beryl Escott tells the true story of the incredible 40 women who worked for Britain's Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. These women came from a variety of backgrounds, from Gillian Gerson a Chilean actress, to the Irish Mary Herbert, recruited for her linguistic skills, through to the famous Odette Samsonthe "darling spy." She explores what made them risk their lives, even those with new-born babies, for a cause greater than themselves. She takes us on a journey through their recruitment and training into their undercover operations, as they diced with death and details their often tragic demise from death by injection to being shot in a prisoner of war camps. This is a far from glamorous picture, but a moving and gripping story that needs to be told.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2010
309 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Beryl E. Escott
7 books5 followersAlso published as Beryl Escott
Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott was born in Newfoundland and educated in Guernsey, South Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire and at Durham University. She joined the RAF in 1961 and in her spare time edited magazines and wrote books for the service. On leaving the RAF in 1986, she started work on her first book in civil life, Women in Air Force Blue, a history of the service, followed by Mission Improbable, about SOE WAAF agents. Then came Our Wartime Days, 20th Century Women of Courage, and some others. Widely recognised as the leading WAAF historian, she lives in Warwickshire
Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott was born in Newfoundland and educated in Guernsey, South Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire and at Durham University. She joined the RAF in 1961 and in her spare time edited magazines and wrote books for the service. On leaving the RAF in 1986, she started work on her first book in civil life, Women in Air Force Blue, a history of the service, followed by Mission Improbable, about SOE WAAF agents. Then came Our Wartime Days, 20th Century Women of Courage, and some others. Widely recognised as the leading WAAF historian, she lives in Warwickshire
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 27, 2018
I first learned about SOE (Secret Operations Executive) from a Netflix hybrid reality show called Churchill's Secret Agents. The show takes everyday men and women and puts them through the same grueling and dangerous training that real-life SOE agents went through before they were dropped into German-occupied countries during World War II. What makes the series a hybrid is that the program includes information, videos, and photos of real-life SEO candidates going through training and the special operations they performed afterwards against the Germans.
Like the real-life agents, the contestants learn how to shoot, climb cliffs, stick to their cover stories when interrogated by the "Germans" – or make cover stories up on the fly, and parachute from planes. Partway through the training, British army officers running the training school select candidates to train in special skills, including explosives and demolition and learning how to code, send, and decode wireless radio messages. An important part of the training is learning how to pass yourself off as French. (One real SOE operative blew her cover when she looked right instead of left before crossing a street in France.) During the training, candidates who don't perform well are dismissed until only a few men and women are left.
What really interested me was the real-life female SOE agents, who came from many countries besides Britain. In civilian life, the female operatives were average woman – moms, store clerks, and secretaries. They all agreed to be dropped into France knowing they'd likely be captured and executed. Which brings me to the book – Beryl E. Escott's The Heroines of SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France F Section.
During World War II, forty-one female agents were trained and sent into France to help organize and run resistance groups. The key SOE agent was the wireless radio operator whose job was to keep the group in contact with SOE listening posts in Britain. Wireless radio operators also had the most dangerous job because their average lifespan was just six weeks.
Escott gives a brief introduction to SOE, the government's opposition to recruiting women, how SOE found candidates, the training the women went through, and how the French resistance groups were organized. Then he gives brief biographies, in chronological, order of each of the forty-one women.
These women and their exploits were incredible. For example:
• The American, Virginia Hall, who was called "the limping lady" by the Germans because she had a wooden leg. Surprisingly, the Germans could never capture her no matter how hard they tried. And they tried really, really hard.
• Eileen Nearne, who was hardly older than twenty, spent five months as a wireless operator before she was captured. The Germans couldn't break her even with water torture. She was sent to a concentration camp, escaped and made her way to Leipzig, Germany, where she was sheltered by a priest until the Americans entered the city. Her experiences affected her so deeply that in later life she became a recluse and died frail and penniless. She never spoke about her SOE work.
