Eileen Mary Nearne MBE (1921 - 2010)

Born 15 Mar 1921 in Fulham, London, England, United Kingdom

Died 2 Sep 2010 at age 89 in Torquay, Devon, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

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Eileen Nearne MBE was a British Spy in World War II.

Eileen Nearne MBE was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Early Life

Eileen Nearne was born 15 Mar 1921 in London, England to John Nearne from England and Marie de Plazoala from Spain. ^[1] She was the youngest of four children, Jacqueline, Francis, and Frederick. In 1923, the family moved to Grenoble, France where the children became fluent in French. Because of this Eileen Nearne growing up in France it made it difficult for others to believe the she was actually British by birth. At the outbreak of war in 1942, Eileen Nearne with her two oldest siblings a sister Jacqueline and brother Francis, made their way back to London via way of Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Gibraltar and Glasgow, while the rest of the family remained in Grenoble, despite the German occupation.

World War II

Special Operations Executive (SOE)

In 1942, on arrival in England Eileen Nearne was offered service in the WAAF working on barrage balloons, but turned this down and joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (the FANYs) alongside her younger sister Jacqueline. While in the FANY, Eileen Nearne was recruited by the Special Operations Executive, because of her fluence in French, initially as a home-based signals operator, taking messages from agents in occupied Europe. Eileen Nearne was also trained for field work as a radio operator, but it seemed unlikely that she would be deployed judging by her assessor’s comments in January 1944. He stated that “She is not very intelligent or practical and is lacking in shrewdness and cunning. She has a bad memory, is inaccurate and scatter-brained. She seems keen, but her work was handicapped by lack of the power to concentrate.” ^[2]

After receiving training and entering service Eileen Nearne was placed into the Wizard Network of the SOE F Section (France) Networks. As plans were being made for OPERATION GITANE, Eileen Nearne was chosen as the wireless radio operator using the code name “Rose” to support Jean Savy. This mission was to land a Lysander aircraft in France on an unusable airfield. On 2 Mar 1944, after several aborted tries to the mission happened they landed at a field that was situated South of Vatan, 2km Northwest of Lagnys. To make himself useful Savy stumbled across intelligence that he had to leave Paris. This information was about a large secret ammunition dump in stone quarries at Saint Leu d'Esserent. He had discovered precise details of its sitting and, more important of its content: 2,000 V1 rockets, ready to fire. ^[3]

With Savy leaving Paris, Eileen Nearne stayed in Paris and attached herself with the SPIRITUALIST Network. Over the following months, Eileen Nearne sent 105 radio messages back to London, a risky business as the Germans had improved their techniques for locating radio transmissions. On July 25, 1944 in Bourg-la-Reine, the Gestapo arrived at Eileen Nearne’s hide-out just after she had transmitted a message and arrested her. She was taken to the local Gestapo HQ, where she told them she was a French woman called Jacqueline Duterte. She told them she was working for a businessman and that she did not understand the messages she sent. Elaine's report reveals: "He said: 'Liar, Spy', and hit me on the face. He said: 'We have ways of making people who don't want to talk, talk. Come with us'." ^[4]

Eileen Nearne was taken to the Gestapo headquarters in the Rue des Saussaies, Paris, where she endured torture in silence, including the dreaded baignoire, or water torture. Nearne was able to convince her captors that she had been sending the messages for a businessman, unaware that he was British and in August 1944 Eileen Nearne was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp before being transferred to a forced labor camp in Silesia. ^[5]

After the Germans were defeated, Eileen Nearne was found by the Americans and taken into custody. Eileen Nearne was first believed to be a German spy, while during interrogation she continued to claim being a British spy. An American interrogator stated “Subject creates a very unbalanced impression. Nearne often is unable to answer the simplest questions, as though she was impersonating someone else. Her account of what happened to her after her landing in Orleans is held to be invented. It is recommended that Subject be put at the disposal of the British Authorities for further investigation and disposition.” But doubts were set aside when London confirmed Eileen Nearne’s statements. ^[6]

Post World War II

After the war, Eileen Nearne and her sister Jacqueline returned to England by way of Portugal and Gibraltar. Eileen Nearne suffered psychological trauma because of her experiences and in the years immediately following the end of the war, Eileen was cared for by Jacqueline in London. Jacqueline died in 1982 and Eileen moved to live in Torquay where she died in Sep 2010.