• Violette Szabo, the mom of a young daughter, she joined SOE to avenge the death of her husband in the Second Battle of El Alamein. After parachuting into France, she and a young resistance leader were traveling by car to another resistance group when they were stopped by a German patrol. Szabo held the Germans off with a Sten submachinegun until she ran out of ammunition so the Franchman could escape. She was questioned, tortured, and sexually abused by her captors then by the Gestapo but didn't break. Then she was sent to a concentration camp where she and two other SOE women were executed and their bodies cremated. Two years after the war, Szabo's four-year-old daughter, Tania, accepted a posthumous George's cross – the second highest award in the United Kingdom – from King George VI. (You can see a romanticized 1958 movie about Szabo on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeYd...)
I would have given the book four stars except Escott throws so many names around like confetti – especially of other agents or people who are only mention once or twice fifty or so pages earlier that I kept having to go to the index to recall who they were. He does the same with acronyms such as FANY (First Aid Nursing Yoemanry), FFI (Free French Forces in France) and STO (French forced labor groups send to work in Germany). I finally said "screw it!" and just kept on reading.
Nevertheless, The Heroines of SOE is a good introduction to some incredible women who helped win World War II.
Like the real-life agents, the contestants learn how to shoot, climb cliffs, stick to their cover stories when interrogated by the "Germans" – or make cover stories up on the fly, and parachute from planes. Partway through the training, British army officers running the training school select candidates to train in special skills, including explosives and demolition and learning how to code, send, and decode wireless radio messages. An important part of the training is learning how to pass yourself off as French. (One real SOE operative blew her cover when she looked right instead of left before crossing a street in France.) During the training, candidates who don't perform well are dismissed until only a few men and women are left.
What really interested me was the real-life female SOE agents, who came from many countries besides Britain. In civilian life, the female operatives were average woman – moms, store clerks, and secretaries. They all agreed to be dropped into France knowing they'd likely be captured and executed. Which brings me to the book – Beryl E. Escott's The Heroines of SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France F Section.
During World War II, forty-one female agents were trained and sent into France to help organize and run resistance groups. The key SOE agent was the wireless radio operator whose job was to keep the group in contact with SOE listening posts in Britain. Wireless radio operators also had the most dangerous job because their average lifespan was just six weeks.
Escott gives a brief introduction to SOE, the government's opposition to recruiting women, how SOE found candidates, the training the women went through, and how the French resistance groups were organized. Then he gives brief biographies, in chronological, order of each of the forty-one women.
These women and their exploits were incredible. For example:
• The American, Virginia Hall, who was called "the limping lady" by the Germans because she had a wooden leg. Surprisingly, the Germans could never capture her no matter how hard they tried. And they tried really, really hard.
• Eileen Nearne, who was hardly older than twenty, spent five months as a wireless operator before she was captured. The Germans couldn't break her even with water torture. She was sent to a concentration camp, escaped and made her way to Leipzig, Germany, where she was sheltered by a priest until the Americans entered the city. Her experiences affected her so deeply that in later life she became a recluse and died frail and penniless. She never spoke about her SOE work.
• Violette Szabo, the mom of a young daughter, she joined SOE to avenge the death of her husband in the Second Battle of El Alamein. After parachuting into France, she and a young resistance leader were traveling by car to another resistance group when they were stopped by a German patrol. Szabo held the Germans off with a Sten submachinegun until she ran out of ammunition so the Franchman could escape. She was questioned, tortured, and sexually abused by her captors then by the Gestapo but didn't break. Then she was sent to a concentration camp where she and two other SOE women were executed and their bodies cremated. Two years after the war, Szabo's four-year-old daughter, Tania, accepted a posthumous George's cross – the second highest award in the United Kingdom – from King George VI. (You can see a romanticized 1958 movie about Szabo on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeYd...)
I would have given the book four stars except Escott throws so many names around like confetti – especially of other agents or people who are only mention once or twice fifty or so pages earlier that I kept having to go to the index to recall who they were. He does the same with acronyms such as FANY (First Aid Nursing Yoemanry), FFI (Free French Forces in France) and STO (French forced labor groups send to work in Germany). I finally said "screw it!" and just kept on reading.