After Eileen Nearne’s death it was feared she would be laid to rest in a municipal plot with no mourners. But Nearne's demise made headlines around the world after details emerged of her wartime exploits behind enemy lines as a member of the Special Operations Executive and hundreds of mourners turned out to bid her a fond farewell.

Veterans from British Legion clubs from all over the West Country provided a guard of honor, lowering 22 standards as her cortege arrived at the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady, where she used to worship.

Representatives from all the armed forces attended as did the Consul General and military attaché from the French embassy in London. More than a dozen wreaths lay at the gates of the church, some from fellow worshippers and friends who knew her through her work with animal charities in Torquay.

Her coffin arrived draped in the British and French flags, as befits a hero who was awarded both the British MBE and the French Croix de Guerre. Buglers from Britain and France played the Last Post as the coffin left the church. ^[7]

Her body was cremated, and her ashes scattered at sea, according to her wishes.^[8]

Military Awards and Honors

After World War II, Eileen Nearne was awarded the French Croix de Guerre by the French government and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her "cool efficiency, perseverance and willingness to undergo any risk". ^[9] On 19 February 1946, Eileen Nearne was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King George VI for services in France during the enemy occupation. ^[10]

Eileen Nearne Awards and Honors

Videos

Below are links to videos about Eileen Nearne specifically, they talk briefly about her life in the SOE. The videos talk about how even right up until Eileen Nearne's death she was still able to use the training received from the SOE and kept her life a secret.

• Eileen Nearne MBE (1921-2010) (1:51)
• Eileen Nearne: WWII Spy (6:21)
• Heir Hunters Series 6 – Nearne (3:09)

Books

Below is a list of books written about Eileen Nearne and her life to include the time she spent in the SOE and after World War II up to her untimely death. The list includes the book titles and authors.

• "Agent Rose: The True Spy Story of Eileen Nearne, Britain's Forgotten Wartime Heroine", by Bernard O'Connor
• "Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne". by Susan Ottaway
• "A Cool and Lonely Courage: The Untold Story of Sister Spies in Occupied Francee", by Susan Ottaway

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV3W-6Z7N : 2 October 2014), Eileen M Nearne, 1921; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Fulham, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ "N is for the Nearne Sisters." Shooting Parrots. N.p., 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 5 May 2017. http://shootingparrots.co.uk/2016/10/12/n-is-for-the-nearne-sisters/.
3. ↑ "Wizardry." Special Operations Executive. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2017. http://redtarget.pagesperso-orange.fr/SOE.htm.
4. ↑ "Eileen Nearne - Heroine of WWII." Female Heroes of WWII. Don Carina, n.d. Web. 6 May 2017. http://doncarina.com/EileenNearne.html.
5. ↑ "N is for the Nearne Sisters." Shooting Parrots. N.p., 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 5 May 2017. http://shootingparrots.co.uk/2016/10/12/n-is-for-the-nearne-sisters/.
6. ↑ "Eileen Nearne: S.O.E Hero of WWII." Theinkbrain. N.p., 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 7 May 2017. https://theinkbrain.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/eileen-nearne-s-o-e-hero-of-wwii/
7. ↑ Morris, Steven. "Spy Eileen Nearne given heroine's burial in Torquay." The Guardian. N.p., 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 8 May 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/21/spy-eileen-nearne-heroine-burial.
8. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 25 December 2018), memorial page for Eileen Mary “Didi” Nearne (15 Mar 1921–2 Sep 2010), Find A Grave: Memorial #58799231, ; Maintained by Find A Grave Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea.
9. ↑ Judd, Terri. "Eileen Nearne: The 'scatterbrained' spy who helped win the war." Independent, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 5 May 2017. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/eileen-nearne-the-scatterbrained-spy-who-helped-win-the-war-2119533.html.
10. ↑ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood." Third Supplement to The London Gazette. Authority, 19 Feb. 1946. Web. 5 May 2017. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37473/supplement/1015.

• FamilySearch ID: LBXF-LJY
• Wikipedia: Eileen Nearne
• Wikidata: Item Q942074, en:Wikipedia