Nevertheless, The Heroines of SOE is a good introduction to some incredible women who helped win World War II.
March 29, 2012
There have been multiple biographies written about individual SOE women but Beryl Escott’s book is the first I know of that gives short biographies on all 40 of the women of the SOE’s F (French) Section, the largest section of the SOE.
What makes the SOE – an organization that recruited, supplied, and trained resisters in Nazi-occupied countries -- such a fascinating study is that it worked outside of the box, militarily-speaking, their end goal being the destruction of German communication and war production through sabotage. But the female element of the SOE is particularly fascinating: female agents were nearly on equal footing with their male counterparts (although few females were actually trained to be leaders).
The arrogant Nazi regime created in many a overwhelming desire to fight actively and the SOE tapped into this motivation, providing an immediate way for a small number of qualified women to become directly involved in the fight rather than fill the more traditional but necessary supportive military roles available to British women during the war.
Courageous, idealistic, quick-thinking, determined women risking their lives to face down the Nazi state makes for compelling reading and Escott’s informative introduction provides a good foundation for the 40 brief but detailed stories of the SOE’s F-Section females she has collected here. Her largely straightforward writing doesn’t always flow as smoothly as one might wish but she’s definitely done her homework and the subject matter is extremely compelling.
What makes the SOE – an organization that recruited, supplied, and trained resisters in Nazi-occupied countries -- such a fascinating study is that it worked outside of the box, militarily-speaking, their end goal being the destruction of German communication and war production through sabotage. But the female element of the SOE is particularly fascinating: female agents were nearly on equal footing with their male counterparts (although few females were actually trained to be leaders).
The arrogant Nazi regime created in many a overwhelming desire to fight actively and the SOE tapped into this motivation, providing an immediate way for a small number of qualified women to become directly involved in the fight rather than fill the more traditional but necessary supportive military roles available to British women during the war.
Courageous, idealistic, quick-thinking, determined women risking their lives to face down the Nazi state makes for compelling reading and Escott’s informative introduction provides a good foundation for the 40 brief but detailed stories of the SOE’s F-Section females she has collected here. Her largely straightforward writing doesn’t always flow as smoothly as one might wish but she’s definitely done her homework and the subject matter is extremely compelling.
February 11, 2011
I'm not sure when I learned about the S.O.E and the role that women played in it during the Second World War. I knew about them when I watched the movie Charlotte Gray, but not that much. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I knew more. I was at Borders and saw a copy of A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII out on the table. I can't say why I picked it up, but I did. And that greatly deepened my knowledge of SOE, and most likely sparked my currect interst in World War II history.
This is a good book. It focuses on the women of SOE, offering a chapter for each one that details her experience during the war, in particular in France as a courier and/or wireless operator for the underground networks.
The most famous woman in the book is most likely Nora Khan, a Muslim, and a wireless operator who was able to stay out of a increasingly tight noose of German agents for longer than her male counterparts. But there are other women here, less famous, but given their just due. The book focuses on their experiences during the war, so their life afterwards is not mentioned (and in some cases, I would have liked to know more). These women were wives, mothers, and not all were spring chickens.
In some ways, the women seemed to have it tougher than the men, and easier. While they were considered not as good by the male resistence members they were trying to help, in some cases the Germans considered them as not as dangerous. This allowed a few of them to get of jams that their male counterparts would not have been able to do (one woman claimed to be Churchill's daughter in law). Yet, when captured, they seemed to have suffered more. The men seemed to have been shot quickly while the women seemed to have been beatened and in some cases raped. Then again, perhaps it is sexism to even note a difference. (Think of how we hold mothers and fathers to different standards; does that make sense?).
Regardless, this is an excellent book to read.
This is a good book. It focuses on the women of SOE, offering a chapter for each one that details her experience during the war, in particular in France as a courier and/or wireless operator for the underground networks.
The most famous woman in the book is most likely Nora Khan, a Muslim, and a wireless operator who was able to stay out of a increasingly tight noose of German agents for longer than her male counterparts. But there are other women here, less famous, but given their just due. The book focuses on their experiences during the war, so their life afterwards is not mentioned (and in some cases, I would have liked to know more). These women were wives, mothers, and not all were spring chickens.
In some ways, the women seemed to have it tougher than the men, and easier. While they were considered not as good by the male resistence members they were trying to help, in some cases the Germans considered them as not as dangerous. This allowed a few of them to get of jams that their male counterparts would not have been able to do (one woman claimed to be Churchill's daughter in law). Yet, when captured, they seemed to have suffered more. The men seemed to have been shot quickly while the women seemed to have been beatened and in some cases raped. Then again, perhaps it is sexism to even note a difference. (Think of how we hold mothers and fathers to different standards; does that make sense?).
Regardless, this is an excellent book to read.
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July 6, 2020Oh my how brave the young ladies were. I don't think we could be now days.
November 5, 2022
This book is not very well written; in fact, it reads like a very poor translation in places and there are printing errors and omissions that should have been corrected when proofread. Because of this, I have only given it three stars.
It is, though, a testament and a memorial to the forty women who trained with the Special Operations Executive in the UK before being sent into Occupied France, usually as couriers or wireless operators, during World War Two. Each chapter relates one woman's background and service, with details of the Resistance network(s) she was in contact with, the leaders of those networks and the geographical area she covered.
In the early days of the SOE, it was thought that women would be too emotional and weak to carry out the tasks required of them. That proved to be completely wrong. The women showed unshakable courage, even when arrested. None of them talked under duress or torture and fourteen of them were executed, either shot or given a lethal injection, without revealing names of contacts or details of operations.
The book takes readers into the shadowy world of wartime France where every person was a potential informer and where wireless operators worked for an average of six weeks before being caught.
Because of the style, the book is not always a comfortable read but as a reminder of what these women went through, it is excellent.
It is, though, a testament and a memorial to the forty women who trained with the Special Operations Executive in the UK before being sent into Occupied France, usually as couriers or wireless operators, during World War Two. Each chapter relates one woman's background and service, with details of the Resistance network(s) she was in contact with, the leaders of those networks and the geographical area she covered.
In the early days of the SOE, it was thought that women would be too emotional and weak to carry out the tasks required of them. That proved to be completely wrong. The women showed unshakable courage, even when arrested. None of them talked under duress or torture and fourteen of them were executed, either shot or given a lethal injection, without revealing names of contacts or details of operations.
The book takes readers into the shadowy world of wartime France where every person was a potential informer and where wireless operators worked for an average of six weeks before being caught.
Because of the style, the book is not always a comfortable read but as a reminder of what these women went through, it is excellent.
November 26, 2018
This is a very thorough book detailing the experiences of the 40 women who worked for the Special Operations Executive in France during WWII. It is quite detailed and a fairly easy read. There are some points of repetition where the same experience happened to more than one individual as they were grouped together but this is such an extensive analysis of service that it does not hinder the writing. I would recommend to anyone interested in women in warfare.
June 3, 2020
There are glaring errors with this book.
Too many for me to go into. I found myself getting agitated by her lack of research.
I live in the Indre, not far from a main drop zone of the SOE. I have done much research into the Resistance and the SOE in our area.
Sadly, I feel that she has just gone from book to book and 'picked details'.
I would not recommend this book if you are seriously interested in the SOE history.
Too many for me to go into. I found myself getting agitated by her lack of research.
I live in the Indre, not far from a main drop zone of the SOE. I have done much research into the Resistance and the SOE in our area.
Sadly, I feel that she has just gone from book to book and 'picked details'.
I would not recommend this book if you are seriously interested in the SOE history.
December 23, 2020
Stories of the many women who were sent to France to help the Resistance, many paid with their lives. It's not an easy book to read too many names, code names etc, not very well written. Reading when I have nothing else.
April 10, 2023
To the content I award 5 stars and more. This is a story that this generation should read to understand what their mothers and grandmothers went through in their firm belief of world freedom. They were all volunteers and many from comfortable circumstances who could have carried on living a life of luxury and comfort, yet they gave up all of this and were prepared to die for the cause.
Alas - the narrative is sometimes repetitive and can be confusing. It is not an easy read, but is IS an ESSENTIAL read as the story must not be allowed to die.
PS: For those who believe that to be brave is a Rambo style male attribute, back in your box - these ladies showed unbelievable bravery in the face of extreme torture and eventual death.
Alas - the narrative is sometimes repetitive and can be confusing. It is not an easy read, but is IS an ESSENTIAL read as the story must not be allowed to die.
PS: For those who believe that to be brave is a Rambo style male attribute, back in your box - these ladies showed unbelievable bravery in the face of extreme torture and eventual death.
February 14, 2025
Heroism Is Genderless
These heroic and often-martyred women were about my Mom’s age and so in some ways I related to these stories in a personal way. I suspect they not only fought and dodged Nazis, they also - as my Mom did for much of her life - coped with the “little woman” stereotype that men used to diminish their roles.
A generation younger and married to a strong, talented and tough woman, rather than being threatened by their bravery and valor, I salute it. These women are hallmarks of what Tom Brokaw calls “The Greatest Generation.”
This is a worthy read and celebrates deeds that must not be forgotten.
These heroic and often-martyred women were about my Mom’s age and so in some ways I related to these stories in a personal way. I suspect they not only fought and dodged Nazis, they also - as my Mom did for much of her life - coped with the “little woman” stereotype that men used to diminish their roles.
A generation younger and married to a strong, talented and tough woman, rather than being threatened by their bravery and valor, I salute it. These women are hallmarks of what Tom Brokaw calls “The Greatest Generation.”
This is a worthy read and celebrates deeds that must not be forgotten.
January 17, 2021
A good read that brings the silent few that risked their lives to aid France during WWII and too many of those few paid the ultimate price. It's about time the public was allowed to know their names. I will never understand why DeGaulle, who hated the English and England chose to sit out the war in relative safety in England and then arrogantly refuse to acknowledge that SOE F had played any part in liberating his country. But then again, he wasn't the only Frenchman who denied that any country provided any assistance in evicting the Germans from France.
September 17, 2020
Lately I've been reading several books about WWII, specifically the role of women in the war. While I loved reading about these extraordinary women, I usually couldn't read more than a few chapters at a time. All of the women faced harrowing circumstances, and many of them were murdered horribly; I had to put this down and read something else for a while before I felt ready to continue. These women's stories are shining examples of courage and selflessness in the face of unimaginable odds.
October 21, 2020
An informative account of the SOE
This was a straightforward account of the women of the SOE in France. For me, this book was a follow-up to the book "Spymistress" , the story of Vera Atkins by William Stevenson. Both books are an informative account of this secretive and successful organization that worked behind the scenes throughout German occupied Europe to battle Nazism and and rescue Jewish citizens and allied fighters.
This was a straightforward account of the women of the SOE in France. For me, this book was a follow-up to the book "Spymistress" , the story of Vera Atkins by William Stevenson. Both books are an informative account of this secretive and successful organization that worked behind the scenes throughout German occupied Europe to battle Nazism and and rescue Jewish citizens and allied fighters.
January 28, 2021
An interesting work that provides short, mainly war-time, biographies of 40 women who were part of the intelligence community who risked and in several case gave their lives to defeat the NAZIs. The introduction is a rather lengthy description of their training and the epilogue describes prisons many of them were sent to. It is a part of history which is often unsung because the roles they played were not roles normally expected of women.
February 10, 2021
An amazing read. Written from the beginning of the programme to the completion of female agents sent to France. These women truly were heroes and deserve recognition of their achievements. They paid the ultimate price for freedom . The only thing missing to me was a map of France and the location of each group with their leader and those in that group and dates. Google did help there though. We owe them so much , so let us hope this never happens again.
February 19, 2021
Very Good.
I first read Churchfield’s ungentalmany War. Or something like that. This book looks at several women who risked their lives to hinder Germany. It went into more detail relating to yhevother book. It could also be read alone. It was fascinating. It made me think what i would have done if i was in their place. Excellent Book
I first read Churchfield’s ungentalmany War. Or something like that. This book looks at several women who risked their lives to hinder Germany. It went into more detail relating to yhevother book. It could also be read alone. It was fascinating. It made me think what i would have done if i was in their place. Excellent Book
February 5, 2017
The writing is clumsy, the facts often jumbled or vague. Feels overall like a high school essay. If it hadn't been a gift, I would have abandoned reading it ages ago.
If you're looking for a book that details all the SOE women, read the vastly superior Churchill's Angels by Bernard O'Connor.
If you're looking for a book that details all the SOE women, read the vastly superior Churchill's Angels by Bernard O'Connor.
November 5, 2018
So young so brave
This book takes you back to the young agents fighting for the libertarian of France and some paying the ultimate price. Some as young as 19teen so very brave a factual account of people working behind enemy lines .
This book takes you back to the young agents fighting for the libertarian of France and some paying the ultimate price. Some as young as 19teen so very brave a factual account of people working behind enemy lines .
January 13, 2021
Moving book about the 40 courageous and resilient women of SOE, driven by their love of France/Poland, their hatred for Nazi scum and their hope for freedom. As with many books about WWII, details can sometimes lack because documents have been lost and witness testimonies contradict each other. But it did not take away from the fascinating, and emotional, tales of these heroines.
January 17, 2021
To the French freedom orchestra
Vive Francés and the women who bravely jumped and fought for its liberation. Very repetitive because the women went through the same training and experiences.
Vive Francés and the women who bravely jumped and fought for its liberation. Very repetitive because the women went through the same training and experiences.
February 6, 2021
Better books out there on SOE then this.
Although the book that prompted me to read more or the subject was excellent, this fell short on so many levels. This is a very disjointed accounting of the brave men and women of SOE.
Although the book that prompted me to read more or the subject was excellent, this fell short on so many levels. This is a very disjointed accounting of the brave men and women of SOE.
February 11, 2021
A little tough to read due to true stories about the SOE agents! Some were captured and shot, killed and bodies burned! Some did get out! It makes you admire and realize how much risk they took to help their country!
October 3, 2022
It was an enlightening read to learn what some women could do as well as anybody and how they suffered for it without recognition.We have made the same mistake through out our history.I am not a women's liber but a male of 80 years.
December 23, 2023
This is a. Interesting account of the formation and working of the female section of French undercover agents known as the SOE (Special Operations Executive).
The account of 40 of these women is astounding especially when you realise the author has only touched the surface.
It is a worthy read.
The account of 40 of these women is astounding especially when you realise the author has only touched the surface.
It is a worthy read.
May 27, 2024
A good record of a fascinating story of courage and tragedy.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War, The Summer of’39 (all published by Sacristy Press) and Ordinary Heroes (published by I M Books)
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War, The Summer of’39 (all published by Sacristy Press) and Ordinary Heroes (published by I M Books)
August 27, 2024
I didn’t actually finish it! I never give up on books but this one was so repetitive and boring I gave up. I understand these were all brave women but there stories were lacking in the achievement factor.
January 25, 2020
I didn't know this history. It's remarkable how strong and capable these women were. They were true patriots.
July 4, 2020
I love this book, very heartbreaking for obvious reasons. The danger these women were put in. Code-braking to save the world basically.
February 12, 2021
too much like reading facts by rote
a boring text book
I never felt involved with any of the women
a boring text book
I never felt involved with any of the women
February 17, 2021
Get to know some amazing women from WWII. I have learned so much.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews