The total number of female personnel supporting SOE in the Far East by July 1945 was 723. This page is dedicated to them, for without them, Force 136 would not have been able to do what it did. A great deal of their work was concerned with Burma, as that was where SOE’s largest operational commitment to the war against Japan was focused.
Of the 723 women employed by SOE, 449 belonged to the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, or FANY; 274 remained civilians.
At 368, just over half of the 723 were employed by the Signals establishment. During 1945, they were responsible for 1,422,356 cipher groups going into and coming out of the field from approximately 183 operational W/T sets across Southeast Asia. There were over 50 W/T sets in Burma alone. Women working as cipherettes often worked 12 hour shifts, ensuring that messages to and from operations were sent and received 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The remaining 355 women were distributed on clerical and secretarial roles.
Maiden name will be provided where it is given, and ‘(Mrs)’ inserted after surname if already married but no maiden name given. Where there is no ‘nee’ or ‘(Mrs)’, assume it is Miss.
Enjoying this content?
Consider helping with website costs by making a small donation. Thanks.
£1.00
In the wrong file! Which of the following ladies is she?
Living in Calcutta in the 1940s
Want to know more about living in Calcutta in the 1940s? I chanced upon this fabulous website: Calcutta1940s
Lots of the women below lived, and in some cases died, in Calcutta during their time with the Special Operations Executive. The website gives some precious insight into life in the great city.
Adam (Mrs), I, B/B392
Adams, Audrey Beatrice: born 8 August 1925 in Leamington Spa, Audrey was ‘put through the cards’ (PTC) in November 1944. By December she was working as a book-keeper in SOE, awaiting a ship to India.
Audrey attended Leamington College for Girls from 1935 to 1941. She then worked in a clerical role for Warwickshire County Council from 1941-1944.
There is nothing in her file to indicate she actually made it to India!
Ahern, Margaret Joan: born 2 October 1914 in Montreal, Canada, Margaret was vetted by MI5 in June 1944. From July she was employed by SOE as a FANY coder. In September she left the UK for New Delhi where she worked until she signed off, in India, on New Year’s Day 1946.
Allanson, Evelyn, nee Elliott: born 6 May 1913 in London, Evelyn joined SOE in September 1943 to work as a Registry Clerk. Before SOE, her MI5 trace shows she worked as a confidential secretary for a private detective from 1932-1940; as a secretary for the Air Ministry in Aberdeen 1941-1942; and in censorship for the Postal & Telegraph Office 1942-1943.
In September 1944, after working for a year at London HQ, she left for India. Evelyn finally signed off on 3 June 1946.
Amer, Mary Margaret: born 5 December 1923 in Staines, Mary was first vetted for SOE work in January 1945. It took until June for her to be made available from her job with The Mond Nickel Company Ltd. She had been with the company for five years and was regarded ‘a reliable and discreet worker’ within their research and development department.
By 5 August 1945, Mary was in Colombo working as a stenographer, ending up in ‘Q’ by October. She resigned on 7 December and headed to Australia.
Anderson, Doreen Hibbert: born 30 September 1923 in South Shields, Doreen was vetted for possible employment with SOE in August 1944. Taken on as a FANY to be employed as a secretary, Doreen was attached to London HQ pending overseas posting. She left the UK on 10 October, although her destination is not specified, nor is her return date. On 5 September 1945 she left for India – which is a very late and unusual date. She returned to the UK and signed off from SOE on 24 April 1946.
Anderson, Jean Mary: born 19 October 1923 in Oxford, Jean was employed as a FANY ‘cipherene’ from 29 May 1944. She left the UK for India on 23 October that year. Jean appears to be another who found love in the East, becoming Mrs Mitchell at some point. Lt. S Mitchell was in the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, at the Coastal Forces Base in Rangoon. She signed off from SOE on 8 November 1945, in India.
Andrews, Enid Marya: born 9 March 1918 in Preston Park, Brighton, Enid was checked for possible SOE work in September 1944. She was employed as a shorthand typist at London HQ pending an overseas posting from November 1944. On 7 December, she left for India.
Captain Archer, Margaret Paterson: born 8 August 1916 in Glasgow, Margaret appears to be one of the very few highly educated women to join SOE. She had an MA in law with an LLB, and had been working as a law clerk for three years prior to becoming a FANY in SOE. Among her interests, she listed mountaineering and lecturing, as well as being proficient in both French and German. She joined SOE on 13 October 1944, and was trained as a Control Clerk that month at STS 52. She left the UK for India on 7 December 1944, and signed off from SOE on 27 March 1946.
Margaret died in 2012:
Margaret Paterson Archer: an appreciation
A note of the tribute delivered at the funeral of one of the first female partners in a Scottish law firm
17th September 2012
Margaret Paterson Archer (1916-2012) passed away peacefully at the age of 95. She was a retired partner of Moncreiff Warren Paterson & Co, which merged in 1985 with McGrigors, now merged in turn with Pinsent Masons.
She was one of the first, if not the first, female partner of a law firm in Scotland in 1958. Her father, Paul Archer was a wholesale tobacconist in Parliamentary Road, Glasgow and an elder of the Barony Church of Scotland. Margaret attended Hutchesons’ Grammar School until 1934 and went on to the University of Glasgow, graduating MA in 1937 and LLB in 1940. She attained the rank of captain during World War II in India, and was a member of the Special Forces (FANY) in the early 1950s. She was also a member of the Soroptomists, FOGGLA, and the Alumni associations of Hutchesons and the University of Glasgow.
Margaret never married but was a devoted and much loved aunt and godmother. She loved travel, daily yoga exercises, recycling all things, and was a stickler for detail. She skied, played golf and drove brightly coloured cars – a turquoise mini in the 1960s, a purple Morris Marina in the 1970s, a bright green VW Golf and then a red one until she stopped driving in her 80s.
She retired in 1985 and then started a business venture which kept her very busy for many years until her health declined five years ago, when she moved to residential care. She died on 23 July 2012, a lady ahead of her time in so many ways.
Katherine McCudden (nee Macmillan), goddaughter
See also ‘Women in Law’ Project: ‘Margaret Paterson Archer: An Appreciation’ Law Society of Scotland https://lawscot.org.uk>issues
Armstrong, Iris Fairburn: born 30 December 1916 in Singapore, Iris was ‘put through the cards’ in September 1943. Taken on as a secretary in the same month, Iris left for Cairo on 14 November. Her date of return is not recorded, but her next posting was India from April 1945. She signed off from SOE on the fourth anniversary of the fall of her birth place.
Her employment card reveals that before SOE she worked in the India Office in Whitehall, and that from Jun 1945 she was working as a ‘cypherette’. Furthermore, in October 1945 she was allowed compassionate leave for six days to see family who had been repatriated from internment in Singapore. Iris had been evacuated from Singapore in January 1942; she had finished her education at the Raffles School for Girls and been working as a hairdresser since 1935. The Kempeitei made the school their HQ in Singapore.
Armstrong, Sylvia Marion Louise: born 11 August 1921 in Singapore, Sylvia was ‘put through the cards’ in September 1943 with a view to being employed as a FANY clerk. By November she was headed for Cairo, with her sister who had also joined SOE. The date for arrival back in the UK is never given for those females who went to the Mediterranean, but on Valentine’s Day 1945 she left the UK for India. She continued to work for SOE until November 1945.
Before the war, Sylvia had attended the Raffles Girls School, 1927-1937, and then Pitmans College 1937-38. Between 1938 and 1943 she is recorded as employed as a shorthand typist, however she had been a Sergeant in the Medical Auxiliary Service in Singapore during 1941 until evacuated from Singapore on 6 February 1942. Her file also indicates she was in India for 13 months awaiting passage to Britain, leaving in June 193.
Unusually, Sylvia indicated on her SOE form that she could box, along with running, cycling, skiing, swimming, riding, and driving. Iris Armstrong above was her sister.
Ashley, Winifred: born 9 April 1921 in Cardiff, Ashley was a FANY employed from February 1943 as a W/T operator. She left for India in October 1944 and was signed off from SOE in January 1946 after returning to the UK. Prior to SOE, Winifred was employed as a dressmaker and cashier. Her brother was Sapper John Thomas Ashley, who was indicated on her MI5 trace as ‘missing Singapore’. It appears that this was correct as he is listed HERE.
Bailey, Claire Elizabeth, nee Wilson: born 2 March 1914 in Delamere, Cheshire, Claire was working as a Matron-Housekeeper at the Elmslie School in Maidenhead when approached for SOE employment. Previous to this, she had worked at the National Provincial Bank for five years.
Employed as a FANY, Claire left for India in September 1944 after a spell at STS 46 where she had done administrative work. She signed of from SOE in September 1945 after coming back to the UK.
Her husband, Alan Curtis Bailey was imprisoned in Stalag Luft 3 according to Claire’s MI5 trace dated June 1944. According to https://allspitfirepilots.org/pilots/2761-alan-bailey he joined the RAF in 1939 and flew Spitfires with 145 Sqn. According to https://www.rafcommands.com/database/hurricanes/details.php?uniq=N2711 his Hurricane was shot down in May 1940 south west of Dunkirk.
Bailey, Elizabeth Helen, nee Shirreffs: born 28 January 1907 in Stellenbeech (most likely meant to read Stellenbosch), South Africa, Elizabeth joined the FANY in Cairo. She came to the UK in March 1945 and was earmarked for employment as an office manager in India. She left for India in May 1945 and continued with SOE until May 1946.
Before SOE, Elizabeth had spent nine years teaching in the Southern Rhodesian Education Department, two years on the Johannesburg stock exchange, and staff manager in ‘various manufacturing concerns’. Her parents were both originally from Aberdeen, Scotland.
Bailey, Norah: born 16 August 1916 in Ireland, Norah was recruited by SOE in Delhi during November 1944. She went to work in a clerical role in Q Section in Delhi until she resigned on 15 December 1945.
Baker, Elizabeth, nee Bradley: born 29 September 1911 in Chilwall, Nottinghamshire, Elizabeth was ‘put through the cards’ and interviewed in July 1944. Employed by SOE from August, by September she was off to India. Her employment card indicates that he was a stenographer for Malayan Country Section, so she worked in Colombo from December 1944. She ended up in Kuala Lumpur in November 1945.
Before joining SOE, Elizabeth worked for the American Embassy, and as a personal secretary for a national coal scheme from 1941-44.
Her husband married in 1936, was in the RAF and recorded as being in Canada in 1944.
Bampton, Pamela Valpy: born 20 October 1925 in London, Pamela worked for SOE from June 1944 until December 1945.
Stll only eighteen when considered for SOE work, her school, Oak Hall in Haslemere, was asked for a reference. Apparently she had been ‘a thoroughly satisfactory pupil, and a nice girl.’ She left the school at sixteen, so they couldn’t say much more than that! From school she went to Mrs Hoster’s Secretarial College, from where her reference described her as ‘a good intelligent student.’ These qualities continued in SOE, for in June 1945 she was recommended for promotion which was supported because she was ‘an excellent secretary’.
Her father was Colonel John Augustus Hamilton Bampton, MBE, who served in the Indian Army at GHQ in Delhi during the war. Lots of hits on the London Gazette for him.
Banks, Elizabeth Amy: born 6 April 1921 in Newcastle-on-Tyne, Elizabeth was employed as a clerk with SOE from 4 June 1945. Her prior employment was with the National Fire Service, where she was ‘trustworthy and conscientious.’ She was registered as a WAAF.
She left for India on 10 July, and worked in Colombo as a clerk. She left for the UK on 17 November, arriving on 12 December 1945.
Bannerman, Eve Mary: born 12 March 1921 in London, Eve was a British Red Cross Nurse when she was approached by SOE in September 1942. To be employed as a FANY, Eve was at STS 54 as a W/T operator from October 1942. In September 1944 she left the UK for India, returning in the new year of 1946.
Eve’s father was Lt.Col. Sir Alexander Bannerman.
Barker, Dorothy Louise: born 14 November 1920 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, Dorothy was employed by SOE from 19 January 1945 as a W/T operator at STS 54b. She left the UK for India on 14 July 1945, returning around the 5 January 1946. Before joining SOE she was a Clerk at the Ministry of Labour.
Barnes, Hilda Mary: born 22 April 1900 inn Purfleet, Essex, SOE approached Hilda in May 1942 with a view to employing her as a FANY W/T operator. BY July 1942, she was at STS 54. Hilda left for India on 9 June 1944, signing off on her return to the UK in February 1946. Before SOE, Hilda worked in the Post Office as a clerk and telegraphist.
Baroni, Muriel Theresa Anne, B/B395: Anglo-Burmese, born 23 July 1918 in Yamethin, Burma. Muriel was employed as a typist in India from 31 August 1943. Prior to this, she had worked for four years as a teacher in Rangoon after attending Rangoon university. She worked in Delhi, Kandy, and Calcutta, as well as in Rangoon from 12 October 1945 until release from service on 15 December 1945.
Barr, Kathleen: born 18 September 1903 in Dublin, Kathleen is recorded as having been recruited locally, ie in India. It looks as though she was a WAC(I) working in a cipher office in Rawalpindi. After joining SOE, she was at Chaklala, near Rawalpindi, home of the RAF parachute school where SOE personnel were trained to jump. From April 1945, she was in Calcutta. Her employment card shows her next of kin as ‘Major T. Barr. (Husband)’
Barraclough, Joan: born 15 June 1923 in Teneriffe, Joan was security checked just after her 20th birthday. From September 1943 she was employed as a FANY W/T operator, and a year later she left for India. She signed off from SOE on her return to the UK in December 1945.
Barritt, Kathleen: born 5 August 1923 in Nelson, Lancashire, Kathleen was only security checked at the end of April 1945. She was employed as FANY and sent out to India to work in ‘codes ‘a week before the atomic bomb was first dropped, ending the war. She returned to the UK in February 1946.
Bartlet, Pauline Cecile, B/B734: born 9 August 1917 in Ceylon, Pauline left Ceylon in May 1928 to go to boarding school in Eastbourne. In 1935, her schooling complete, she returned to Ceylon. From October 1940 until December 1943 she worked as a Cipherette in HM Naval Office in Ceylon. She then worked for the Ministry of Economic Warfare in the same role at Meerut in India.
In March 1944 she went to England ‘for personal reasons’, and while in London she joined SOE. What she did between March 1944 and 29 June 1945 when she left for India remains a mystery. Back out east, she was posted to Trincomalee as a Cipherette. The second half of September was spent ill with fever, finally signing off from SOE on 29 November 1945 at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo.
Bartram, Ann Valerie: born 1 June 1925 in Sunderland, Ann was vetted for SOE service in January 1943, and taken on as a W/T operator at STS 54 from 6 March 1943. She was a FANY.
Just after her 19th birthday, on 9 June 1944, she left for India. She signed off from SOE on 23 January 1946 after returning to the UK.
Ann’s father was Lt.Col. Robert Appelbby Bartram, MC, TD, who owned a shipbuilding company in Sunderland.
Bates (Mrs), Mabel Evelyn: born 23 February 1899 in Dunfermline, Scotland, Mabel was recruited locally inn Calcutta. She was working as a secretary and stenographer for Nestle’s Milk Co. Ltd inn Hare Street, Calcutta. She was ‘Secretary to AQ’ from 10 April 1944, earning Rs500 p/m. On 11 May 1945, just after coming back to work after ten days compassionate leave, she managed to break her ankle and was on sick leave until 27 June. She signed off from SOE employment on 15 March 1946.
Bean (Mrs) R.M., B/B161: No personnel file exists for Mrs Bean.
Cadet/Ensign Beck, Dorothy, nee Mudd: born on 8 November 1915 in Grimsby, Yorkshire, Dorothy was ‘put through the cards’ in March 1944 and employed as a FANY from 22 May. She left for India on 9 June 1944.
Dorothy ended up being at the centre of quite a tricky position for SOE to be in. It appears that she only joined the FANY and SOE in order to get posted to India and be with her husband, Lt.Col. Beck who was employed at GHQ. When she arrived in India, she did just a few days work, went sick, and then refused to go back to her duties. She claimed that her contract had not been kept, and that she had not been properly looked after. There was talk of deporting her, but it is unclear if this happened. There was lots of talk of dropping the case because SOE did not want a public court case on security grounds, but at the same time they did not want to encourage any more of this behaviour.
Beck, Muriel Ellen, B/B766: born 3 November 1911 in Sydenham, London, Muriel was employed as a junior secretary in Meerut from 11 December 1943. She was recruited in India, where her father, Major Frederick George Beck, was a Garrison Engineer in Abbottabad. She remained with SOE until 28 February 1946.
Muriel worked from employment until 24 September 1945 with just one week off in June 1944. She ended up as ‘Secretary to D.A.D.M.S.’ (Deputy Assistant Director, Medical services).
Flight Officer Beggs, Joyce Mary: born 6 June 1918 in Armagh, Northern Ireland, Joyce was a WAAF from June 1940. She had graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast with a degree in Commercial Science. She recorded ‘motor rallying’ as one of her hobbies and interests. She was commissioned in October 1941 and went into intelligence, attending a course at Harrow for two weeks. Joyce was then posted as First Intelligence Officer to 138 Squadron at RAF Tempsford.
She joined SOE in May 1943 and was placed ‘in charge of the Air Operations Room at S.O.E. Headquarters’ where she remained for the next two years. She was also liaison officer between the SOE country sections and the RAF. She was recommended for the MBE for this work in May 1945. In September 1945 she went out to Ceylon as GSO III Ops, retaining her current rank. In January 1946 she was posted back to the RAF.
Benbow, Frances Elizabeth: born 27 July 1911 in London, Frances was working at the War Office when she was accepted by SOE for employment overseas. The War Office refused to let her go or accept her resignation, but it seems SOE prevailed. Employed as a cipher clerk, Frances went first to the Middle East, and then to India in April 1945. She signed off in March 1946. Before the war, she had been a dress maker.
Bend, Mary Louisa: born 14 July 1924 in Gravesend, Kent, Mary was security checked in August and, having passed, was employed by SOE from 5 September 1944. Three weeks later, after a short attachment to London HQ, she was on her way to India. She went as a FANY secretary. She signed off from SOE on 16 November 1945.
Benjamin, S.W.A.C., B/B379: There is no personnel file for Miss Benjamin.
Bentley, Mary Ann, B/B112: Mary was one of the first women to be employed by SOE in the Far East, commencing as a secretary for the Oriental Mission in Singapore from 23 June 1941. She evidently escaped Singapore and was transferred to the India Mission on 6 April 1942 when her codename changed from 0.157 to B/B112.
There is no date of birth recorded for Mary, but she was 45 in 1941, and her nationality is noted as Australian. Prior to SOE, Mary had worked for sixteen years as a private secretary to the manager of Strong & Co. in Kobe, Japan. She was employed by SOE in Delhi and then Poona at EWS(I) from November 1944 as a cashier and book-keeper, and paid Rs.700 p/m. She reported to Australia in May 1946.
Bett, Pleasance Margaret Archdale, B/B925: born 11 June 1915 in Thornham, Norfolk, Pleasance was a VAD before joining SOE in November 1942. She was taken on as a FANY working as a coder at STS 52. Pleasance left for India on 26 March 1944, returning to the UK in late 1945 where she was signed off in December. On her MI5 trace, it shows her brother, Henry Bourdillon Bett, was a POW at Oflag VI B.
In 1984, Pleasance published her autobiography, ‘Mouse to a Tiger‘. She describes why she left the VADs for SOE, and how she felt that her work at STS 53 at Grendon Underwood ‘was the real thing’ and she felt like she was doing her bit for the war. Going out to India in 1944, the conditions on the boat are described in detail, as are her travels in India. She spent all her time in India with Captain Elizabeth Broad, taking every opportunity to explore and see the world ‘at HM Government’s expense.’
In India and Ceylon, Pleasance was responsible mostly for setting up camps for the FANYs who followed her. Describing her W/T work: ‘[t]he coding was dull as the sense of urgency was gone’ compared to working for F Section.
Beyts, Ruby (nee Scott-Elliot), B/B921: born 23 July 1911 in Dumfries, Scotland, Ruby was ‘put through the cards’ in November 1943. Her redacted file shows that her aunt and cousin were being watched by the censor, but ‘why’ is covered up. Employed as a secretary from 31 January 1944, Ruby left for India on 26 March 1944. In India, she was employed in Meerut as a Cipherette; her record shows she resigned on 6 March 1945. Her husband (married 1940) was Brigadier Geoffrey Herbert Bruno Beyts, 3/6 Rajputana Rifles. Beyts was also in Force 136, as Chief of Staff for the commander, Colin Mackenzie.
Her father was Lt.Col. Charles Reginald Scott-Elliot (also Indian Army), and her grandfather was General Charles Scott-Elliot.
Pam on the left, 1945. Photo supplied by her son-in-law, Peter Dye.
Bigg-Wither, Pamela Mary: born 29 August 1921 in Naini Tal, India, Pamela was recruited in the UK on 19 June 1944. She left for India on 18 July 1944, to be employed as a secretary. She worked in Calcutta in the War Office from August 1944.
Her references describe her as very discreet for her age, based on her employment in the War Office Room 055 from August 1940 until joining SOE. In November 1945, she signed a form breaking her contract and repatriation to the UK in order to go and work in Singapore for CICB. She continued to work for MI5 until at least 1953 as a security liaison officer in Burma and Hong Kong.
Billings, Sylvia Daisy, nee Evans: born 3 February 1912 in Portslade, Sussex, Sylvia was a FANY. SOE only approached her in May 1945 for work as a cipherette. From June to August 1945, she was employed at London HQ, before shipping out to India just before VJ Day. She remained in the FAr East until March 1946, signing off on her return to the UK in April. She got married after joining SOE.
Birch, Maisie Marion: born 11 August 1909 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Maisie was employed by SOE from November 1943. She had been working as a retail manager in various London shops for the last thirteen years.
She left the UK for India in September 1944, as a FANY. After returning to the UK and signing off from SOE in August 1945, Maisie went to Germany to work with the Allied Control Commission in Hamburg until April 1947.
Birtwistle, Pamela Helen: born 25 August 1922 in Longho near Blackburn, Pamela was an agricultural worker before joining SOE. Her MI5 trace came back with a possible link to a known Fascist, but the details have been redacted. Once this was ruled out, she was a coder at STS 53C from 4 August 1944 before leaving for India in September. She was signed off after her return to the UK on 17 April 1946.
HS 9/157/2 Note incorrect spelling of ‘Birtwistle’ as ‘Birtwhistle’ on the archive’s catalogue.
Bissett, Lilla (Mrs): born 26 December 1903 in Nazirabad, Lilla was recruited locally in April 1944. She worked in ‘Q Ops’ (stores) until 18 February 1946. For two months of this time she was inn hospital with Typhoid, and on further sick leave from 13 January 1946 until she was signed off from SOE. Her address was given as Harrington Mansions, Calcutta. The building appears to have been restored and turned into a hotel, restaurant, and art centre.
HS 9/158/3
Blakeway, Anne: born 9 November 1924 in Birmingham, Anne was checked by MI5 in September 1944. She was working as an Assistant Matron. Employed as a FANY W/T operator, Anne left for India on 10 December 1944. She signed off from SOE on her return to the UK on 13 December 1945.
Many of SOE’s records were lost in a fire after the war, but Anne’s record is the only one I have seen which shows evidence of rescue:
A Finger Printing Course? See HERE
Blane, Gwendoline Grace Olive, B/B839: born 3 February 1908 in Sydenham, London, Gwendoline was working for the National Provincial Bank when she was first checked out by SOE in October 1943. She had been educated at the relatively new Providence High School in Wood Green between 1918-1923.
It appears that unless she could get an overseas posting, Gwendoline did not want to leave the bank. Initially earmarked for a November convoy to the Middle East, she started as a secretary on 6 March 1944. On 5 May she left for India and ended up working as a senior secretary in Colombo from 31 July 1944. She returned to the UK in October 1945.
Blayney, Elizabeth Carmel: born 19 July 1925 in Streatham Hill, London, Elizabeth was working for the American Red Cross when MI5 ran a trace on her in May 1944. By 19 June she was employed by SOE as a FANY W/T operator, training and working at STS 46, STS 54a & 54b, and STS 52, before going to India in March 1945. She returned and terminated her employment with SOE in January 1946.
List of STS establishments.
Blow, Mary Jeannie, nee Slye: born 10 April 1915 in Iron Spring, Alberta, Canada, Mary was ‘put through the cards’ in April 1944. She was working as a secretary to a Chartered Accountant. Her father, Samuel James Slye was killed inn the Great War.
Employed as a secretary and a coder from June 1944, she left for India in September that year. She signed off from SOE on 7 November 1945.
Bolland, Eileen Alice Mary (nee Witchell), B/B790: born 10 December 1919 in Hong Kong, Eileen was employed as a secretary for duties in Colombo in March 1944. A note indicates she might have left SOE in October 1944. Her father, George Bernard Witchell was a Marine Superintendent in Hong Kong.
Bolton, Mae: born in Bryn near Wigan in Lancashire on 15 May 1922, Mae had worked in London as a typist and a clerk before joining SOE in 1943. She was employed at FANY HQ as a coder from November 1943 before being posted to Cairo. There is no date of return from the Middle East, but on Valentine’s Day 1945, Mae left for India. She was signed off from SOE on 10 April 1946.
Bomford, Margaret Joan: born 1 July 1917 in Guernsey, Margaret joined SOE in August 1943. She is one of the later ones to sign off, only leaving in May 1946. She went to India on 12 December 1943.
Margaret was educated to degree level, earning a BSc from King’s College of Households and Social Science in 1937. She then attended secretarial training at the Triangle Secretarial College in London. She worked for MI5 from September 1939 until SOE took her on.
Bonavia, Olga Camilla Gertrude: born 23 September 1924 in Blackheath, London, Olga had a Russian mother and her father was a Major in the RAMC. She was scouted by SOE on 3 August 1943, and employed a week later as a secretary in India.
Bonavia, Tatiana Mary Gertrude: born 11 July 1926 in the Punjab, Tatiana was the sister of Olga (above). Tatiana was employed from 24 July 1943 as a secretary, just after her 17th birthday.
Bosanquet, Nancy Camilla: born 23 May 1918 in London, Nancy was approached by SOE in April 1943 to be employed as a W/T operator. She was employed from May, and off to India by September. She signed off from SOE in December 1945.
Nancy had been employed as an American ambulance driver when SOE picked her up. Her parents were His Honour Sir Ronald and Lady Mary Bosanquet. Interestingly perhaps, Nancy is not listed on the peerage website hyperlinked here in her mother’s name, but is listed with her three siblings here.
Corporal Boughton, Joyce Muriel: born 20 November 1924 in London, Joyce was employed as a FANY and worked in Italy. Her PF does not mention going to work for the India Mission as a coder, but her name is on a list of women in a separate file who were due to go. She is recorded as ‘signed off’ in July 1945, which may indicate no service in the Far East.
Boyd-Walker (Mrs), G., B/B156: Mrs Boyd-Walker has no surviving Personnel File.
Box, Irene Mabel: born 18 May 1922 in Cardiff, Irene was ‘put through the cards’ for possible employment as a switchboard operator in September 1944. Her trace being clear, she joined the FANY and worked briefly at London HQ on the switchboard before posting to India on 10 December 1944. Prior to SOE she had worked for the Ministry of Labour and National Service in Cardiff since October 1939. She signed off from SOE on 5 April 1946 after her return to the UK.
Boyle, Gwendoline Marie: born 4 December 1918 in London, Gwen was checked out on 31 December 1944 for possible clerical work with SOE. She ended up working as a senior secretary in India from March 1945 until March 1946. She had been employed by BOAC at Airways House from 1939 until joining SOE.
Initially, she was a secretary for the Indian Field Broadcasting Units (IFBU), then she worked for Siam Country Section (SCS).
After liquidation of SOE, she was keen for more secret work:
HS 9/196/5 *Note middle name appears as ‘Mary’ by mistake of archivist*
Brennand, Angela Katherine: born 10 November 1924 in Thirsk, Yorkshire, and employed as a coder / W/T operator at STS 54 from March 1943. In August 1944, she was posted to Bari, and later put on a list for the Far East. It is unclear whether Angela went to India based on her PF, but it seems unlikely as she was signed off on 23 July 1945.
Brewer, Joan Margaret: born 30 July 1922 in Norwich, Joan was employed by the Post Office when SOE approached her in July 1944. From September 1944, she was working as a FANY W/T operator at STS 54A, and then she was shipped out to India on 10 December. Joan returned to the UK in February 1946.
Brims (Mrs), Sheila Millicent, B/B116: born 10 October 1911 in Calcutta, Sheila was employed by SOE from May 1942 as a secretary. She left SOE on 11 January 1945 due to ‘ill health’.
Captain Broad, Elizabeth Mary, (B/B923): born 14 April 1916 in London, Elizabeth was the daughter of Lt.Gen. Charles Noel Frank Broad. She was employed by SOE in London from January 1944, leaving for India in March. She returned to the UK and was signed off on 6 December 1945.
Before SOE, Elizabeth was a FANY and had been employed as PA to the Commander, Eastern Army (who was her father from 1940-42), and employed in the War Office.
Known to her friends as ‘Betty’, she spent much of her time in India with Pleasance Bett, who described her thus:
‘Our Captain, Betty, was slightly older than all of us and was a handsome girl with a fine head of hair. Her father had been a general in pre-war India and she had acted as his secretary, so she had seen much of India from the red carpet angle and spoke Urdu fluently.’ Pleasance Bett, Mouse to a Tiger, p.55.
Captain Brodrick, Margaret: born 10 March 1897, Margaret returned to the UK from Bari late 1944 where she had been serving as a Junior (?) Commander in the ATS. Employed as a FANY officer by SOE, she left for India on 9 December 1944. She signed off from SOE upon her return in May 1946.
Margaret was the daughter of: Hon Laurence Alan Brodrick JP (b. 24 Jan 1864; d. 30 Mar 1915), mar. 5 Feb 1896 Anne Gwendolyn Lloyd Wynne (widow of Maj Gen Edward William Lloyd Wynne DL, of Coed Coch, Abergele, North Wales; d. 8 Sep 1929), dau. of Hugh Robert Hughes.
Entry on the Peerage: Margaret Brodrick was born on 10 March 1897.1 She was the daughter of Hon. Laurence Alan Brodrick and Anne Gwendolyn Hughes.1 She died on 20 December 1962 at age 65, unmarried.1
She was with Croix Rouge Française between 1916 and 1919.1 She was with Women’s Transport Service and Auxiliary Territorial Service between 1939 and 1946.1 She was awarded the Croix de Guerre.1 She was awarded the Medaille de la Reconnaissance.1 She held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Denbighshire in 1947.1
Margaret died in Wales on 20 December 1962 after being awarded an MBE in 1961.
IWM Lives of the Great War entry
Extract from Welsh Review
Brown, Janet Johnston: born 21 July 1925 in Rowney Green, Worcestershire, Janet was taken on as a coder on Christmas Day 1943. She was a FANY. On 21 October 1944 she left for the Far East, returning in 1946 when she signed off on 4 February.
Browning, Frances Irene: born 30 June 1923 in London, Frances was working for the Inland Revenue when SOE did a background check on her in August 1944. She was employed from September 1944 as a coder and left for India in January 1945. She returned to the UK in late December, then she was signed off from SOE.
Bruce, Beryl Evelyn, B/B846: born 31 July 1913 in Kensington, London, Beryl was a shorthand typist with Twickenham Borough Council when SOE looked into employing her in February 1944. Schooled at Twickenham County School for Girls 1924-29, and the famous Pitman’s College 1930-31, her father is recorded as a ‘Taxicab Proprietor’.
Beryl was taken on in April, she left for India on 5 May 1944. She had explicitly said she would not leave her job unless it was to be posted overseas. She returned from India on 30 November, having served as ‘Int. Secretary to G.III’ in Colombo.
Burchett (Mrs), Helen Maude Verena, B/B785: born in Ceylon in 1910, Helen was employed as a secretary in Colombo from 8 February 1944. Her employment card shows that she was on ‘Bungalow Supervision’ from 23 June 1945, and then on the General Registry from a date in 1945 which is hole-punched into obscurity. She left Ceylon on 31 August 1945, probably to be reunited with her husband, Captain James Howard Burchett, who is recorded as as POW on her employment card. Her UK home was in Mon’s Risborough, Buckinghamshire. Her Colombo address now appears to be a German NGO headquarters.
Note the incorrect DOB on the employment card:
Burn, Mary Angela (nee Reaks), B/B764: born 30 September 1897 in Darjeeling, Mary was employed as a secretary in Meerut from 9 December 1943. She signed off from SOE on 3 January 1946. Her employment card shows that she was working on Ops in Kandy from 23 December 1944, and in Intelligence from 7 April 1945. She fractured her ankle in October 1945 while on annual leave.
Mary’s MI5 trace shows that she was married to Lieutenant ‘Donald McKay Burn (deceased)’, but he is not listed on the CWGC website for either war. This is because he was a keen mountaineer, and he died in a Himalayan avalanche in 1932. Thanks to Andrew Marshall @consultifi for the link.
Burn-Murdoch, Jean Ann: born 27 March 1925 in Bath, Jean was ‘put through the cards’ on 7 September 1944 with a view to employment as a FANY shorthand typist. Temporarily attached to London HQ, she left for India on 7 December 1944. She returned to the UK in April 1946.
Jean got married, had three children, and died in 1998. See HERE
Burns, Marion Gertrude, B/B746: born 30 September 1921 in Nainital, India, Marion was employed by SOE in Meerut from 12 October 1943, and signed off on 20 February 1946. At first she was a shipping clerk, looking after the movement of stores by sea and air. From September 1944, she was employed at the Special Forces Development Centre in Poona, and then she was moved to Kandy where she worked from 26 April 1945. By December 1945, she was back where she started in Meerut, looking after Registry.
Burnside, Isobel Winifred: born 3 October 1921 in Edinburgh, Isobel was a Laboratory Assistant when she was ‘put through the cards’ by SOE in March 1944. She was employed as a ‘Cypherette’ and sent out to India in June 1944. She worked in Poona and then Calcutta from 5 May 1945. She was repatriated to the UK by air on 20 December 1945.
Burt, Thelma Margaret: born 15 January 1923 in Plymouth, Thelma was a dressmaker before joining SOE as a FANY W/T operator in September 1944. After a spell at STS 54a, she left for India on 24 March 1945. She was signed off from SOE on her return to Britain on 29 December 1945.
Burton, B.E., FANY coder, no file.
Sergeant Burton, S., Junior Admin Assistant, no file.
Enjoying this content?
Consider helping with website costs by making a small donation. Thanks.
£1.00
Callaghan, Juanita Doreen, nee Hubler: born 5 March 1920 in Memphis, Tennessee, Juanita was security checked in February 1943 with a view to becoming a W/T operator. She had been working for Leslie & Godwin Lts, a firm of Insurance Brokers as a shorthand typist.
Employed as a FANY, Juanita spent about six months at STS 54 before going first to North Africa in November 1943, and then to India from Valentine’s Day 1945. She signed off from SOE after returning to the UK on 16 April 1946.
Flight Officer Cameron, Catherine Mary: born 21 October 1915 in Exeter, Catherine was serving in the WAAF from 1 December 1941. She was head-hunted by SOE for the specific job of working as an instructor ‘in special method of identification of Agent’s morse.’ Two months after accepting this role, Catherine was granted an honorary commission on 26 July 1944.
In December 1944, Catherine left for India, where she worked for SOE until resigning her commission in October 1945. She had been ‘selected to go to India and Australia to organise and establish the Fingerprinting Section and to select and train personnel for this purpose.’ The job was considered important enough for the rank of G.S.O.3:
‘This airwoman is personally responsible for developing a device which has been invented by her uncle and which has proved to be of immense value to our Signals Section. She has been made head of the Department, having under her several assistants and it is necessary for her to be of officer’s status.’
Catherine’s father was Lt.Col. Donald Cameron OBE, MC, previously Cameron Highlanders but by 1943 he was serving with the Australian military. The family home was in Tasmania. Catherine was educated in Australia and at the University of Melbourne.
She married Major John Temple Harington, DSO, MBE.
Catherine died in Scotland on 16 July 1997.
Campbell, Kathleen, nee Wilson: born 22 September 1908 in West Hartlepool, Kathleen was recruited by SOE in August 1941. She was educated at St. Leonard’s School in Fife, and then she took on various secretarial roles until SOE recruited her in Scotland. She went to work for L Section until 1943 when she was posted to Force 133 in Egypt, traveling via West Africa.
The date of return to the UK is missing, but next was India, signing her contract on 26 March 1945. She went to work as a secretary Grade A in Colombo, Ceylon, for Malayan Country Section. Her pay was Rs400 p/m. By 5 November 1945, she was in Kuala Lumpur, being paid Rs450.
Campbell, Sheila: born 25 July 1924 in Mokanshan, China, Sheila was recruited in Calcutta on 15 May 1944. She resigned on 26 January 1946.
She was employed as a secretary for the Indian Field Broadcasting Units (IFBUs).
Cardon-Noad, P.C., B/B166: No file has so far been located
Carpenter, Gwenda Mary Lant, B/B770: born 3 June 1924 in Calcutta, Gwenda was recruited in Calcutta on 8 November 1943 to be a cipherette. By 1945, she was working in Q Ops Packing at Rs300 p/m. In August 1944 she was sick with Dengue Fever. Between joining SOE and her release in January 1946, Gwenda enjoyed a total of five weeks leave.
Her father worked for Bird & Company, founded in 1864 by Captain Samuel Bird to supply labour for ‘infrastructure projects’ in India.
Carpenter, Letitia Bruce: born 2 April 1921 in Aldershot, Letitia was first ‘put through the cards’ in March 1943, but by May that year was still ‘Not employed.’ She was a typist in the War Office from 1940-43, so perhaps she was finally brought on-board as a FANY late that year, for she sailed for India on 24 March 1944. She was signed off ‘on Compassionate grounds’ on 25 May 1945 after returning to the UK.
Carritt, Marjorie Heather: born 17 July 1925 in Chelsea, Marjorie was security checked on 10 May 1943. She left for India on 30 March 1944 and signed off on 27 December 1945.
Carter (Mrs), Dorothy Joyce., B/B894: born 22 April 1918 in Auckland, New Zealand, Dorothy joined SOE in April 1944. Recruited in India, Dorothy was a secretary in Bombay. She spoke Malay. She left for the UK on 17 June 1945.
Dorothy is recorded as a widower when she joined SOE. Her MI5 trace shows her husband was Captain Reginald Carter of the 1st Battalion the Malay Regiment.
Dorothy Grenier had sailed for Malaya from Southampton onboard the Royal Dutch Mailship C.Huygens in October 1936. At just nineteen years old, she met and fell in love with Reginald Carter, a man nine years her senior. They were married in Malaya, where Reg worked for the Kedah Rubber Company in Selangor.
While Dorothy managed to escape from Malaya to India when war came, it appears that her husband managed to leave Singapore after the surrender onboard the Ban Ho Guan, but the boat was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 28 February or 1 March 1942. Dorothy did not give up trying to find out what happened to her husband:
CARTER – “…If you will refer to your files you will note that I informed you I had reason to believe my husband left Padang bound for Java on the night of the 27th February 1942. I have since ascertained that a ship named the “BHG” left for Java that same night and was sunk by the Japanese on 1st March 1942…. Since the Japanese surrender all my attempts to trace my husband have been in vain. Although there is no positive proof that he was on the “BHG” it seems highly probable that he was…( letter 3 November 1945 from Mrs. Joyce Carter to Casualties Branch, War Office ,London)
This is somewhat verified by a direct record of ‘Reggie’ Carter reaching Padang and boarding
the ‘BHG’ from the memoirs of Donald Bruce –Smith (who had been on the “SS.
Kuala”) who was a friend and had known him in Malaya, “… Joyce and Reggie
Carter were on a rubber estate in the Krian district where I was posted on my
arrival in Malaya. Joyce was the lady’s tennis champion in Malay[a] and Reggie
became a regular army officer with the Malayan Regiment shortly before the
Japanese invasion of Malaya…Reggie Carter escaped from Singapore after the
ceasefire. We had coffee together in Padang one morning and arranged to
repeat this the following morning. However, he did not keep his appointment and
as a result of my enquiries, I found out that he had sailed in a small boat for Java
during the night. There had been no word of him since and we concluded that
he had lost his life. Joyce was always pleased to see me [this was in India in
1942]…as I was her only friend who had seen him before he set off on that fateful
journey…” (the memoirs of Donald Bruce -Smith supplied by Gerald Bruce –
Smith). SOURCE (edited).
After she had finally ascertained that her husband was dead, Dorothy remarried on 13 July 1946 to Douglas Cecil Andrew Fraser, at St. Andrews Church, Kuala Lumpur.
Caston, Daphne Florence: born 3 November 1922 in Southfields, London, Daphne joined SOE as a FANY. Before joining SOE on 27 November 1944 she had been working at the Bank of England as a secretary for two years. After a short spell at STS HQ, she left for India in March 1945. She signed off from SOE on 10 April 1946 after returning to the UK.
Chamberlain, Audrey Hazel: born 6 November 1923 in Margate, Audrey was taken on as a FANY W/T operator from 18 August 1944. She left the UK for India on 6 March 1945, signing off on 11 November after returning to the UK.
Chambers, Aileen Geraldine Olga, (nee Allison) B/B376: born 8 October 1896 in Mullingar County West Meath, Aileen was recruited in India and was employed in Bombay from 11 June 1942 as a secretary. Her record indicates that she was in charge of transport and earned Rs700 p/m. She left SOE in May 1946.
Aileen was married to Brigadier Henry Maurice Chambers of 64 Indian Brigade, later Major General Chambers and commander of 26 Indian Infantry Division. They were divorced in 1947.
Some interesting family tree HERE. Aileen’s mother was Lady Diana Montgomerie. Aileen died in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1977.
Chambers, Nora B/B357: born 30 December 1914 in Monkseaton, Northumberland, Nora was put through the cards in February 1943. She was recruited in India and went to work as a secretary in Poona that same month.
Faith & Freddy Chapman. Photo source
Flight Officer Chapman, Faith Mary, nee Townson: born on Christmas Day 1913, in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire. She was educated at Bedford High School 1925-31, and Reading University 1931-32.
Faith was a WAAF from 1939 and her commission was for ‘Code & Cipher, Intelligence’. Prior to this she worked as a ‘Cookery Demonstrator for the Esse Cooker Co., 1935-37. She joined SOE as a Section Officer on 7 May 1943 and was in charge of preparing operations to Denmark (it seems, as she put up for a Danish Award) until May 1944 when she went to Massingham (Algiers, North Africa). At Massingham, she was overseeing air ops for the Special Duties section, helping to coordinate D-Day.
Faith was posted to India and left on 18 March 1945, arriving Colombo ten days later. She finished with SOE in February 1946.
Her father was Major George Harrison Townson. Family history on this Link. Extract copied and pasted here in case the website disappears:
George intended to farm on a grander scale than his Westmorland forebears had in the Lyth Valley. By the end of 1904 he had had a good harvest and had 80 beef cattle on the farm, as well as 160 sheep and 10 horses. A new water supply was laid in and other improvements were being made. Sadly all this was to come to nothing as William Townson died on the 2nd January 1906 and George and Violet gave up the farm a short while later. Although George had been left a comfortable inheritance, it perhaps wasn’t enough to finance farming on that sort of scale. William Townson was buried next to his wife Sarah in the Carlton churchyard.
In 1908, George and Violet were living at Measham House and George had started a garage in Ashby de la Zouch nearby, selling and repairing cars and supplying everything that the pioneer motorist needed. He also had a taxi service and a primitive open topped charabanc which was used for outings. He was obviously a useful man when the First World War broke out and, although nearing forty, he rejoined the army in October 1914 with the rank of Captain. He was in the Army Service Corps and, after a short spell overseas, came back to help run the Mechanical Transport Training Corps at Osterley near London. He was a Major by the time of his demobilisation in 1920. After the war, he continued to work in the London motor trade from time to time, but also had a smallholding at Renhold near Bedford. He seems to have had sufficient income to do as he pleased. George and Violet’s final move was to another smallholding near Romsey in Hampshire where they lived for some years. For some reason, George suddenly decided to go and live in lodgings on the Isle of Wight in 1949 where he died on the 29th November that year. He is buried on the Isle of Wight. Violet went to live with her son and daughter in law at Fareham in Hampshire and died eighteen months later on the 17th June 1951.
George and Violet had two children, Faith Mary Townson born on the 25th December 1913 and John Strover Townson born on the 19th October 1918. They were both educated at Bedford. Faith married Frederick Spencer Chapman (known as Freddy), the explorer, mountaineer and author, just after the Second World War. He had been brought up at Lindale near Cartmel and had a great love of the Lake District, but ironically Faith, who did not realise that her own family originated from that part of the country, did not like ‘the Frozen North’. It was only after Freddy had died in 1971 that she came to know about the Townson family history. Freddy and Faith had three sons, Nicholas, Stephen and Christopher. She died in 2003.
It appears Faith did a lecture at the Special Forces Club, cataloged here on IWM
Freddy Spencer Chapman is of course the author of The Jungle Is Neutral, an account of his experiences serving behind the lines with SOE in Malaya. Freddy worked at the the University of Reading after the war.
Faith’s brother was Commander ‘Jack’ Townson, OBE, DSC, MiD
Edna Wise, nee Chase. Photo from McInnis & Holloway website
Chase, Edna Marjorie: born 11 April 1926 in Meerut, Edna was recruited by SOE in India. Eda spoke Urdu and beside ‘Degree’ on her blue recruitment card it says ‘Senior Cambridge’.
She joined SOE on 28 June 1944, and only stayed until 5 Febuary 1945. At just eighteen years old, she was only paid Rs100 p/m at first. By November her wage had doubled. She worked in Meerut.
April 11, 1926 – Meerut, UP, India – October 3, 2022 – Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Cheminant, Dorothy Janet Le, (nee Cameron) B/B387: born 22 May 1909 in Penarth, Wales, Dorothy joined SOE in Bombay in late August or early September and went to work as a secretary in Karachi. Her employment card indicates that she was in Bombay, still on secretarial duties, in November 1944.
Sergeant Cheney, Josephine Cordelia: born 15 April 1919, Josephine was security checked in February 1943 for possible employment as a FANY W/T operator. She had previously worked for Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company Ltd, as secretary to General Sir George Macdonogh.
She joined SOE on 12 March 1943 and completed spells at STS 54, STS 53A, ISSU 6 and then Force 133 (Sept 1944 – Jan 1945). Returning from North Africa, she worked at STS HQ before leaving for India in March 1945.
She is recorded as signing her termination forms in Singapore in late November 1945.
Chew (Mrs), V.M., B/B377: No file has so far been located
Child, Pauline Holland: born 20 April 1924 in Leeds, Pauline was employed as a FANY Keyboard Operator at London HQ from 11 December 1944, pending service overseas. She left for India on 22 January 1945. She was found too late, it seems, for her fluency in French to be of use to F Section.
Chilley, Cynthia Margaret: born 30 September 1923 in Croydon, Cynthia was vetted for possible SOE employment in May 1944. The next month, she was off to Fawley Court to train at STS 54A as a W/T operator. In January 1945, she left for India, returning in December when she signed off. Her MI5 trace shows that she worked as an accounts clerk for Phoenix Assurance Company Ltd before joining SOE.
Corporal Chisholm, Dorothy May: born 3 May 1923 in Edinburgh, Dorothy was a FANY shorthand typist when SOE checked her background in August 1944. She continued in this role as a clerk from October 1944, attached to SOE’s London HQ before posting to India in December 1944. She signed the official secret’s act and left SOE in May 1946.
Chown, Hazel Yvonne: born 26 July 1915 in Bangalore, Hazel worked as a stenographer for the Royal Indian Navy in the Cypher Office until recruited by SOE on 1 December 1943. Before the navy, she had been a teacher.
She went to work at the Special Forces Develpment Centre (SFDC) in a clerical role and later worked for a Captain Manning from 21 February 1945 in ‘Props’ ? She signed off on 15 March 1946.
Clack, Patricia B/B842: born 23 June 1925 in Essex, Patricia was employed from 9 March 1944, and went to the Far East on 5 May 1944. She signed off on 14 December 1945.
In the Far East, she was based in Delhi as a stenographer from 10 June. It seems she wasn’t experienced enough to carry out her duties satisfactorily, but she had the right attitude. After some talk of sending her home to Britain, it was decided to keep her in India. Her reference from Kemsley Newspapers, where she had worked for a year, said her clerical abilities were ‘good’.
Clark, Sheila Murray, B/B372: born 27 February 1916 in Ceylon, Sheila was employed by SOE from May 1943. Apart from indicating she was a secretary, her file reveals she was married to Lt.Commander Hugh Murray Clark of the Royal Indian Navy.
Clarke (Mrs), Aileen Florence, B/B789: born 16 October 1909 in Calcutta, Aileen worked for SOE from March 1944 as an ‘”I” Secretary’ (presumably intelligence) and then as ‘Q Props’ (stores) from 1 April 1945. Her first recorded annual leave was from 17 September 1945. On her MI5 trace her father is listed as Major W.J.P. Martin and her husband was Lawrence George Edward Clarke.
Clarke, Eleanor Geraldine, nee de Courcy: born 20 October 1919 in Kashmir, India, Eleanor’s father was Lt.Col. the Lord Kingsale. He served in the Indian Army for 29 years. Eleanor married in 1940 and kept house until she was recruited in a clerical role for SOE in August 1942.
She was promoted in 1943 to officer status, but there appears to have been a bit of drama as a few pages of the file have been redacted. It seems she was promoted too quickly, and was unable to take charge of the women in her section, so she was demoted and her pay reduced.
Eleanor then went out to India in October 1943, expecting to be employed as a cipherette, and serving with the women with whom she traveled east. This did not happen, and she was put in an office where nobody was expecting her and she knew nobody – and not to work as a cipherette. Letters home to her father revealed her displeasure at having been treated so badly – but in any event she stayed in India until September 1945.
On her return, she wrote to the women’s officer, Miss Furse, to ask for a reference for her time in SOE in Britain, and the correspondence reveals that she did not get the reference she wanted.
Clarkson, Kathleen May: born 8 April 1921, in Hackney, East London, Kathleen was employed by SOE on 22 May 1944 as a secretary. She left the UK for India on 22 January 1945, returning to the UK on 10 April 1946. Kathleen was a FANY from 22 December 1944, and after training at STS 46 became a cipher operator which increased her salary from £165.00 to £210.00, presumably per annum.
From October 1941 until joining SOE in 1944, she was a shorthand typist with Balfour Beatty & Co.
In the hobbies section of her documents, she recorded ‘cycling, walking on hostel tours, needlework, canteen, Sunday School, reading and music.’ She is recorded as just 5ft tall and 7 st 6lbs.
Clements, Annie: born 2 November 1923 in Morecambe, Lancashire, Annie was vetted in August 1944 and working as a W/T operator by September. She left the UK for India on 6 March 1945, and signed off from SOE on 22 January 1946. Before SOE she had worked as a comptometer operator.
Flight Officer Clifford, Margaret Stella Brooke: born 7 September 1912 in Harrogate, Margaret was a beauty specialist in civilian life. She enlisted in the WAAF in November 1940, was commissioned on 2 June 1941, and joined SOE that month. She worked in Signals and Coding until September 1944 when she left the UK for India. Her posting was as G.III Field Ciphers & Cipher Policy Signals, based in Kandy. Margaret’s report for the six months up to 30 June 1945 stated:
‘Fairly good officer – excitable lacking tact through excess zeal.’
She left SOE to be posted to the RAF from 7 November 1945.
Her father was the famous conductor and composer, Julian Clifford, and her mother a well known soprano. Margaret had studied at The Royal College of Music and was fluent in French. Her uncle on her mother’s side was Lord Henniker.
Clinch, Patricia May, nee Raggett: born 23 April 1920 in Ealing, London, Patricia joined SOE in November 1942. A December 1942 reference for SOE places her at No.3 WAAF Depot in Morecambe between December 1941 and November 1942.
Having joined SOE, she was sent to Calcutta in March 1944 as a FANY where she worked for Siam Country Section as a secretary. She found love in India and married Squadron Leader Denys Clinch in June 1944.
‘Is a very conscientious and capable Secretary.’ (14/10/43 report)
In August 1945 she left the Far East to come back to the UK and give birth. The Squadron Leader was just about to go to the Cocos Islands but Japan surrendered, so he was rerouted to French Indochina. It was there that he drowned in a sailing accident on 29 October 1945. Patricia was naturally worried about raising a child on her own, and wrote to the women’s officer at SOE HQ in London to make sure she had references to help her gain employment when the child was a year old. The baby was due in February 1946.
Sergeant Clinnick, Margaret Ellena: born 20 September 1909 in Truro, Cornwall, Margaret was security checked with a view to becoming a Pay or Registry Clerk. She started as a Pay and Stores Clerk in September 1944, but soon left for India in October. She remained in the Far East until April 1946, signing off in London on 3 May 1946.
Prior to SOE, Margaret worked for Marks & Spencer for seven years as a cashier. After a year as a clerk at the Admiralty in Falmouth, she left on 8 August hoping to join the FANY; this she obviously did, achieving the rank of Sergeant.
Some family tree online, here.
Cluff, Nancy Margery: born 22 January 1921 in Hull, East Yorkshire, Nancy was employed as a FANY W/T operator from 15 April 1944. She left for India on 7 December 1944 and was signed of after her return to the UK on 15 February 1946. She worked for Eagle Star Insurance as a clerk and typist before joining SOE. Most of 1944 was spent at STS 54A as a W/T trainee, and at STS 53B preparatory to embarkation for the East.
Cockerill, Carol Wendy (Mrs): born 13 December 1920 in London, SOE ran a trace on Carol on 6 February 1942 to employ her as a secretary at General Headquarters in Delhi. Before this, Carol had worked at the consulate in Basra from June 1940 to May 1941, and at the Army Intelligence School in Karachi from September 1941. It appears that she had a short stay at GHQ Delhi, as she had ‘been discharged vide New Delhi cable dated 12.5.42. No.385.’ That is all there is in the file…
Coghill, Margaret Stewart: born 10 March 1923 in Edinburgh, Margaret was a shorthand typist when SOE vetted her in August 1944. After a brief spell as a secretary at HQ, Margaret left for India in October. She signed off from SOE in the Far East on 30 November 1945, having served as FANY.
On her signing up form, her knowledge of Urdu is recorded as ‘very slight’, indicating a prior relationship with the Raj. She also, interestingly, has both flying and driving down as interests.
Burma Star records show she joined the association in 1985, and she is recorded as deceased in August 2000.
Coldstream, Pamela (nee McGowan), B/B168: born 11 January 1894 in Dehra, India, Pamela joined SOE in December 1942. Previous to SOE, she worked for the officer commanding the Censor Station in Calcutta. For SOE, Pamela worked as a Cipherette in Bombay. She only left SOE on its formal liquidation in May 1946.
Her security check indicates that her husband, Captain William John Anson Coldstream, Indian Medical Service, was deceased. Apparently he was murdered by an Indian woman in July 1932. Bill was in charge of the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar when he was attacked. The family privately published a book about him, called ‘Bill’.
Coleridge, Eileen Nora (nee Godber), B/B910: born 13 August 1907 in Rangoon, Eileen was recruited by SOE in London in August 1942. She had experience working in the cipher department of the Royal Indian Navy. Her record indicates that by June 1944, Eileen was working in Calcutta as operational assistant to the Intelligence Officer in the War Room for Air Operations, A Group.
By May 1945, she was working in Colombo for Group B air ops, where it was considered important that she wear uniform so she was given an honorary commission as Assistant Section Officer (ASO) in the WAAF. She resigned from Force 136 and her commission on 1 November 1945 in order to stay in the Far East with her husband.
Her husband was Lt/Cmdr Ronald Hamilton Coleridge RINVR, who had been a tea planter before the war.
Collie, Irene, B/B913: born 16 November 1916 in Bandikui, Rajputana, Irene was recruited by SOE in Delhi on 1 April 1944. She was a secretary, and worked in Delhi and Kandy as a ‘Typist (“I”)’. She left SOE on 15 November 1945, just after a month’s annual leave. Her security trace points out that her parents were Anglo-Indian, and that her father was deceased.
Collingwood, J., W/T operator, no file.
Photo Credit: Times of Malta
Collins, Agnes Valerie: born 6 June 1926 in Feltwell, Norfolk, Valerie joined SOE as a FANY. Employed to operate W/T from 10 January 1944, she left for India not long after her 18th birthday. She returned to the UK and signed off from SOE on 9 January 1946. Valerie’s Personnel File has just the usual summary page plus two signed Official Secrets Act papers.
Following extract from the Times of Malta, written by her daughter:
Once in Calcutta, Valerie became a critical radio operator in the Codes and Cyphers division for the Calcutta Section where her training allowed her to detect enemy agents “fist” in sending Morse code messages and send back misinformation to sabotage the enemy.
It was a great surprise and source of pride for our family to learn at her funeral last February that she had been awarded the prestigious Legion d’Honneur.
The promise of Valerie’s service came with war risks that she and many young women took on eagerly, having to learn new coping behaviours and skills previously unavailable to them in the male-dominated world.
She was tough, independent, resilient, determined, self-sufficient and capable, adapting to new skills and experiences. She could efficiently mend anything from a carriage clock to a dishwasher or lawnmower − skills learnt during her military training.
She certainly maintained high standards and was skilled in bridge, Mahjong and completed the Times crossword daily. She remained youthful into her early 90s, embracing new technology – e-mail, WhatsApp, etc.
Born into a tight-knit family community with five sisters, Valerie embodied the silent generation’s values of respect and morality.
From the Times of Malta:
LIVINGSTONE OF BACHUIL – VALERIE. Valerie, Madam Livingstone of Bachuil, née Collins, died peacefully at home at the age of 98 on the Isle of Lismore, Argyll, Scotland, on Tuesday, February 25. Valerie was the beloved wife of the late Alastair Livingstone of Bachuil, Baron of Bachuil, mother to Niall, Deirdre (Dee), Catriona, Morag and Sandy, and grandmother and great-grandmother. A funeral service will take place at the Cathedral Church of St Moluag on the Isle of Lismore at 1pm on Friday, March 14. Family flowers only. Donations to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance https://donate.scaa.org.uk/campaign/scaa/
Coltham, Joyce Maragaret: born 23 November 1922 in Roorkee, India, Joyce was the daughter of Walter Coltham, an Army officer. She lived in India for six years and was schooled in the UK at Stoner House and Simon Langton Girls’, both in Kent.
Joyce took secretarial training at Mrs Hoster’s: ‘A secretarial course at Mrs Hoster’s Secretarial Training College on London’s Cromwell Road, famed for “turning out gels for the establishment”.’ (quote from this LINK).
From 1941, Joyce worked in Pembury County Hospital in the Medical Superintendent’s office and then as secretary to the Matron. She wrote to Baker Street asking after any vacancies in May 1944. She secured gleaming references and joined SOE, embarking for India in July 1944. She worked for Siam Country Section (SCS) until she returned to the UK in January 1946.
Her brother joined the Royal Indian Navy, in charge of two boats from 1940: Lt. Walter George Coltham
HS 9/338/2 (note TNA has her DOB as 1923 but all the docs in the file have 1922)
Cooling, Jeanne Elaine Marie, nee Bruce: born 7 May 1921 in London, Jeanne was a ‘Dental Mechanic’. She was security checked by SOE in July 1944 with a view to employment as an Orderly or Telephonist. By the end of July she was a FANY Registry Clerk at HQ, preparatory to leaving for India on 26 September. She signed her termination for on 3 November 1945, in the Far East.
Jeanne’s husband is on her MI5 security trace as deceased in 1944. He was an Australian, Keith Newman Cooling.
Sad circumstances to become a widow.
Coomes, Kathleen Helen Elizabeth: born 28 September 1924 in Plymouth, Kathleen was a student nurse. She was vetted by SOE in August 1944 and taken on as a cipherette from September. In January 1945, she left for India, returning just over a year later when she signed off from SOE.
Cooper, Florence Maude (Mrs): born in Shanghai on 30 April 1899, Florence had extensive knowledge of the Far East and some linguistic capabilities. She was recruited in Delhi on 13 September 1944 and went to work as a ‘”P” Secretary’ (don’t know what this means!). She signed off from SOE on 23 March 1946.
Florence was evacuated from Singapore aboard the Ulysses, arriving in Western Australia on New Year’s Eve, 1941. She was with her son Denis.
Cope, Eileen Ella: born 2 October 1912, in London, Eileen was a secretary in Kandy and Meerut from May 1945 until March 1946. She signed off from service with SOE on 25 April 1946.
Previous to Ceylon and India, Eileen worked in Cairo from November 1940 to January 1943, when she joined SOE. She was with Force 133 working for Lt.Col. Grove from January 1943, continuing in the Middle East until March 1945.
Before the war, Eileen worked for Royal Dutch Shell for four years.
Corder, N.A.G., B/B385: No file has so far been located
Sergeant Cornish, Margaret Elizabeth (nee Wood): born 8 September 1907 in Northampton, Margaret was employed by SOE from August 1943 as FANY. She went to Cairo in October and later went to India, serving there from January 1945 to January 1946. She signed off in India.
Margaret attended the King Edward VI School in Birmingham from 1917-1924, and had worked in a solicitor’s office from 1924 until 1933 when she got married. Her husband, Raymond Arthur Cornish was in the RAF working in accounts, as he had been a bank clerk before the war..
Cornish, Marion Emily (nee Fisher): born 29 July 1907 in Walthamstow, Marion was taken on by SOE in July 1943, and signed off in April 1944 ‘for private reasons.’
It seems she tried to tender her resignation in August 1943, as ‘the status, nature and conditions of work are entirely different from, and decidedly inferior to those to which I have been accustomed’. She must have stayed, however, finally going in April 1944 because:
‘A situation has arisen in this section wherein I find my position absolutely untenable’.
From 1925-1930 she worked with an educational publisher, Evan Bros. Ltd. From 1930-1941 she worked for the Department of Overseas Trade.
Her husband, Lt. Frederick John Cornish was serving with 714 Artisan Works Company, Royal Engineers.
Having just extracted all this, it is not clear if she made it to India! She can stay just for the photo!
Corr, Teresa Mary Ita: born 4 April 1922 in Ede Park, Ireland, Teresa was ‘put through the cards’ in July 1944. She was working as a cashier at the Queen’s Hotel in Leeds.
Taken on as a FANY, with a view to being a coder, for three weeks in September Teresa worked at SOE HQ as a Keyboard Operator. She is recorded as leaving for India on 26 September 1944.
She signed off from SOE in India on 1 January 1946, but a new surname on the form indicates she had found love and got married – but the married name is unclear. It also indicates that she went by the name of Ita, rather then Teresa.
Teresa Mary Ita Gardner
September 2, 2002
On September 2, 2002 Teresa Mary Ita Gardner (nee Corr) passed away at Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops at the age of 80. She was comforted by her loving family until the end.
Ita was pre-deceased by her husband, Hugh on Dec. 24, 1980. She will be fondly remembered by her sister Sister Marie Immaculata in Cork, Ireland; her children Malcolm (Cheryl Brackett), Michael (Sylvia Lakes), Judy (Doug May), Wendy (Ian Pirie), Peter (Marilyn); her grandchildren Mandy (Todd), Callum, Cameron, Stephan, Scott, Kyle, Duncan, Robyn, Katrine, Fiona, and Jeremy; and her great grandchildren Sadie, Colby, Jaimi and Connor Hall.
Born April 4, 1922 in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland she was a woman of great intelligence, courage and fortitude. A top honours student who received national recognition in her day, Ita left Ireland to seek adventure and fortune in London. With the advent of World War II, she found herself in India serving in the Special Operations Executive Commission of the FANY’s (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry). The work was top secret and highly skilled. The women worked coding signals, acted as conductors for agents and provided technical support for the Special Training Schools.
On March 3, 1945 she married a young Commanding Officer, Hugh MacCallum Gardner, of the Seaforth Highlanders. Once decommissioned after the war they settled in Inverness, Scotland and in the ensuing years raised 5 children, established teaching careers and in 1968 emigrated to Agassiz, BC. In 1970 the family moved to Barriere where Ita taught at the Barriere Elementary School until 1983. She will be fondly remembered by her many students as a demanding but fair minded task mistress.
A service was held on September 10 at St. George’s Catholic Church attended by her family and many friends in the community.
Corry, Edith Lowry, B/B927: born in Mussourie, India, on 19 May 1923, Edith was the daughter of Lt.Col. Henry Charles Lowry Corry. At the time of her joining SOE in August 1942 as FANY, Edith’s father was believed to be a POW in Italy.
After working as a ‘Decoder’ at STS 53 from September 1942, in March 1944 Edith left for India. She signed off from SOE in January 1946 and went on to marry (later Field Marshal) Richard Michael Power Carver in 1947, eventually becoming Baroness Carver. She passed away in February 2019.
Cottrell, Marion Wallace (nee Brown, ‘lately Moyes’): born 22 May 1914 in Edinburgh, Marion was employed by the Air Ministry in the Aeronautical Inspection Department (AID). She was an engineer and was responsible for precision examination as well as ‘lecturing on general engineering subjects’.
Marion lived in New Zealand for 3.5 years where she was educated at Wellington Girl’s College, 1929-1932, and Victoria University College in 1932. Before going to New Zealand, she attended the James Gillespie High School for Girls in Edinburgh, 1919-1928.
The ‘lately Moyes’ in her name on her file relates to Albert Ernest Moyes, a New Zealander who was serving in the RNVR, whom she divorced during the war years. She joined SOE as Marion Moyes in May 1945, but left the organisation as Marion Cottrell, resigning in India on 31 October 1945.
Eager to make use of her technical qualifications, SOE did not want to take her on as a secretary, but she said that if that was the only way she could get in then she would take a lesser position, confident that she would be elevated in due course. By August 1945, therefore, she was employed as a secretary in Colombo, ad then during September in Delhi.
Crawford, Helen Mary (nee Farrow): born 3 September 1924 in Leeds, Helen was vetted for secret employment in August and taken on by 15 September 1944. She was a FANY W/T operator, first as a trainee at STS 54A, and then moving to STS 52, and then STS 53B until going to India on 14 February 1945. She returned to the UK and signed off from SOE on 26 February 1946.
Crawford (Mrs), I.A., B/B765: No file has so far been located
Cowan (Mrs), J.I., B/B765: No file has so far been located
Crosbie-Hill, Joan Marjorie (nee Meggy), B/B761: born 1 January 1911 in New Barnet, Joan was employed by SOE from November 1943 as a secretary. Her husband is recorded as being captured and interned at Singapore.
Anthony Crosbie-Hill had been a rubber planter and they had lived on the Hibernia Rubber Estate in Malaya. Joan escaped to Bombay with their daughter, Ann, but Anthony is recorded as having been KIA on the Malay Volunteers website. He was serving with 1 Battalion Malay Volunteers.
Joan seems to have terminated her employment with SOE after just four months on 31 March 1944.
Further information supplied by Jonathan at the Malay Volunteers website: Joan remarried in 1946. Her new husband was Eric Barratt Holte. Eric was born in Manchester but emigrated to Australia. He served with the AIF at Gallipoli and ended up in Malaya after the Great War. He was imprisoned in Changi after the fall of Singapore. Joan and Eric returned to Malaya in December 1946. Eric died in 1957 aged 61; Joan died in Somerset in 1989.
Croucher, Sonia Miriam (formerly Houlston, Nee Rubenstein): born 23 September 1921 in Pontypridd Wales. She was a WAAF from March 1939 until November 1943 when she left ‘as she was below the medical standard required for further service’.
She joined SOE in April 1945, left for India on 19 May, and was a secretary for Siam Country Section from 19 June. By August, she was working on cyphers, but her record shows a lot of illness between June and November 1945. Letters arranging for her to leave to India also indicate she was ill before she left the UK.
Her husband was Lt. S.C. Croucher, RINVR who was on HMIS ‘Feroze’, the officer training ship based in Bombay. She appears to have got married in India, having traveled as Mrs Houlston. Her first husband, Jack Edward Houlston was in the RAF with the rank of Squadron Leader. He is recorded as deceased 20 December 1942.
Cumming, Elsie Ellis (previously Hume, nee Anderson) B/B769: born 24 February 1915 in London, Elsie was recruited in Calcutta in December 1943 with a view to becoming a Cipherette. She ended up being a secretary for the Indian Field Broadcasting Units (IFBUs), which were part of SOE’s Political Warfare Division. By 6 July 1945 she was secretary to Lt.Col. Grieve, who was in charge of PW Division.
Elsie married Lieutenant Angus MacDonald Cumming, RNVR, in Calcutta on 28 December 1945. She had been married to Flight Lieutenant Hume. Lt. Cumming died in 1982, and Elsie out-lived him until August 2000. Cumming apparently did some work with Force 136 and the Burmese Navy, but prior to joining India Mission he worked for SOE in Madagascar and South Africa. He therefore has a file.
Curtis, Shirley Sylvia Rondeau: born 7 March 1925 in Barking, Essex, Shirley was employed as a FANY shorthand typist from 14 November 1944. The day before her 20th birthday, she left for India. She signed off on her return to the UK on 10 January 1946.
Dargie, Annabella Evelyn: born 20 October 1915 in Edinburgh, Annabella was ‘put through the cards’ in March 1945. She left work at SOE HQ in London for India on 8 June 1945. She was employed as a FANY shorthand typist. Prior to SOE, she had worked for a decade as a secretary in a ‘Mining Engineers Office’ and nine months in an ‘Aircraft Factory.’
She signed off from SOE on 22 November 1945, in India; her forwarding address was HQ SACSEA in Singapore.
In February 1947, Annabella married George Russell Lee. George Russell Lee is recorded as being employed as an ‘Agent of Her Majesty’ here.
Dark, Hilda Joan: born 11 June 1927 in Rangoon, Hilda was Canadian, and possibly the youngest (caucasian) person to serve with Force 136. She was recruited in Poona, Inndia, in August 1944, just after her 17th birthday. She left Force 136 on 31 May 1945 to go to Canada with her parents.
She worked at the Eastern Warfare School (India), abbreviated to EWS(I), with a starting wage of Rs275, as a telephone operator?
HS 9/395/2 the description says she died in 1943, which is a curious archival error.
Davey, B/B845 No file has so far been located
Davey, Margaret: born 17 August 1924 near Newport, South Wales, Margaret was vetted to be employed as a secretary the day after her 18th birthday, officially joining SOE on 4 September 1944. She left for India on 3 November that year.
Margaret had attended the Dover County School for Girls from 1935 – 1941, and working as a shorthand typist since leaving, with the Deal Corporation in Kent. She was also a clerk for the ARP.
Once in the Far East, Margaret worked in Meerut, Kandy, and Colombo. She was repatriated to the UK on 12 November 1945, just after twelve day’s leave.
Davidson, Bessie (nee Begg), B/B359: born 24 September 1908 in Aberdeen, Bessie was checked for possible employment by SOE in February 1943. The same month, she began work as a secretary in Madras.
By October 1944, Bessie had left SOE because of ill health.
She was married to Lt.Col. John Arthur Davidson.
Davies, (Mrs) G.D., B/B912 No file has so far been located
Davidge, Monica Pearl, nee Christie: born 29 August 1910 in Torquay, Devon, Monica was vetted in May 1944. She was enlisted as a FANY and employed as a coder. She left for India in September 1944, returning to the UK and signing off on 5 June 1945.
Like Marion Cottrell (above), before SOE Monica was employed by the Air Ministry in the Aeronautical Inspection Department (AID) in Bristol. Her MI5 trace has her down as ‘Examiner A.I.D. at M.A.P. (Engines) Bristol’.
Her husband was Robert George Davidge, who is remembered on the IWM ‘Lives of the First World War‘.
Davis, (Mrs) L.O., B/B155 No file has so far been located
Dawson, Anne Marie Gonville (nee Bromhead), B/B915: born 13 October 1905 in Aijal, Assam, Anne was approached by SOE inn April 1944 ‘with a view to being employed as an Intelligence Officer – Delhi’. She was taken on and paid Rs.500 p/m, which seems to be a better wage than most of the other women listed here started on.
Unusually, there is a report on Anne. It discloses that she was an Intelligence Officer for China Country Section’s Rear HQ. She was described thus:
‘A most efficient and conscientious officer, easy to work with and of great assistance in maintaining a good espirit de corps.’
‘A thoroughly able and painstaking officer’.
Anne was married to then Colonel Keith Cyril Darlington Dawson.
Anne died on 15 August 1992, 15yrs after her husband, in Victoria, Australia.
From The Peerage:
Brigadier Keith Cyril Darlington Dawson is the son of Peter Dawson.1 He married Annie Marie Gonville Bromhead, daughter of Major Edward Gonville Bromhead and Emily May Hosking, on 20 February 1928.1 He was appointed Officer, Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)1 He gained the rank of Brigadier in the Indian Army.1
Dawson, Bridget Elizabeth: born 22 March 1921 in London, Bridget was vetted in December 1943, but only employed by SOE from May 1944 as a FANY. She left the UK for India in July 1944, and signed her termination form in the Far East in November 1945.
Day, Jean Marion, B/B844: born 26 October 1918 in Bromley, Kent, Jean was ‘put through the cards’ in February 1944 with a view to employment as a secretary overseas. She commenced employment with SOE in March and left for India in May, only getting signed off after her return to the UK in February 1946.
Jean was educated at a small private school for girls, the Girdler’s Collegiate School in Herne Bay, Kent, from 1932-35. She then attended secretarial college in London. Her employment card reveals she worked for Walsall Conduits Ltd in West Kensington immediately before joining SOE. Once she arrived in the East, she worked in Kandy and then in Calcutta for Burma Country Section. While in service, she suffered from both tonsillitis and malaria.
In a letter to the ‘Women’s Establishment Officer’, Jean’s mother wrote that Jean ‘seems in fine spirits and delighted with her new experiences’.
Day, Olive Mary: born 5 August 1923 in Norwich, Olive was known as Mary judging by how she signed her termination of SOE employment form. Mary worked with Force 133 prior to joining Force 136 in the Far East. Posted to Colombo from 8 May 1945, she was a stenographer for Malayan Country Section (MCS).
Mary joined SOE on 8 May 1944. Prior to travel with SOE, Mary had lived in Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and South Africa. Her dad was an Engineer who worked abroad. In between living aboad, Mary attended the Norwich High School for Girls.
It ap/pears that Mary finished with Force 133 in April 1945, and sailed for India directly from Egypt.
Day, S.C., coder, no file.
De Boarde, Joan Mary: born 11 February 1917 in Peterborough, Joan joined SOE in April 1945. By July, after a few months working as a secretary in the UK, she was off to India after a delay in securing passage.
Before joining SOE, Joan had worked as a secretary at HQ North East Command Air Training Corps. Apart from schools in the UK, her record indicates that she attended Lorreto Convent School in Darjeeling. On this trip to India for SOE, she ended up working in Colombo, Ceylon, until returning to the UK in November 1945.
A reference for a job with the Control Commission for Germany dated January 1946 is complimentary, describing Joan as ‘trustworthy and reliable.’ There is no confirmation that she took this job.
De Grey, Lavender Hyacinth: born 14 October 1923 in Putney Heath, Lavender was the daughter of Lord and Lady Walsingham. Her MI5 trace was run in April 1942, and she joined SOE as a FANY from May. On 5 May 1944, she left the UK for Algiers. Her return date is ‘undated’, but she left the UK for India on Valentine’s Day 1945, not returning until early 1946.
The Walsingham estate, shown in 1942 as Lavender’s home address, was requisitioned by the government during the war for troops to train for DDay. The government never allowed the villagers to return, and the lands remain part of the MOD’s training areas.
De Vries, Adeline May (was Davies, nee Patterson) B/B360: born in Northumberland on 12 December 1912, Adeline was employed by SOE from February 1943 as a secretary. Unusually quick, she was vetted on 17 February and employed within the week in Colombo.
Dean, Margaret: born 2 February 1909 in Gloucester, Margaret was recruited in Delhi during July 1944. Initially in Meerut as a ‘Cypherene’, she was soon moved to Calcutta. She resigned from SOE on 26 February 1945. The letter below shows she left under a bit of a cloud, but the reasons for why are not to be found in her three page file:
Dennis, Margaret Lesley: born 17 June 1923 in Dartmouth, Devon, Margaret joined SOE on 2 June 1943 as a FANY W/T operator at STS 54. Over a year later, she left for India. She spent 16 months in the Far East, signing off on her return to the UK in November 1945. Before joining SOE, Maragaret was a student at Cheltenham Ladies College.
Denton, (Mrs) Dorothy Alice, B/B755: born 3 August 1920 in Simla, India, Dorothy was employed as a secretary from 19 November 1943. Her husband, identified on the MI5 trace, was ‘S/Conductor Frank Denton’ at GHQ (1).
Dickenson, Beryl Eileen Winifred: born 2 March 1923 in Wimbledon, Beryl was security checked in July 1944 with a view to becoming a cipher clerk. She was employed from 8 August 1944, and left for India in November. She signed off from SOE on 27 May 1946, which makes her one of the latest people to leave the organisation.
Her blue record card shows that she worked in Delhi from 4 December as a clerk for ‘Fin’, and later as a book keeper.
Before SOE, Beryl had worked for the Insurance firm St. Helen’s Trust from 1940.
Captain Dignam, Mary Esther: the first page of the file states no DOB available, and where other files that have the same do, in actual fact, have a DOB somewhere in the documents, this file doesn’t. Her mother’s address is given as Toronto.
Captain Dignam belonged to the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC). Most of her file is taken up with trying to resolve who was responsible for her salary, which is one of the higher ones at Rs850 p/m.
Captain Dignam served in Meerut, Poona, Kandy, and, from 27 March 1945, Kunming. Her job is described as ‘secretary’ beside the entry for Poona, and ‘P.W.’ beside Kandy, perhaps indicating Political Warfare. She appears to have been working for SOE in India from November 1943.
May have been related to the renowned Canadian artist Mary Ella Dignam; named after her grandmother?
Painting Credit: Artnet
Dillon, Doris Winifred, nee Edwards: born 14 October 1915 in Upton Manor, London, Doris has ‘Nursing’ as her occupation. She was picked up by SOE in July 1944 with a view to being sent to India as a Cipher Clerk. Employed from 8 August as a secretary, she left the UK on 3 November.
Nursing appears to be incorrect, however, as on her employment card it records that she had been employed at North Middlesex Hospital on clerical duties, and in India, she went on to be a clerk in Q Section (stores). Remaining in Delhi, Doris resigned her position in SOE in January 1946, renouncing repatriation.
Her husband, James Martin Dillon was a licensed victualler and his address is given as the The Duke of Wellington Pub, 119 Balls Pond Road, N1. Doris resigned from the hospital to look after him from January to June 1944.
Dixon, Gladys Lillian, nee Edwards: born 24 May 1914 in South Shields, Gladys signs her documents off as ‘G. Lillian’ so probably went by the the name Lillian. She was a Sergeant in the ATS from 1939 – 1941, leaving because she was pregnant. In the rest of the paperwork, no child’s details are entered, and she was divorced in 1942.
She sailed for India on 9 July 1945, and returned to the UK after working as a secretary in Colombo in November 1945. Her record shows that she arrived in Ceylon ill, and went to hospital for five days, and had two more spells of illness in August and October, each time requiring hospital.
Divers, E.H.C., B/B914 No file has so far been located
Dodds, Hilary Beaufoy: born 28 August 1926 in Edinburgh, Hilary was a student when SOE looked to employ her just after her 18th birthday. She left for India on 23 October 1944 and was signed off on 20 November 1945 after her return to the UK.
Doig, Estelle Mary, nee Wampach B/B684: born 23 May 1906, Estelle joined SOE in 1941 as Miss Wampach, and worked at Station XII from September. She was personal secretary to ‘E.D.’ and he wanted to take his secretary with him when he went ‘into the field’.
‘ED’ appears to be the codename for the officer in charge of Station XII, who at this time was Lt.Col. Leslie John Wood. Wood’s file shows that he left Station XII for India at the same time as Estelle. At Station XII, she had been one of 31 secretaries.
Estelle returned in May 1946, having been taken on the strength of the FANY. Lt.Col. Wood had long since (Dec 1944) been repatriated to the UK on health grounds, suffering from Amoebiasis. He had an ‘absolute bar’ on ever returning to India, ‘even for shortest visit.’
Estelle married David Cuff Doig while in India. She died in 1975. David was born in Pinnar, London, and was four years her senior. He was commissioned in the Royal Engineers, but also in SOE, where he was a construction expert.
Dolby, Mary: born 12 August 1923 in Epsom, Surrey, Mary was veted in June 1944 and taken on as a FANY W/T operator from 24 July 1944 at STS 54A. She left for India on 6 March 1945, and signed off after her return in November.
In addition to being an aircraft inspectress, she had worked in the ARP report centre, driven a canteen and served with the Women’s Land Army.
Dove, J.H., clerk, file closed.
Dowlen, Margaret Elizabeth: born 3 June 1925 in High Barnet, Hertfordshire, Margaret was vetted and employed in September 1943. She came straight from secretarial school, prior to which she had been evacuated to Devon to finish her schooling.
She left for India on 23 June 1945, having worked competently for over 18 months as a secretary in the UK. From 5 August 1945, Margaret was based in Colombo. Her card indicates she resigned in December 1945, and since ‘Australia’ is written underneath that date, perhaps she went there.
Dowling, Mary Patricia: born 17 July 1925 in Stoke Newington, Mary was a FANY cipherette who joined SOE in September 1944 and was off to the Far East in October. She signed off on 12 February 1946.
Doran, Diana Alison: born 1 July 1923 in Putney, London, Diana’s MI5 trace shows she had been a student at the Royal Academy of Music, and had worked as a clerk in Gas, Light & Coke Co. She was vetted for work with SOE in August 1944 and employed from September as a W/T operator. From September to December she was at STS 54A (Fawley Court, Henley on Thames) until leaving for India in December. She signed her termination of contract in the Far East on or around 20 December 1945 (which could imply she stayed out east as most women seem to have come home and signed off unless staying for further work or with a man).
Douglass, Phoebe Mary, (nee Douglas) B/B375: born 28 March 1917 in Brighton, Phoebe was put through the cards and recruited for overseas service in May 1943 as a secretary. Her file consists of just two papers, which includes an unusually sparse background trace.
Dowson, Dorothy Ann: born 19 October 1925 in Pyrford, Surrey, Dorothy was a FANY. Six days after her 18th birthday she was employed as a W/T operator with SOE at STS 54A (Fawley Court, Henley on Thames). Just over a year later, in December 1944 she left for India, returning in December 1945.
Drew, (Mrs) A.M., B/B363 No file has so far been located
Drury, Dora, nee Ellams-Hope: went to Bari, but nothing in her file indicates India.
du Vivier, Jean Alexa, nee Macpherson, B/B 743: born 19 August 1919 in Srinagar, India, Jean was recruited in India in September 1943 for employment as a secretary. It seems that in 1945, she went to the UK and was possibly going to be employed at London HQ, but by April 1945 she was ‘not employed to date.’
Dumper, Hilda May: born 1 May 1907 in Eltham, London, Hilda joined SOE in October 1944 and left for India in December. She remained with SOE until January 1946. She was employed as a shorthand typist.
Her father was Charles Dumper, who died in 1940. Hilda lived until 1988.
Dunne, Marie, B/B164: born 10 June 1909 in Belfast, Marie was checked and employed by SOE in October/November 1942 in India. Interestingly, her trace has been redacted.
It appears that Marie had been working in Hong Kong for the Colonial Secretariat in 1941, but made it out to India where the Colonial Office relinquished her services to SOE. In January 1944, SOE terminated employment on doctor’s orders. She needed ‘rest for at least three months’. SOE fronted her salary for those months in case the Colonial Office didn’t assist, and thanked her for loyal service.
Durlacher, M.I., B/B321 No file has so far been located
Duthie, D
Eagles, N.A.M., B/B356: No file has so far been located
Eardley, Margaret, Mary, B/B305: born 11 April 1913 in Queensland Australia, Margaret was employed by SOE’s Oriental Mission in Singapore from early December 1941. She had been working as a secretary for the firm Jardines from 1935. Her original codename was 0.179, becoming B/B305 when she joined the India Mission in February 1943. It seems she left SOE for a spell from 11 March 1942 until re-employment in China. She worked as a secretary and Cipherette in Kunming, and is recorded as being in Chungking from July 1945.
After a spell of sick leave in September 1945, she was sent to Bombay where she resigned from SOE in November.
East, Joan Elizabeth: born 25 January 1915 in London, Joan was approached by SOE in September 1944 with a view to employment as a senior secretary. She left the UK for India on 10 December 1944.
Prior to SOE, Joan had worked for the firm Jardine Matheson Ltd in Nairobi, from April 1940. While with SOE, she worked in Calcutta, Kandy and Colombo, mostly as a secretary in AG Branch, but latterly as ‘O.C. civ. women.’
She signed off from SOE in Nairobi on 7 January 1946.
The British Empire Medal. Photo from Liverpool Medals
Eddy, Kathleen Mary, B/B843: born 9 November 1924 in Plymouth, Devon, Kathleen was security checked on 18 August 1943 with a view to be employed as a secretary. Taken on by SOE on 20 September, she left for India on 5 May 1944. She returned to the UK and signed off on 9 May 1946.
Kathleen’s citation for a special award of the British Empire Medal gives a good idea of what she was doing during her two years in the Far East:
Kathleen was a FANY, and while in the East, she served in Meerut and Kandy.
Before joining SOE, Kathleen attended the Plymouth HIgh School for Girls from 1934-41, where she was a ‘capable senior prefect.’ After school, she attended the London Secretarial College.
Edgar, J., W/T operator, file closed.
Elliott, Ursula Mary Hamilton: born 16 August 1917 in Maidstone, Kent, Ursula joined SOE in November 1944. She worked at London HQ before leaving for India on Valentine’s Day 1945. She was signed off on her return to the UK on 20 May 1946.
Ursula was employed as a confidential secretary and as a FANY ‘has been promoted to the highest rank possible whilst so employed’ (Cadet Ensign):
Emerton, Gwyneth Nina: born 9 August 1921 in Strawbridge, Dorset, Gwyn was vetted in December 1944. She joined SOE to work at London HQ pending a posting to India on 19 January 1945. She left the UK on 6 March. She left SOE on 12 April 1946 after returning to Britain. She joined as a FANY having been taken on their strength on 8 January; Gwyn was also a widow.
She had some experience of India and indicated a working knowledge of Hindustani. Her MI5 trace shows that she had worked in Calcutta during part of 1941-1942.
Gwyn’s husband was: 37762 Squadron Leader Pilot Peter James Emerton
Royal Air Force
Died age 26
Son of Henry Wilfred Emerton and of Ethel May Emerton (nee Field), husband of Gwynneth Nina Emerton (nee Harris), of Sheerness, Kent.
Halifax DG230 near Kirk Hammerton
The aircraft took off from Marston Moor to be given an air test but soon after taking off the aircraft’s two starboard engines failed and only three minutes after take off and out of control the aircraft crashed into a brick lined pond behind the former Vale of York Hotel by the side of the A59 road and apparently disappeared into the ground. One of the crew sustained minor injuries the rest of the crew were killed.
Crew:
Instructor Pilot – F/O Terence McKinley
DFC RNZAF (402544), aged 21, of Wellington City, New Zealand. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Pilot – S/Ldr Peter James Emerton RAF (37762), aged 26, of Sheerness, Kent. Buried Aldershot Military Cemetery (grave AA, 49).
Flight Engineer – P/O Norman Nice Beale RAFVR (53081), aged 22, of St Leonards on Sea. Buried Hastings Cemetery, Sussex (Div.M. Sec.F. Row F. Grave 24).
M.T. Driver/Passenger – AC1 Henry George Harrison RAFVR (1611886), aged 21, of Thurnscoe. Buried Dearne (Thurnscoe) Cemetery (Sec.J. Row B. Grave 41.)
Ground Crew/Passenger – AC2 T D McCormack RAFVR, survived minor injuries
Gwyn died in 2002.
Emery, Joan Margaret: born 1 April 1923 in Dulwich, Joan was ‘put through the cards’ on 13 July 1944. She was employed at STS 54A as a W/T operator from 18 August. On 6 March, she left for India, returning in late January 1945. FANY.
HS 9/480/9
Evans, Doris Joan, nee Vare: born 14 October 1912 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Doris has the unusual ‘Masseuse’ recorded as her occupation before SOE.
From May 1942, Doris was employed as a W/T student FANY at STS 46. Training complete, she was posted to Massingham in North Africa, where she was MiD for her work, gazetted 11 January 1945. After Massingham, she was sent to Australia in May 1945 – it is unclear whether she ended up in India.
Her husband was Lt. Rupert Edgar Evans, last known address Singapore, where he was serving with 1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment, Royal Artillery:
EVANS, Lieutenant, RUPERT EDGAR, 102875. Royal Artillery attd. 1 H.A.A. Regt., Royal Indian Artillery. 8th June 1943. Age 34. Husband of Doris Joan Evans, of Haslemere, Surrey. 2. F. 59.
Evison, (Mrs) Pauline Henriette, B/B378: born 2 December 1902 in Tundia, India. Pauline was employed as a Cypher Clerk from June 1943, working in Calcutta. She had been working for the Ludlow Jute Company Ltd as a secretary.
Her employment card reveals that she was a supervisor, and that she left SOE in March 1946. She was married to Captain Leonard Denzil Evison who was part of Military Intelligence.
The surprise was finding this in her file:
Ewan, J., coder, no file.
Exton, Mary Nelson: born 14 July 1925 in Bournemouth, Mary was vetted in February 1943 and engaged as a secretary on the one year anniversary of the fall of Singapore (15 February). She signed off from SOE on 26 April 1946. She had been recommended to SOE by Queen’s Secretarial College.
Mary only went out to India inn June 1945. She worked in Delhi as a stenographer. Here’s a report from before she left:
Her father was Major Everard Nelson Gaskell Exton MC:
Temp Sub. Lt. Everard Nelson Gaskell Exton, R.N.V.R. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion in action. He led his section with great courage and skill, reaching the final line of attack with the infantry. Later he, with most of his crew, was buried by shell fire, but was rescued, and remained at his post for another 24 hours, although suffering from shock. From Naval History
Eyre-Higgins, Dorothy: born 19 October 1904 in Worcestershire, Dorothy was recruited in Bombay and worked there as a junior clerk from 7 May 1945. She resigned on 10 December.
Fardon, Kathleen Mary: born 8 May 1916 in Stockport, Cheshire, Kathleen was employed as a clerk from November 1944, leaving for India in March 1945. She attended Brondesbury And Kilburn High School and then the University College School of Librarianship in the 1930s. She was a library assistant in 1944 when she joined SOE.
She was put to work as a stenographer for AG section in Kandy from March 1945 until repatriation to the UK in November 1945.
Farr, N.E., file closed
Farrow, Winifred Jean: born in Ealing on 15 January 1924, Winifred was a typist at the Ministry of Works, and her MI5 trace also has her as a clerk at the Ministry of Economic Warfare. She was employed as a FANY with SOE from 11 July 1944, and left for India on 7 September. She returned to the UK in 1946, signing off from SOE after her return on 12 April.
Fegan, Joan Kathleen: born 5 October 1915 in Whatley, Somerset, Joan’s father was KIA a month later in November 1915.
Joan signed the Official Secrets Act in March 1944 and was employed as a FANY secretary before going firstly to Algiers, and then to India in December 1944. She signed off from SOE on 7 January 1946.
Before SOE, Joan worked as secretary to Tuberculosis Officer in the Borough of St. Pancras. Prior to that, she was a teacher of Commercial Subjects at Cloughs’ College in Folkestone.
Captain Fenemore-Bell, Mabel Tereza (Nee Macy), B/B897: born 17 May 1917 in Alexandria, Egypt, Mabel was employed by SOE from 24 November 1941 until 4 February 1946.
She was recruited in London and joined as a FANY. Before SOE, she had worked as a naval liaison officer dealing with ciphers in the office of the Rear Admiral in Alexandria (1939-1941). She was described as ‘highly satisfactory’ at her job there.
She was posted to India in January 1944 where she worked at Meerut in India, and later in 1945 – after some home leave – at Kandy in Ceylon.
Mabel’s father, Fred Macy had died at sea during the Great War, and although she was married to Lieutenant Patrick Fenemore Bell, her record describes them as separated.
Fenn, Dorothy Mary: born 20 June 1911, in Ealing, Dorothy was vetted for service with SOE during February 1943. She was a coder at STS 53 from May 1943, later leaving for India in September 1944. She returned from India in late 1945, signing off from SOE on 11 December.
Ferguson, June Margaret, B/B919: born 20 June 1920 in Kuala Lumpur, June was fluent in Tamil and Malay. She was employed by SOE from 5 May 1944 as a Cipherette in Colombo. Her father is shown as Captain John Ferguson, born Natal, on her MI5 trace. Apparently, June ‘Left for Malaya on own initiative’ on 31 August 1945, and was ‘re-engaged’ at Rs400 in Singapore from 13 September 1945 (Rs25 more than Colombo).
Sergeant Fish, Marjorie: born 23 December 1912 in Salford, Marjorie worked as a morse telegraphist for the Post Office so she was an obvious choice for SOE in mid 1942. Employed as a W/T FANY from June 1942, Marjorie worked for two years in three different Special Training Schools (STS 54, 52 & 53A) before shipping out to India in October 1944. She signed off from SOE in April 1946.
Sergeant Flannery, Mary Ellen: born 30 May 1898 in Ireland, Mary joined SOE as a civilian in September 1942. She completed an RAF Intelligence Course and worked a a Signal Distribution Officer in Cairo. By 1943 she was a secretary for the Yugoslav Section of Force 399 before being employed as a FANY from April 1944. She now worked as the secretary to the officer commanding Yugoslav Section inn Bari, Italy.
Returning to the UK from Bari in October 1944, she worked at London HQ preparatory to another overseas posting. This finally came through and Mary left for India in April 1945, returning in December when she signed off from SOE.
According to her MI5 trace, Mary had worked at Air Intelligence HQ RAF Middle East from October 1935 to March 1940, as well as GHQ Middle East from March 1940 until September 1942 when SOE picked her up.
Fletcher, Joan Bessie Patricia: born 24 April 1922 in Leyton, Joan was employed by SOE from February 1944. She left for India in July of that year, where she worked as a secretary in Q Ops (stores). She traveled around a bit, working in Meerut, Kandy, Trincomalee, back to Kandy and then Colombo. The latter two postings were with Naval Section and ADC Section respectively. She was repatriated to the UK on 12 November 1945.
Joan left school at 14 and was employed as a junior office clerk earning £52 p/a from July 1936. By September 1940, she worked for Dick’s Asbestos Co. earning £95 p/a as well in the ARP Control Room. She worked for Barking Borough Council when SOE found her, earning £184 p/a as a senior typist.
Fletcher, M., coder, no file.
Fleury, Patricia, Jean Madeleine (nee Little), B/B796: born 1 January 1919 in St. Leonards On Sea, Patricia was employed by SOE from December 1943. Patricia was educated at convent schools in Britain, Belgium and Spain up to 1936. From 1937-1940 she worked with Cattermoul Film Service, and then she worked in Room 055 of the War Office (MI5).
She was employed as a Secretary for French Section from December 1943 until she left for India at the end of January 1944, where she continued to work with the French as secretary to the Head of French Mission.
Her husband was Amoret Clear Fleury, born Dublin, but who had British nationality. He was a Captain in the Royal Artillery at HQ 33 Indian Corps. Patricia had not seen her husband for three years due to the war, so she applied for SOE service in India. She appreciated that she would only be able to see him on leave, as he was based in Bombay and she in Meerut, but they evidently met because in November 1944 she wrote asking if she could resign due to ill health and expecting her first child. She therefore signed off from SOE on 8 December 1944:
Forest, Marjorie Dorothea (nee Hammond), B/B396: born in London on 3 May 1901, Marjorie worked in the Naval Cipher Office in Rangoon. She was recruited in Delhi in September 1943 for work as an Intelligence Officer. She was employed in Delhi on Rs500 p/m until she left SOE on 18 December 1944. There is no reason given for her early retirement from SOE.
Forsyth, Nora: born 30 December 1914 inn Northumberland, Nora was recruited locally, ie in India. She was a secretary at the School of Eastern Interpreters, one of the main training school for the India Mission, from June 1945. She finished with SOE on 31 December 1945.
Nora was married to Major J.G. Forsyth, who was also with SOE.
Francis: no file has been located thus far for Francis.
Fraser-Campbell, Hope Baillie, B/B924: born 24 August 1920 in Edinburgh, Hope was a VAD for three years in a military hospital before joining SOE in October 1942 as an SOE W/T FANY. She left for India in March 1944, returning two years later in March 1946. Her parents were American.
Senior Commander Fry, Mary Margaret Elizabeth, nee Cuerden, B/B163: born 25 October 1911 in Calcutta, Mary was on SOE’s books from October 1942. Prior to this, she was employed as PA to the Director of Military Intelligence at GHQ India from July 1941.
From April to October 1942, Mary was in command of POW and Internee censorship in India. After her appointment to SOE she became GSOIII Liaison, but just two months later in December she was officer commanding the Liaison Office which led to her being commissioned in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps, and ultimately being awarded an MBE:
It is rare to find that someone is irreplaceable in their job:
Before the war, Mary went to Ashford School in Kent, followed by secretarial college in London. Mary was married to Captain Leslie Alfred Charles Fry MBE, Under Secretary External Affairs for the Government of India, with whom she had two children. Their daughter was born in 1937, and a son was born in 1940.
Enjoying this content?
Consider helping with website costs by making a small donation. Thanks.
£1.00
Gardner, Gladys Mary, nee Giles: born 7 July 1924 in Kensington, Gladys attended Greggs Commercial College from August 1938 to August 1940, after which she worked as a secretary with London Aircraft Production. Employed there from September 1940, her reference says she was made redundant ‘due to curtailment of programme’ in December 1944. She was vetted for SOE in January 1945, employed from 29th of the month, and left for India on 6 March.
Once in the Far East, Gladys was a secretary in ‘Q Ops (Pkg)’, ‘Q’ being stores, and ‘Pkg’ presumably ‘packing'(?). Her blue employment card shows that she arrived in India as Miss Giles, but that she left India as Mrs Gardner. She appears to have left India in January 1946, having renounced repatriation via Force 136, to travel home with her husband.
Garland, Elspeth Rae Anderson: born 10 March 1914 in Dundee, Scotland, Elspeth was working as a Telegraphist and Cashier Clerk at the Post Office when SOE vetted her in October 1944. By November she was temporarily employed at SOE’s London HQ pending her passage to India. She left the UK on Valentine’s Day 1945 and signed off after her return, on 9 April 1946.
Captain Gay, Dorothy Margaret, nee McMath: born 20 September 1916 in Corsorphine, Edinburgh, Dorothy was vetted in January 1943 with a view to becoming a W/T operator. Once taken on as a FANY, in March she was posted to HQ Signals working on teleprinters. It looks like she remained there for 19 months until she was sent out to India in October 1944. She signed off from SOE in the Far East on 20 December 1945.
The documents in her file indicate that she found her husband while serving in the Far East, which fits the emerging pattern that most women who signed off from SOE in theatre did so because they had got married.
Her file also shows that she was a volunteer on joining (undated), a Corporal by the time she filled in her SOE Personnel History forms, and a Captain by the time she signed off.
Before joining SOE, Dortothy had worked as a shorthand typist for LNER for seven years, and was with the Ministry of labour as a typist when SOE recruited her.
George, Jean Hilda: born 20 March 1921 in London, Jean was working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production before joining SOE on 3 April 1945. She left for India on 4 May. From 29 May she worked in Kandy, Ceylon, as a shorthand typist. She resigned from Force 136 on 13 November 1945 as she had been given a position at HQ SACSEA in Singapore.
Gillum, Anne Dorothea B/B895: born 25 April 1921 in Bombay, Anne was recruited in the UK in November 1943. She left for India on 22 January 1944. She served for 20 months in India, returning in November 1945. Prior to this she had been at Oxford University 1940-41, and working in Room 055 of the War Office 1941-1943. In the Far East, she was a secretary for the French Indochina Section, and proved able to help out with her French language skills when there was a bit of a crisis.
Glover, Joan Violet, nee Fitze, B/B398: born 12 April 1922 in Indore, India, Joan was vetted in September 1943 and employed six days later as a secretary. She signed off from SOE on 19 October 1944.
Her father was Sir Kenneth Samuel Fitze, the British Resident for Central India, and author of The Twilight of the Maharajas.
Cadet Ensign Goddard, Joan Christine: born 1 July 1922 in Beckenham, Kent, Joan was employed by SOE from May 1944. She is quite unusual in that on her form where it asks ‘political views’, she wrote ‘Not definite, but tendency towards communism’.
From 1936-39, Joan attended the Bromley High School for Girls. She then went to secretarial college and was employed, from May 1941, by the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company as a shorthand typist. This job was a reserved occupation so SOE had to push to get her released, eventually joining in May 1944.
In July 1944, Joan left the UK for Italy and ME38, where she worked until June 1945. She then went out to India in July 1945, returning home in December 1945, and signing off from SOE. She chose to join the FANY, and was promoted to sergeant in June 1944 and Cadet Ensign the following month.
Godfrey, Daphne Doreen: born 11 July 1923 in Balham, London, Daphne was security checked in May 1944 and employed as a FANY from 23 June that year. She was working as a secretary at STS 7 until she left for India on 10 December 1944. She returned to the UK and signed off on 26 March 1946.
Before SOE, Daphne had been working for P. Wigham-Richardson & Co. Ltd, in ‘Chartering Department Shipping’.
Goldman, Marjorie Marie, B/B124: born 9 October 1911 in Canterbury, Marjorie was vetted in June 1942 and employed by July. She was recruited in Ceylon and became PA to the Commander in Colombo on a more generous salary of Rs600 p/m. In the file for Dorothy Goodwin (below), there is a letter of recommendation for Dorothy signed by Marjorie, which specifies that she was P/A to Commander of B Group, Force 136, Colonel Hudson:
Two things indicate that Marjorie had managed to escape from Singapore/Malaya. She spoke Malay, and her husband, Major A.F. Goldman is on her MI5 trace as a prisoner in Singapore. A quick search shows Major Alexander Percival Goldman is listed on the FEPOW website. A search of the CWGC website suggests he survived internment. The only other trace immediately findable is her notice of engagement:
From the Straits Budget, 29 December 1938
Unusually, Marjorie was flown back to the UK on 29 September 1945. Possibly to be reunited with her husband?
Gooch, Pamela Rosemary, nee Southgate: born 14 August 1921 in Croydon, Pam was employed as a secretary from 30 October 1944. She left for India on 10 December.
From 12 February 1945, Pam worked for French Indochina Section, probably because she had been to school in Belgium for four years and was fluent in French. After that, she worked in Q Ops from 18 June. She resigned in India on 19 November 1945 ‘for vacancy in C.W.L. Singapore.’ This is surprising given the comment on this part of her record:
Prior to joining SOE, she attended the Ashford School for Girls from 1935-1938, then went to finishing school in Bern 1938–39. She was married to Albert James Gooch, but they were separated. Albert’s DOB was 8 July 1904, so there was a seventeen year age gap: Pam had just had her 20th birthday when she got married on 16 August 1941.
Goodwin, Dorothy Bartrum: born 12 February 1915 in Kidderminster, Dorothy is a late recruit to SOE, joining in June 1945 and going to India that month. On her joining A.4 Form, Dorothy indicated that she was familiar with Ceylon and ‘parts’ of India. She was employed in Ceylon and India from January 1934 to November 1935 as a Nursery Governess.
Dorothy attended Oakfield School, an independent school which shut in 2012, and then St. James’s Secretarial College, which was established by one of Churchill’s private secretaries in 1912:
Before SOE, Dorothy was working for the Canadian Government Department of Munitions & Supply as a Head of Section covering mail, files and signals. She started work in Colombo as a stenographer on 5 August 1945 on Rs400 p/m and was repatriated to the UK on 17 November 1945.
Significant family details on Ancestry.
Gordon Clark, Alice Jocelyn: born 16 May 1925, Jocelyn was enrolled in the FANY on 21 October 1943. She was earmarked for W/T training, so Jocelyn was posted to STS54A on 23 October for wireless training. Prior to overseas posting, Jocelyn worked at STS HQ in London, leaving for India on 17 July 1944. Her destination was Meerut, home of SOE Signals in India.
From Meerut, Jocelyn’s next posting was to Colombo from September 1944, where she stayed until March 1945. It was in Colombo at a dance that she met Major John Cox, her future husband (see Men of SOE Burma page).
After a spell in 50 Indian General Hospital and some sick leave, Jocelyn was posted to 805 WSS (SP), the ‘SP’ meaning ‘Special Projects’. This was where the signals for the final offensives against the Japanese were handled. After the Japanese surrender, it was transit camp and embarkation for the UK on 24 October 1945.
Jocelyn died on 6 March 1980, just short of her 55th birthday:
Gosnell, Doreen Alma B/B848: born 21 May 1915 in London, Doreen was vetted in March 1944 and off to India by May. She had been working in a secretarial role for the General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd since June 1931. Her specific desire to leave this job was to ‘serve in government office overseas.’
By D-Day (6 June 1944) she was in Kandy, Ceylon, working as a FANY Cipherette.
Graham, Majorie Alison, nee Aylward: born 8 November 1914 in Colchester, Marjorie was recruited in Calcutta in October 1944. She was initially employed as a clerk for the Indian Field Broadcasting Units (IFBUs). She then worked in Q Ops, and from 30 January 1945 it just indicates Burma Country Section on her employment card. She left SOE in June 1945.
Greenham, Mary Viola, nee Sharpe, B/B774: born 18 June 1909 in London, Mary was vetted in December 1943 and employed as a secretary in the New Year of 1944. Her MI5 trace indicates her father was Captain Robert Wilfred Sharpe (deceased), and her husband was F/Lt. William Edward Carr Greenham.
Greenley, D.V.G., coder, no file.
Greenwood, Hazel Joy: born 23 February 1924 in Crouch End, London, Hazel was approached by SOE in May 1943 specifically for W/T work. She was employed at Sation 53 from 15 July, and went out to Cairo before going to India on 2 May 1945. She returned to the UK in January 1946, leaving SOE on the 23rd.
Hazel’s father (Arthur Atkins Grenwood MB BS MRCS LRCP) is listed as a medical practitioner in the Kenya Gazette 1967 & 1968. He also appears as employed by Hampstead Hospital in 1911.
Grime, Beatrice: born 11 November 1902 in Stockport, Beatrice was vetted in June 1942 and subsequently employed as a FANY W/T operator. She served in North Africa from July 1943, and left the UK for India in September 1944. She left SOE in December 1945 having returned to the UK. Prior to SOE she had worked as a sorting clerk and telegraphist in the Post Office.
Guilor, Hazel Jean: born 14 July 1923 in Ashbourne, Hazel joined SOE as a FANY from December 1944. She left for India on 24 March 1945 and returned in January 1946. She had worked as a shorthand typist but worked as a W/T operator with SOE.
Gunn, Elizabeth Ann: born 21 August 1923 in Neston, Cheshire, Elizabeth joined SOE as a FANY on 4 August 1944. She worked as a coder in London HQ before going to India on 26 September 1944. She had been at university prior to joining SOE.
On 26 October 1945, it appears she signed a new contract for the services, and there are no documents signing off from SOE.
Photo courtesy of Anthea Young, daughter of Major Young (Operation Character/Otter). Francesca was Anthea’s aunt, ie Major Young’s sister-in-law.
Gurner, Francesca, B/B182: born in Shillong, Assam on 15 August 1922, Francesca was recruited by SOE at the end of 1942. She was employed as a secretary. Her father, Cyril Walter Gurner, was in the Indian Civil Service.
Gwyer, M., coder, no file.
Halcrow, Elizabeth Roberta: born 6 December 1922 in Glasgow, Elizabeth was vetted in August 1944. She was employed as a FANY coder and temporarily attached to London HQ preparatory to sailing for India. She left the UK on 2 January 1945 and returned in December the same year. At some point during this time she got married and became Mrs Scrimgeour. Before SOE she had four years experience in auditing, book-keeping and accountancy.
Hall, Joyce: born 9 May 1920 in South Shields, County Durham, Joyce was a FANY. She was employed as a W/T operator at STS 54 from 21 February 1944, leaving for India on 26 September that year. She signed her termination of employment in India on 23 November 1945. Before joining SOE, Joyce was a nurse for two years and nine months.
Lieutenant Harman, Patricia Lisle, B/B311: born 6 April 1920, Patricia went to Croydon HIgh School until she was seventeen. She then attended secretarial training and worked in Bartholomew’s Hospital from May 1938 until August 1943, latterly as clerk to the governors. Her references describe her as ‘reliable and discreet’ in her role. After joining SOE, Patricia went to work in Chungking as part secretary for the Remorse team from February 1944. She returned t the UK two years later after a spell in hospital having contracted Typhus and jaundice.
Operation Remorse was run by Walter Fletcher, an overweight businessman who had been a rubber trader in the Far East before the war. It is estimated that Remorse, playing the Chinese black market in both currency and commodities, ended up making a profit of around £77m.
Harris, Pamela Marjorie: born 25 April 1923 in Oxford, Pamela had worked for Morris Motors and de Havilland as a secretary before joing SOE in May 1945. She was a coder, only leaving for India on 25 June 1945. She returned to the UK and signed off from SOE on 20 November 1945. She was a FANY:
The surname Harris does not match her maiden name from her father, and she is recorded as single above. Surname does not match her mother either.
Harris, Vera Margaret: born 29 October 1923 in Chelsea, London, Vera was employed by SOE as a secretary from 19 June 1944. She left for India on 29 August. She ended up working as a Cipherette in Meerut from 27 September 1944, and joined the FANYs on 31 January 1945.
Harrison, H.L., coder, no file.
Harrison, I.M.,
HS 9/668/9
Hastings, Margaret Eileen, nee Clogg: born 3 May 1924 in London, Margaret was vetted in September 1943, and employed from the 27th. She left for India on 26 March 1944, working in India as a FANY Cypherette in Meerut. While being trained, her SOE salary (prior to India) was £165 p/a, which went up to £178 p/a on completion of her cipher training.
Margaret attended the Paddington & Maida Vale High School from 1935 – 1940, and had been working as a temporary civil servant, according to her C.R.1 form. Another document reveals she was at the MInistry for Labour as a clerk.
Beside ‘Physical Fitness’, Margaret wrote ‘Excellent’, which is unusual.
Like many of the girls recorded on here, Margaret appears to have found her husband while in India.
Hawken, Kathleen Ismay: born 5 October 1912 in Bristol, Kathleen was vetted in March 1945. After a short spell as switchboard operator, she left for India in June 1945. She returned in December 1945.
Kathleen was a FANY who had worked for the Post Office prior to SOE.
Hay-Jahans, C., B/B351:
Haynes, C.L., B/B749:
Helmsley, (Mrs) M.E., B/B750:
Henderson, Betty: born 9 December 1923 in South Shields, Betty was vetted on 10 December 1942. By 16 February 1943 she was at STS 54 as a FANY W/T operator. She left for India on 26 September 1944, and signed off after returning to the UK on 27 February 1946.
Henderson, Mary Margaret: born 17 May 1924 in Glasgow, Mary was taken on the strength of SOE from 18 October 1944 as a FANY. After a short time as a switchboard operator at London HQ, she left for India on 10 December. She returned just over a year later on 28 December 1945.
Herbert, Betty, B/B794: born 15 January 1924 in Pontypridd, Wales, Betty was employed by SOE from November 1943. Betty lived in Pennsylvania from 1929 – 1937 due to her father’s employment. Returning to the UK, Betty was employed as a comptometer operator from May 1938, first at United Dairies and then with CAV Electrical Engineers.
A Comptometer was the first calculator, invented in 1887. By the Second World War they looked like this:
Betty’s SOE career took her to Meerut where she worked as a ‘Cypherene’ (normally called a ‘cypherette’ unless this is a different role); from Meerut she went to Delhi in June 1944 where she was ‘”P” Record and Filing Clerk’; in March 1945 she based in Kandy, and then back to Delhi by August 1945. She left India for the UK on 4 November 1945.
Her file reveals that in December she was invited to join a post war club, most likely the Special Forces Club.
In April 1946 she was looking for employment at the Control Office for Germany and Austria, for which references were supplied by SOE’s Women’s Establishment Officer.
Eira Charles, nee Herbert, with her husband, Captain (later Major) George Charles USAAF. Photograph courtesy of their grandson, Thomas Dill
Herbert, Eira (B/B911): The older sister of Betty Herbert (above), Eira was born in South Wales on 24 October 1919. It would appear that the sisters joined SOE together, and that their career in SOE took them to the same places. Eira worked first in Meerut as a ‘Cypherene’, and then in Delhi as a Registry Clerk. Both sisters left for the UK on 4 November 1945.
Being five years older than Betty, Eira completed secondary school in Pennsylvania, attending the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Memorial High School in Wilkes-Barre. After returning to the UK, Eira worked for the Ministry of Labour from June 1938 until joining SOE in November 1943.
While in India, she met and married George Charles. George was based at Chabua, but was sent to Delhi to liaise with the British, which is where Eira met him.
Eira passed away in Louisville, Kentucky in 1990. Her grandson writes: ‘She never went into much detail about her wartime experiences, but even the vaguest stories of coded messages and commandos and spies were enough to capture this little boy’s imagination.’
Hewitt, Dorothy Mary: born 5 April 1922 in Warwickshire, Dorothy was a shorthand typist working for Warwick County Council before joining SOE in December 1944. She sailed for India in March 1945, returning in January 1946.
Hill, Jean Amablas: born 29 August 1925 in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, Jean was a student until SOE employed her. She was vetted on 30 June 1943 with a view to being a W/T operator. Just after her 18th birthday she was attached to Sation 53 as a coder. It wasn’t until 14 July 1945 that Jean left for India, returning in January 1946.
Hill, Monica Gresham: born 30 April 1919 in Tring, Hertfordshire, Monica was employed as a secretary from October 1944. She left for India in December, returning in April 1946. She had been working as secretary to the General Manager of Iron and Steel Works. She was taken on the strength of the FANY.
Hobbs, Joyce, nee Taylor (B/B791): Born in London on 8 February 1917, Joyce attended Glyn Road School in Hackney 1921-28 and then North Hackney Central School from 1929-34. She worked as a secretary from leaving school, and was picked up by SOE from a Solicitors’ firm in late 1943. She expressed a desire to go overseas and so she left for India on 22 January 1944. On her SOE form she is described as 5”8 (actually 5″3) with brown hair and grey eyes, and single. She could ride and cycle, and type 75 words per minute. She worked as a secretary for Burma Country Section (BCS) and was posted to Burma on what looks like 6 July 1945 (the hole punch is on the date!) until 16 July 1945 (just ten days?).
The war found her love, and she married Major Hobbs of Siam Country Section (SCS) on 25 (actually 20) September 1945.
She is recorded as being in Bangkok working for SCS from 26 September 1945. Her husband, Tom, also worked for SOE, in Siam. Here’s his obituary. Joyce returned to the UK in December 1945.
Hobson (Mrs) Gladys Taylor, B/B744: born 9 November 1905 in Middlesborough, Gladys was employed as a secretary from 5 October 1943 in Meerut according to one part of her file. Her blue employment card, however, indicates that she was employed as a cipherette in Calcutta from 20 September 1943. Prior to SOE she had been working in ciphers for Eastern Command in Karachi. Gladys left SOE in February 1945 due to ill health, signing her termination of employment on 4 April 1945. Gladys was the widow of Doctor Lewis John Hobson.
Hodges, Beatrice Maud: born 27 September 1913 in Bristol, Beatrice was taken on as a FANY coder in May 1945. She signed off from SOE in India on 9 November 1945 and gave her forwarding address as Lahore. Her termination of employment form has a new married name so within in six months she found love and got hitched! Her married name might be Hunt?
Hodgkins, Charlotte Elfrida Mary, nee Armes: born 14 September 1916 in Pembry, South Wales, Charlotte was an ARP ambulance driver when SOE recruited her in August 1944. By September she was off to India where she worked for ‘Q’ Section in Delhi in a clerical role. She resigned locally from SOE on New Year’s Eve 1945 after her annual leave.
It appears Charlotte found her husband in India, as she was recruited under her maiden name.
Charlotte attended Rochester Grammar School in Kent, followed by Rochester School of Arts and Crafts. Her peace time occupation is recorded as ‘artist’, and her interests included design and painting. From 1919 to 1924, she lived in France. On her registration forms, she ticked the ability to ride a horse and a bike, drive a lorry and a car, swim, sail and shoot.
Holmes, Beatrice Gabriella, nee Downing: born 15 December 1913 in Coonoor Nilgiris, Southern India, Beatrice was vetted in February 1944. She was recruited in the UK where she was serving with the WAAF. She joined SOE as a FANY and went to India in June 1944. She returned and signed off from SOE on 25 March 1946.
Slightly altered from ‘Find My Grave‘:
Beatrice Gabrielle ‘Betty” Downing married Flight Lieutenant Frederick Arthur Holmes on the 15th December 1939 . She was the daughter of Mr and Mrs A.K. Weld Downing, an old and popular planting family in the Nilgiris Mountains, Southern India. Betty was also one of the finest tennis players in South India. they married in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fort St George. The ground staff of the RAF at Madras formed a guard of honour outside the church.
On the 16th April 1943, Squadron Leader Holmes was the pilot of a Wellington III aircraft (BK162) which took off from East Moor in Yorkshire. After completing their mission to Mannheim they were homeward bound when at 12,000 feet they were shot down by a night fighter at Septmonts. All but one of the crew perished.
Hook, B/B841:
Hope (Mrs) Beryl Maud, nee Jary B/B354: born 18 November 1899 in Dublin, Beryl was employed in Poona as a secretary from January 1943. She left SOE in December the same year to join her husband in Old Delhi; he was a staff officer with 11 Army Group.
Hornbrook, Freda: born 22 January 1909 in Prestwich, Lancashire, Freda was vetted in December 1944. She left for India in the following March and returned over a year later in April 1946. She went to India as a Civil Servant to work as Assistant Establishment Officer to B/B809, Mrs W. Wellard, earning Rs.750 p/m.
She was a member of the Institute for Labour Management and her political views were Liberal. From 1935-1939 she had already worked for four years in Calcutta as an Employment and Education Secretary at YWCA.
Freda studied Social Science at the University of Buckinghamshire after which she was a Personnel Officer for Ferranti Ltd Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Manchester. The firm was evidently not so keen on letting her (or Mrs Wellard) go, opining that they were more useful to the war effort where they were. Mrs Wellard had evidently gone ahead and asked personally for Freda:
Freda was made MBE in 1969. She died in 1991.
Horne, Lilian Amelia Watson: born 7 August 1909 in Elderslie, Scotland, Lilian was vetted in September 1944 and taken on as a FANY. After the usual spell at London HQ she was shipped to India in December. She signed off from SOE in April 1946.
Before SOE she had a varied career as a kindergarten teacher, a machinist/engineer, a typist and canteen worker.
Houghton, I.M.J., B/B916:
Lieutenant Howe, Audrey Madeleine (nee Hungerford-Jackson): born 10 March 1920 in Plymouth, the daughter of Lt.Col. Cecil Hungerford-Jackson, Audrey was employed by SOE from 16 November 1943. She worked as a secretary in Meerut, where she was recruited. She married Robert Douglas Howe of the Indian Civil Service on 16 September 1944. By the 1 January 1945, she was earning Rs600 as a Staff Lieutenant. She resigned from SOE on 21 December 1945.
Howell, Ailwen Catherine: born 27 August 1915 in Porthcawl, Wales, Ailwen was ‘put through the cards’ in August 1943 with a view to employment as a Cypherette. She was working for the Ministry of Labour and National Service, where she had been a clerk since 1940. Prior to her work as a civil servant, Ailwen had worked as a clerk/receptionist in various hotels between 1935 and 1939; from September 1939 to April 1940 she was manageress of North Wales Boot & Shoe Company.
Ailwen’s father (deceased) had been a mining engineer and his work had taken him to South Africa, where Ailwen was educated between 1919 and 1922. She later attended Bridgend County School from 1929-32.
Ailwen’s invite to interview has survived. This is the only one I have seen in over 300 files:
Her work with SOE took her to Cairo with Force 133 from September 1943, and she left for India in April 1945. She terminated her contract with SOE at the end of November 1945 so that she could go to South Africa rather than be repatriated to the UK.
Humble, Daphne Doris, nee Jenkins: born 22 November 1924 in Bellingham, Catford, Daphne was employed by SOE from 8 August 1944. She was unmarried when she joined SOE. She left for India in November 1944 and worked as a clerk in Delhi until she resigned on 31 December 1945. Unusually, she placed a tick beside the option to show that she could read or transmit Morse.
A clue to where she had learned morse is in her employent history where she wrote:
‘Since April 1941 I have been an officer in the Women’s Junior Air Corps (I formed my own unit in Bury) and the GTC in Bury and Brighton. I now hold position of unit commander in the GTC [Girl’s Training Corps].’
Humble, J.G., Medical Orderly, no file.
Hume, (Mrs) E.E., B/B769: no personnel file to date.
Humphreys, Kathleen Mary: born 30 March 1922 in Abergavenny, Kathleen joined SOE in late 1944 and was employed as a FANY W/T operator. She worked at STS 54b and 54a from January to July 1945, when she left for India. She signed off from SOE on 7 December 1945 after returning to the UK.
Humphreys, (Mrs) Lilian Kathleen, B/B109: born 26 August 1913, Lilian’s file is not unusually short, but is unusual for its content:
Hunter, Annita Georgina, nee Blair: born 15 September 1920 in London, Anne was vetted in August 1944 and employed as a secretary from September. She left the UK for India in November 1944 and only left SOE on 1 May 1946. She is recorded as working in Q Ops. Prior to SOE, she had been working as a solicitor’s clerk.
Annita was married to Owen Frederick Hunter on 27 January 1940. He is recorded as deceased, so a quick look on the CWGC website found Flight Sergeant Hunter who died 15 November 1942. The RAF Commands website adds that his Hudson aircraft crashed and burnt out killing two and injuring seven at Hakimpet aerodrome in Chennai, southern India.
Hunter, Irene May, nee Howes: born 19 October 1909 in Bristol, Irene was vetted two days before VJ Day and may well be the last personnel to be sent out to India, leaving on 30 September 1945. She signed off from SOE in the Far East on 23 November 1945. She was a sergeant in the ATS before becoming a FANY March 1944. Her previous jobs included ambulance driver, driver instructor, ‘Q’ Corporal and ‘Messing Sergeant’. Her MI5 trace she was going to be employed by SOE as a messing officer, and the need was apparently ‘urgent’. Her forwarding address on her termination form is ALFSEA Singapore, so presumably she stayed in the Far East after leaving SOE.
Irene married William Shanks Hunter in October 1934.
Corporal Hurne, Olive Eleanor: born 23 February 1914 in Tottenham, like Irene (above), Olive was recruited as a Messing Corporal from 12 July 1945, leaving for India in early September. She returned to the UK in February 1946. She had seven years experience in hotel catering with W.F. Simmonds & Sons Ltd, Richmond, but still had a few weeks training before going to India.
Hutchison, Jean Patricia: born 31 March 1924 in Quetta, India, Jean was enrolled as a FANY on 23 January 1944. From 5 February, she was at STS 54A doing W/T training, and then she is recorded as a Registry Clerk from April, still at 54A, and then at 53B from 27 May.
On 23 October, Jean left for India. She returned in early 1946, signing off from SOE on 19 February. There is no record of what she did in the Far East.
Hutton, (Mrs) E.W., B/B767:
Lieutenant Ingram, Mary Isabella, B/B114: born 8 July 1908 in London, Mary was working for MI5 in Singapore for over two years up to the Japanese invasion. She was allowed to escape Singapore before it fell and ‘was unable to get further than India’; she was expected back in the UK. She had been ‘Secretary to our Defence Security Officer in Malaya.’
Not making it back to the UK, Mary was employed by SOE in India from April 1942. She worked in Bombay, Meerut and New Delhi during the course of the war until she resigned in October 1945 to take an appointment with SACSEA’s Political Warfare Division.
Unusually, there is a report dated 30 June 1945 for Lt. Ingram. It shows that she was at that time Secretary to G.S.O.II Rear HQ (Int), since September 1944. She was described as ‘fully trained and most capable’, but that ‘her personality [was] somewhat exhausting.’ She also had ‘an exceptionally retentive memory.’
David Stafford interviewed Mary in 1983. Listen here.
Jensen, Renee Marion, nee Bateley, B/B117: born 8 August 1914 in London, Renee was a secretary who was an early addition to SOE’s Oriental Mission having been recruited in January 1941. She sailed for Ghana in September 1941, presumably to join the OM in Singapore. By 19 May 1942 she was part of the India Mission, but she left SOE by December that year.
Unusually, her PF has a note indicating a ‘RELATED FILE’, which is for her husband, Ove Andreas Jensen.
Jennings-Bramly, Josephine Beryl: born 22 March 1924 in Petersfield, Hampshire, Josephine was just eighteen in 1942 when SOE looked to employ her as a ‘Decoder’ in the FANY. By September 1942 she was engaged in that role at STS 52.
Before going to India in March 1945, Josephine spent just short of a year in North Africa. She signed off from SOE in January 1946.
Her home address is given as Terwick Mill House, Rogate, Petersfield.
Johnson, (Mrs) Mary Elsie, nee Pursey, B/B777: born 12 February 1915 in London, Mary was educated at the Marist Convent in Richmond from 1921-1931. In 1932 she attended the Women’s College, also in Richmond. She married John William Lewis Johnson in August 1937. He served in the RAF. She was working at the Institution of Civil Engineers when she applied to join SOE in November 1942. After a year with SOE, she went out to India where she worked until signing off on 30 November 1945. She resigned and refused repatriation to go and work for ALFSEA in their E Branch.
Both her references to help her join SOE and other correspondence make it clear that she was a very speedy and accurate secretary, and that her employers were extremely happy with her work. She was secretary to Robert Liesching for two years. She was off work for some weeks during 1943, signed off by the MO with ‘nervous dibility’.
Johnson, Margaret Elizabeth Catherine, B/B899: born 10 June 1916, and known as Elizabeth, or Lis. An unusual file in that it has quite a lot of content.
Lis attended Malvern Girl’s College from 1930-1935, following which she went to Oxford where she was awarded a degree in French. From Oxford she went to Triangle Secretarial College and then gained a job working as a secretary with Devon Council. Her father was headmaster of The King’s School, Ottery St. Mary, Devon.
From the council, Lis went to MI5 in December 1940, and remained there until November 1941. She left MI5 on good terms, but due to her work becoming less of what she wanted to do. Going to work for SOE, she remained in London from November 1941 to January 1944 when she sailed for India. From April 1944, Lis worked in Colombo. Some idea of her time out East is revealed in this letter she sent to her friend Dorothy in October 1945:
Other letters in her file reveal how little she wanted to return to Britain, and her disappointment at not getting a posting anywhere overseas, despite trying, in late 1945 after her return to the UK.
Captain(?) Johnson, Olive Marion: born 27 December 1919 in Ealing, Olive was recruited in August 1943 and off to India that December. Olive was a secretary for the Siam Country Section (SCS). She had previously worked at the National Gallery. Olive was married to Alec Victor Johnson who was serving in Ceylon with the RAF as a radio operator. Unusually, Olive was flown back to the UK, arriving on 26 November 1945.
Johnston, Ann Irwin: born 18 July 1925, Ann was the daughter of a former Indian Civil Servant who had to give permission for his daughter to be posted to India. He requested that she work near Delhi where he had friends, because of ‘her youth’. Ann was born in Simla and lived in India until aged eight, in 1933.
Ann attended Cheltenham College for ladies as a boarding student from 1937 to 1942, after which she spent a year at the Triangle Secretarial School. She was thus not quite a student when SOE recruited her in July 1943, having been employed since May by a Film Production company. She left for India on 3 November 1943, and returned to the UK in January 1946.
Jones, Iorwen Mary B/B916: born 8 March 1920 in Ffestiniog, Wales, Iorwen was put through the cards on 13 April 1944. Her MI5 trace shows that she was potentially being recruited as a secretary for Poona.
By 1 June 1944, she was a secretary in India.
Iorwen died in October 2017.
Her father had retired as a Major from the Indian Army.
Jordan, Isobel Anstis: born 8 August 1923 in Kuala Lumpur, Isobel commenced employment with SOE on her 21st birthday. She had just finished her Maths degree at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She left for India on 3 November 1944, where she worked in Meerut for most of December before going to Kandy. Her job is recorded as mail clerk and registry, for which she was earning Rs400 by 1 April 1945.
She resigned from SOE on 19 November 1945 to take up a position at HQ ALFSEA in Singapore.
Keeley, Barbara Lucy: born 19 June 1917 in Glasgow, Barbara joined Section D in June 1940. Section D was one of the three organisations that amalgamated to become SOE in July that year. She was a secretary at Station IX.
In March 1944, Barbara left the UK as a FANY to work in Algiers where she was given the symbol AM.106. She returned to the UK in October 1944 and left for India in November. She finally signed off from SOE on 10 April 1946. At just short of six years, she must qualify as the longest serving female in SOE.
An idea of how hard she worked, on the same salary for two years, is presented in this reference supporting her pay rise:
Prior to SOE, Barbara left school in 1934, and was in Iran and Iraq during 1934-1936 visiting her father, Commander Harold Percy Keeley, RN. Returning to the UK, she attended secretarial college 1936-37, going on to work as a secretary in a Chartered Accountants and for a Literary Agent.
Of her 18 months in India, there is no information…
Kells, Joyce Beatrice (Mrs): born 27 March 1908 in Bombay, Joyce was recruited locally in March 1944. She remained with SOE until 6 November 1945, working at the School of Eastern Interpreters. Her husband, G.E. Kells, worked for the Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation Ltd.
Kempson, Mary Flower: born 6 September 1898 in Leicester, Mary was vetted in June 1944 and joined SOE in July with a view to ‘eventual duty with the Colombo Section.’ Once in Colombo, she worked in Intelligence as a Map Room clerk until 6 August 1945 when she left SOE due to illness.
Her employment card indicates that she knew Malay, and her MI5 trace shows that she was married until 1939 when she reverted to her maiden name of Kempson. Her married name had been Malcolm.
In 1921, the Kempson family emigrated to Australia, but by 1932 they were orphans. An obituary for Mary’s mother places Mary in Singapore – which explains the Malay knowledge in her file.
An entry on Ancestry has her born in 1893, but MI5 have 1898. Either way, she passed away on 4 July 1949 in Hampshire at a young age – was it the ill-health suffered in the Far East which was responsible? She first got ill in May 1945, and she was still not better by August when she left SOE.
Kennedy, Jane, nee Paton, B/B898: born 13 July 1916 in Ewell, Surrey, Jane (re)joined SOE in February 1943. Jane attended Sutton High School before going to Queen Anne’s in Caversham, Reading 1928-32. From 1937, she was employed as a Saleswoman, but when war came she traveled with her husband who was a Major in the Royal Artillery. She had worked for SOE in Palestine before ‘re-joining’ in Britain once her husband had been re-posted back to the UK.
She described her political views as ‘slightly socialist’ on her SOE form.
Jane went to India in early 1944, where she worked as a cypherette. By April 1945 she was a supervisor, and later in charge of Cypher Supervisors. She left Calcutta for the UK on 4 August 1945. Jane had to come home at this point because her mother was going for an operation and would therefore be unable to look after her grandson (Jane’s son, Adrian).
King, Mary: born 7 April 1923 in Badulla, Ceylon, Mary was employed as a coder from 8 September 1944. After the usual temporary attachment to London HQ, Mary left for India on 10 December 1944. She signed off from SOE on her return to the UK on 18 April 1946.
Kinsella, Maeve Patricia: born 5 October 1914 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, Maeve was three years old when her dad died in the Great War in 1918. Her CV that she sent to SOE while working at the American Embassy shows that she had a good start in life despite losing her father:
After initially applying for overseas work with SOE in January 1944, she was told that there was nothing at that time. Exactly a month later, she was informed that there was a need for secretaries, but it was the day after her younger brother, Flying Officer Patrick Kinsella, was killed. Surmising that this is why she delayed joining SOE until August 1944, Maeve was posted to Colombo where it looks like she worked with Dutch Section for the duration of her employment until she was ill with amoebic dysentery. She was repatriated to the UK on the Duchess of Richmond on 28 October 1945, arriving in the UK on 15 November. She went to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases to see a Doctor Murgatroyd, and SOE agreed that they should foot the bill up to £10.
There are two fully redacted pages in Maeve’s file.
Kitley, Denise Eckford, nee Coston: born 15 January 1915 in Birkenhead, Denise joined SOE in May 1944 to work overseas as a secretary. A month later she was off to India, and by July she was working at the Special Forces Development Centre (SFDC) in Poona as a secretary for ‘Q’ procurement. By April 1945 she was in Kandy, where it appears she remained until 17 October 1945 when she resigned and was repatriated to the UK with her husband.
Before the war, Denise attended Birkenhead High School 1921-1931, and then went to study in France. From 1934-1944, she worked in the catering trade, although a later reference says she resigned as secretary to the Head of College of Engineering at Battersea Polytechnic. Her CV usefully clears up the specifics that would otherwise be a bit tricky to unravel:
On her signing up form, Denise wrote that she had a ‘crooked little finger of left hand’ for the ‘Distinguishing marks’ section. For hobbies, she enjoyed ‘nature lore’, ‘Fine embroidery’, and ‘Tropical Fish keeping’.
Knowles, Lorraine Charmian Gabrielle, nee Carelton: born 29 December 1919 in London, Lorraine was vetted by SOE in September 1944. By November, she was working as a secretary attached to the Signals Office, awaiting an overseas posting. She finally left for India on 14 April 1945, returning in February 1946. She joined SOE as a FANY.
Before joining SOE, Lorraine’s MI5 trace reveals she worked as a Mobile VAD from 1939, and in the Foreign Office from 1943. Her father was Dudley Massey Piggot Carelton, and the home address is recorded as The Dower House, Greywell near Basingstoke. He was the second Baron of Dorchester after the title was revived in 1899 – see family tree here.
Lorraine married Thomas Knowles on 21 March 1947, and they had two children together. Lorraine died in 2010 aged 90.
Knowles, Mabel Winifred: born 13 October 1919 in London, Mabel joined SOE in May 1944, signing a contract to go to India on 24 July. By 26 September 1944, she was employed as a cipher clerk in Meerut, earning Rs350 p/m. On 31 January 1945 she was made a FANY.
Before SOE, Mabel was a Forewoman working for May & Baker Ltd., Manufacturing Chemists. They were ‘extremely sorry to lose her’ from the firm. She had also worked as a cinema usher, and for Brook Bond Tea Co.
Mabel left SOE on her return to the UK on 29 March 1946.
Perhaps oddly, there is another Mabel Winifred Knowles, born 1875, who was also the daughter of a William Knowles. Although our Mabel’s dad would have been relatively old at 54 in 1919, it has to be a coincidence of names!
Knox, Christian Russell: born in 1918 in Bihar, India, Christian was recruited locally from 10 August 1944. She had seven years secretarial experience working for Dunlop Rubber in India. She remained with SOE until 31 January 1946.
Kyte, (Mrs) Cicely Evelyn, B/B799: born 22 July 1917, Cicely was born in Deal, Kent. Cicely attended Cheltenham Ladies College from 1927-1934. She worked fo the Admiralty before joining SOE in October 1943. She left for India in January 1944 to work as a Cipherette. She was based in Meerut until 2 November 1944, when she resigned because she was pregnant. Her husband was Major E.F. Kyte, Royal Engineers.
Ladell, June Yvonne: born 20 April 1926 in Enfield, June was secrity checked just before Christmas 1943, but not taken on immediately. She commenced work as a FANY W/T operator at STS 54A from 15 May 1944, leaving for India on 7 December that year. She returned to the UK three days short of a year later.
Lakeland, (Mrs) P., B/B355:
Lane, Dorothy Jervis, B/B111: born 10 December 1893 in Australia, Dorothy was one of the first women emloyed by SOE in the Far East, commencing with the Oriental Mission on 14 April 1941. She was working for the firm Brunner, Mond & Co. in Japan, from where she was transferred to Singapore.
By 6 April 1942, she was on the staff of the India Mission, having escaped from Singapore. She worked in Delhi and Poona, in the Finance department looking after accounts. She was repatriated to Australia on 7 October 1945.
Lascelles, E.G. (Mrs) B/B758: born 13 November 1911 in India, of the four documents in her file, none reveal her name! Recruited in London, Lascelles worked in Kandy and Calcutta as a secretary for the Political Warfare department, earning Rs425 p/m.
She left for the UK with her husband in June 1945.
Law, Catherine: born 9 December 1924 in Glasgow, Catherine was a 19 year old art student when SOE had her security checked in 1944. Originally to be employed as an Orderly, by 2 September, Catherine was a coder at STS 53B.
On 21 October, she left for India. Fourteen months later she was back in the UK, signing off from SOE before Christmas 1945.
Lawrenson, Helen: born 27 February 1917 in Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, Helen joined SOE on 18 October 1944. She worked at London HQ until sailing for India on 10 December. She was employed as a FANY shorthand typist. Before joining SOE she had worked as a confidential secretary to the director of a chemical firm. Her interests included playing Bridge and Chess, and discussion groups.
Le Cheminant, (Mrs) Dorothy Janet, nee Cameron, B/B387: born 22 May 1909 in Penarth, Dorothy was recruited in Bombay in September 1943. She worked as a secretary in Karachi and Bombay.
Lee, Joyce Eden (nee Burn): born Cleadon, County Durham 13 May 1920. Joyce was employed as a civilian secretary from 4 June 1945. She left the UK for India on 10 July 1945 and was signed off on her return to the UK on 22 March 1946. She worked for the Siam Country Section (SCS). Joyce appears to have found her husband in India, marrying R.H. Lee of 357 (SD) Squadron on 6 December 1945.
Legon or Legge (filed as Legon, signed and MI5 trace as Legge), Heather Mary Margaret: born 12 August 1925 in London, Heather was a student Priior to SOE, joining on 9 July 1943. Employed a s a seretary, she worked in the UK util leaving for India on 25 October 1944. She returned in December 1945, but went to Worthing rather than back to Cross Farm at Kidmore End near Reading.
Lemmon, (Mrs) Rebecca Robson, B/B747: born 27 September 1906 in Cawnpore, India, Rebecca was recruited by SOE in October 1943. She worked as a secretary in Meerut.
Lindop, (Mrs) Elvy Irene, B/B158: born 24 November 1900 in Moulmein, Burma, Elvty was Anglo-Burmese. She was recruited locally in September 1942, and worked in Cyphers and Accounts. She finished working for SOE in March 1946.
Elvy was married to Lt-Comdr G.W. Lindop
Lindow, Elizabeth Anne: born 20 July 1925 in Singapore, Elizabeth joined SOE on 13 August 1943 as a W/T Operator. She left for India on 9 June 1944 and signed off on 1 April 1946.
Lindsay, A.E., B/B763:
Photo from Find A Grave
Lindsay, Jane Ursula, nee Kenyon-Slaney, B/B788: born 15 January 1920 in London, Jane was first vetted for employment with SOE in February 1942. She was not employed on that occasion, and was vetted again two years later, finally joining SOE in February 1944. She worked in Kandy as a Registrar, returning to the UK on 18 May 1945. During that time, she only had one week’s leave ‘due to the exigiencies of her work’ so she had five weeks paid leave once back in the UK.
Jane’s husband was Major Peter Lindsay, one of the chief organisers of the original Oriental Mission in Burma. She remarried in 1946, and again in 1951.
Her father was Major Robert Orlando Kenyon-Slaney.
Kenyon-Slaney family tree available on The Cambridge University Heraldic and Geneallogical Society
LLoyd, Edith Louise, (nee Stanley) B/B741: born 8 June 1903 in Liverpool, Edith was initially recruited by SOE in India in September 1943. She worked in Poona at the School of Eastern Warfare (EWS(I)) as a secretary to the commanding Officer, Lt.Col. Anthony Balden, until returning to the UK in January 1945 with her husband, who was an Army Chaplain (Cyril Mosley Lloyd).
In February 1945, Lt.Col. Balden expressed a keen interest in re-engaging her, and on 2 May 1945 Edith signed up to go back to India. This time she worked as a secretary for Q Ops (supply) in Calcutta. Her file reveals she managed to get amoebic dysentry at the end of July, but Edith didn’t leave SOE until 8 January 1946, signing off in Rangoon.
Edith has a confidential report from 1944:
Lockey, Irene Kathleen: born 7 December 1918 in London, Irene was employed as a secretary from 13 March 1945, and left for India on 4 May. She had previously worked in Spain for two years as secretary to the head of the wolfram department of UK Commercial Corporation (UKCC), 19 May 1943 – 9 March 1945.
Lieutenant Loe, J.G., B/B727: no personnel file. ‘(Missing presumed killed)’ on the personnel listing.
Long, Margaret Ethel, (nee Culshaw) B/B364: born 12 December 1910 in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, Margaret was employed by SOE from March 1943. She had previously worked at GHQ India in New Delhi.
Margaret was employed as a secretary at SOE’s parachute training school at Chaklala until January 1944 when she was posted to Calcutta where she was ‘Deputy I/C’ Movements. She resigned from SOE in September 1945.
Cadet Ensign Lorry Cowry, E., B/B927:
Low, Elizabeth Alexander: born 19 December 1924 in St. Andrews, Scotland, Elizabeth was a music student when SOE had her security checked in May 1944. By 21 July 1944, she was a W/T operator at STS 54A, and on Valentine’s Day 1945 she left for India. She signed off from SOE on 16 November 1945. She had married Captain Lowden, Gurkha Rifles.
Lowden, Sheila, nee Oates: born 10 February 1923 in Bradford, Sheila was a shorthand typist when SOE had her security checked in September 1944. She was recruited to be an Orderly Room Clerk, and that is what she became on 1 October. Sheila left for India on 22 November 1944 as Miss Oates, found lovein the Far East, and signed her termination of contract in India on 12 February 1946.
Luck, Audrey Vera: born 7 September 1925 in London, Audrey was recruited in May 1945 and left for the Far East on 10 July 1945. Before SOE she was at Caterham Hill School for Girls (1930-36) and St. Anne’s College (1936-43). From July 1943, she had worked for the opticians, Dollond & Aitchison.
She worked in the Finance department from 3 August 1945, leaving Calcutta on 3 November 1945. What she anticipated as a two year placement abroad turned into just a few months due to the atomic bomb.
HS 9/947/7 – note this record has her maiden name as Clayton, but that was her mum’s maiden name. At some point it seems she changed her name from Clayton to Luck taking her father’s name. Was he her stepfather?
Lumsden, Helen Jane: born 16 January 1920 in Cults Aberdeenshire, Helen had been in the WAAF for over two years when SOE picked her up in July 1943 with a view to employing her as a driver. By September 1943, she was a secretary at Station 53B and enrolled as a FANY. She left the UK for India on 5 September 1945 and continued with SOE until 7 May 1946, reaching the rank of Corporal.
Lunan, Mary, nee Milne, B/B369: born 24 June 1911 in Aberdeen, Mary was vetted in April 1943. Within six days she was employed as a secretary, working in Bombay. Her employment card shows that she was ‘Secretary Accountant’ from 15 March 1943, however, earning Rs300 p/m. Maybe she was ‘put through the cards’ after employment?
Mary’s MI5 trace shows she was the widow of ‘Lt. Lunan Ghurka Rifles’. He appears to have died in December 1942. He was commissioned on 11 December 1941, see London Gazette.
While serving with SOE, Mary had sick leave for jaundice and diptheria during 1945. She signed off on 31 January 1946.
Lyons, Eileen May: born 9 May 1915 in London, Eileen arrived in Bombay on 10 July 1944. She went on to work in Meerut and Colombo as a secretary. She was repatriated to the UK on 28 December 1945. Since 1939, she had been working as a shorthand typist and Welfare Officer. Her widowed father was a Tug Boat Captain.
Lyons, Joan Constance: born 11 March 1920 in Belfast, Joan joined SOE on 1 April 1941. She was engaged as a teleprinter operator. On 3 July 1943, she went to Accra, where she remained for 14 months. She left the UK for India on 27 December 1944.
From 31 January 1945, Joan was working as a stenographer in Colombo for Malayan Country Section (MCS). Later she is cited as working for ‘Intelligence’ and ADCS. She was repatriated to the UK on 12 November 1945.
Before joining SOE, Joan was educated at Sydenham High School, and, after a seven month course at Mrs Chandler’s Secretarial College, she worked as a secretary from 1939. She had traveled to France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal and Madeira for holidays.
Mackenzie, (Mrs) E.C., B/B108:
Mackessack, (Mrs) R.E., B/B374:
Mann, Vera Elsie: born 21 November 1922 in Penang Strait Settlement, Vera was brought to the UK in 1924. She left school at sixteen and attended Pitmans Secretarial School. She was working for the London Aircraft Production Company as a secretary when she was approached by SOE in January 1945. She arrived in Calcutta in March 1945 where she went to work as a shorthand typist for Siam Country Section (SCS).
Vera refused repatriation on signing off from SOE on 13 December 1945 because she went to work for Southeast Asia Command in Singapore. In 1948, the Crown Agents for the Colonies requested a reference for Vera so that she could go and work as a stenographer in Nyasaland (Malawi).
Manning, Vera Ruby: born on the 19 July 1922 in London, SOE was formed on Vera’s 18th birthday in 1940. She didn’t join SOE until May 1944, and, employed as a secretary, she left for India the day before her 22nd birthday.
Vera had left school at 16 in 1938 and had attended Hammersmith Commercial School where she learnt her secretarial trade. As seen above, her last job before joining SOE was with Warner Bros., but her first job had been with Henlys Ltd.
Marder, B.O., B/B740:
Marshall, Yvonne Joan: born 30 September 1920 in London, Yvonne attended the Camden School for Girls (1929-1937) and was working for the Bank of England from 1939. She joined SOE on 23 December 1943 as a FANY, ending up with the rank of Lieutenant by March 1945. Before going to India, she worked for F Section, where she ‘proved extremely capable and reliable and was highly recommended by the officer for whom she worked.’ She was secretary to ‘FT’, and was ‘fully capable of dealing with matters’ when he was away. She left for India on 5 September 1945, and returned in early 1946. It appears that India was not her only overseas assignment, as there is a record of her leaving the UK on 21 October 1944 to go to SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force).
Maslin, Margaret Beryl: born 13 June 1921 in London, Margaret was ‘put through the cards’ in November 1944 ‘with a view to being employed as a Clerk.’ She was taken on by 11 December as a Book-keeper, leaving for India three weeks later. She returned to the UK in February 1946, unusually, by air.
When SOE showed an interest in her, Margaret was working at Westminster Bank, where she discharged her duties in an ‘exemplary’ manner, performing ‘above the average’. A second reference comes from a member of the clergy:
Something in the middle paragraph is a bit distasteful these days…
War had interrupted her degree in 1939, studying English, French and Economics at London University. She went into banking as a war job, probably connected to her father being Registrar of Stocks for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Mason, Barbara Joan Mellard: born 2 July 1921 in Stoke on Trent, Barbara was already a FANY when she was security checked in September 1943. Takenn n as a W/T operator from 25 October, Barbara was at STS 54A, only leaving for India nearly a year later on 10 October 1944. She signed off from SOE on 20 November 1945.
Mason (Mrs) E.W.H., B/B767:
Staff Commander Mason OBE, Winifred: born 15 May 1893 in St. John’s Wood. London, Winifred was employed as a FANY officer from 16 June 1944. Winifred left the UK for Colombo on 26 February 1945; her duties are made clear in the following document:
Evidently, Winifred missed out on any recognition of her service, and her file contains correspondence from August 1946 which were trying to rectify this:
She signed off from SOE in June 1946, and was awarded an OBE in the 1947 Honours.
Commander Mason’s papers are in the IWM Archive
May, Mary Martha, B/B847: born 12 October 1914 in London, Mary was ‘put through the cards’ in October 1943. She left for India on 5 May 1944 and returned in March 1946. Her employment card shows she worked in Chungking, Kunming, and Calcutta as a secretary, but she was more than likely working on the W/T judging by subsequent documents in her file:
McCormack, (Mrs) Mary Ethel: born 9 June 1921 in Ormsby, Yorks, Mary was employed by SOE from September 1942. She left the UK for India in November 1944 and returned in April 1946. In the UK, she had worked as a clerk, in charge of agents’ records. She was described as ‘sound and reliable’, but also ‘poor on time keeping’. In the far East, she worked as a clerk/typist in Delhi and Kandy.
Mary’s husband was Kenneth Basil McCormack. They married in March 1941. He was in the Scots Guards.
McCutcheon, Helen Jean, nee Sanderson: born 2 July 1910 in Ontario, Canada, Helen was security checked by MI5 on 28 May 1942. Her trace specifies her nationality as Canadian of ‘Irish Descent, ‘two generations back.’
Helen had a BA in Classics from the University of Toronto and had worked for an insurance company as a PA. Her husband, Jared was a Surgeon Lieutenant in the RCNVR. She came to the UK in 1942, joined SOE on a secondment from the Mechanised Transport Corps, and left SOE in 1943 to be with her husband. She rejoined SOE in 1944, and left for India on 10 December.
Working in Kandy, Ceylon, as a secretary from 20 January 1945, Helen got amoebic dysentery in June 1945, and was in hospital for most of the period from the end of June to the end of August. She was repatriated to the UK in November after some annual leave, where she attended more appointments for her illness; she was considered free from infection.
Helen lost her husband in a road accident in June 1945 in Perth, Western Australia. See his service record and HERE
McDougall, Magaret: born 19 October 1896 in Argyll, Scotland, Margaret was vetted in May 1942 with a view to becoming a FANY W/T operator. She was employed from 22 June at STS 46, only leaving for India in September 1944. She signed off from SOE on 6 December 1945 upon her return to the UK.
Before the war, Margaret had worked as a sorting clerk and telephonist since 1914.
McKenzie, (Mrs) D.M., B/B786:
McWhor, Brenda (Nee Lewis): born 7 January 1921 in Amlwch, Wales, Brenda was a WAAF before joining SOE in September 1944. She had been discharged from the WAAF on compassionate grounds in March 1943. Attached to London HQ as a Control Clerk, she left for India on 2 January 1945. She returned to the UK a year later.
Brenda was married to Major Malcolm Ferguson McWhor, 6 Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers. He died in Normandy on 18 July 1944 and is buried in Hottot-les-Bagues cemetery.
Meade, Mary Jennifer: born 29 June 1924 in Hayle, Cornwall, Mary was security checked three days after her 18th birthday in 1942. Employed as a FANY W/T operator from September 1942, she left the UK for India on 9 June 1944. She signed her termination form in Simla, India, on 22 October 1945. On this form, she signed her name as Jennifer indicating the use of her middle name.
A clue to her instant recruitment at 18 might be the fact that her father was Lt.Col. Paul Meade OBE, MC, Indian Army.
The information below explains the sign off in October – she got married in November!
Photo above and obituary below from Findagrave
MARY JENIFER MEADE SHIMON of Indialantic, FL died at home – she was the daughter of Paul Anthony and Dorothy Jean Meade. Preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, LTC Walter William Shimon (married 11/21/1945 in Simia, Punjab, India) and son-in-law, Kenneth Sanders, surviving are children, Paul (Jeanice) Shimon of Winfield, KS, Ann Shimon of Colorado Springs, CO; Janet Sanders of Cornwall, England, Mary (Phillip) Higgs of Hillsborough, NC and Jenifer (Todd) Harrison of Indialantic; 11 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Jenifer was educated at St Swithun’s in Winchester, England, attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and served as a signals operator in the British Army during World War II. She enjoyed spending summer at the family cottage (Penhayl) in Lelant, England. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on March 7, 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic, FL. Davis-Seawinds Funeral Home in Melbourne, FL is serving the family.Published in FLORIDA TODAY on Mar. 2, 2014
From Legacy:
Jenifer was educated at St. Swithun’s in Winchester, England and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She served as a signals operator in the British Army during World War II where she met Walter, a Captain in the U.S. Army. They both served in the China-Burma-India Theater. They were married November 21, 1945 in Simla, Punjab, India. Walter’s military career took them to stops in Japan, Germany and several domestic assignments until Walter’s retirement in 1969. They settled in Indialantic, FL where Walter ran a successful real estate brokerage.
Jenifer is remembered fondly as a woman of great wit, kindness, and intellect. She was an avid reader who enjoyed golf, knitting, theater and spent summers at the family cottage (Penhayl) in Lelant, England. Jenifer was a member of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Parish. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandparent, and friend.
Mellor, E.C.A., B/B909:
Commander Merriman, Violet Grace, B/B922: born 13 September 1911, Violet was the daughter of Lord Frank Boyd Merriman and lady Eva Mary Merriman.
Violet joined the FANY in July 1938 and by April 1939 she had completed her OTC. By October 1942 she had completed a Senior Officers Course as well as an Oxford University course for American, Canadian and British officers.
Violet left for India on 5 May 1944 where she was posted as Officer Commanding FANY Indian Group. She relinquished her staff appointment on 2 May 1946. She died in Brighton in December 2009.
Merry, Elizabeth Barbara, nee Cheek: born 2 November 1914 in Mottiston Leicestershire, Elizabeth is an unusual entry because she was a Batchelor of Science (BSc), a qualified haematologist, biologist and dietician, accordinng to her MI5 trace. She was ‘Demanded by cable’ to go to India to be ‘Assistant to Major Borne’. When she was ‘demanded’, she was woring for the Ministry of Health Oxford Nutrition Survey.
She duly joined SOE on 5 February 1945, as a FANY, and unmarried. She left for India on 6 March 1945 after the usual temporary attachment to London HQ.
Middleton, Joyce, B/B181: Joyce arrived in the UK in sometime in March 1945. According to a document in Lt. Simpson’s file, ‘she was one of the earliest members of our Indian Mission, and was G.III to the head of our Calcutta Sub-Mission until she left India.’
It seems Joyce was to take over Lt. Iris Simpson’s job in B/B secton London, where she worked under Major Arthur Thompson (see ALB Thompson entry on Men of SOE Burma page).
Mills, (Mrs) P.E.M., B/B151:
Mitchell, Audrey Margaret: born 21 May 1923 in Fulham, Audrey was working as an Insurance Clerk when SOE did a security check to see if she would be suitable for employment. From 15 November 1944, Audrey was a Cipherette in Meerut, enrolled as a FANY from 31 January 1945.
Audrey was privately educated until September 1933, and then she joined East Sheen County School for Girls until 1939. She had worked as an Insurance Clerk from February 1940. They wrote her a nice reference:
Audrey also worked for the National Fire Service as part of her National Service.
Mitchell, Irene R, B/B368: born 7 February 1912 in Coventry, Irene was employed from 8 March 1943 as an Intelligence Officer in India. What she did in India is best explained by her citation for a civilian MBE:
Lieutenant Moberly, Jean Eleanor Stuart: born 29 May 1916 in Surbiton, Surrey, Jean was educated at Hamilton House in Tunbridge Wells. Hamilton House Girls’ School was founded in 1860 in Tunbridge Wells and had closed by 1971.
Her father was a doctor, and when SOE picked her up in 1940, she was in her second job as a doctor’s secretary having done a secretarial course at the Triangle College.
Jean was promoted to Lieutenant, FANY, in November 1943, and left for Indiaon 14 January 1944. She returnd to the UK in March 1946, when she left SOE employment.
Modin, (Mrs) J.W., B/B782:
Molloy, Dorothy Mary: born 1 October 1900 in Ireland, Dorothy was ‘put through the cards’ in April 1941, but not taken on until 26 May, as a clerk. She worked in the Baker Street General Office where she ‘proved most efficient’ and became a senior assistant. She was then promoted to take charge of the Norgeby House General Office from 1 November 1942.
In April 1943 she went to Cairo to work for Force 133, who highly recommended her for further service in the Far East. She left for India on 4 May 1945.
Molloy, Eileen Mary Christina: born 29 November 1923 in St. Pancras, London, Eileen was employed by SOE from 12 June 1944. She left for India on 18 July 1944, and returned to the UK in March 1946.
In the Far East, she was a secretary for Q Ops from 20 August 1944, and later she worked with the Political Warfare Division from August 1945 until leaving for Deolali on 16 February 1946.
Money, Audrey Rowena: born 13 September 1924 in Colombo, Ceylon, Audrey was taken on by SOE from 8 April 1943. She left for India on 3 November 1944:
Her record above shows she was a stenographer for Malayan Country Section (MCS). During 1945, she spent two weeks in hospital with ‘malaria or dysentery’.
She was born in Ceylon as her dad was a tea and rubber planter. Audrey was schooled in Switzerland 1933 – 1939, and later attended the London College of secretaries after having been evacuated to Wales.
On her CR1 form she recorded herself as being ‘very fit’, and in a later section, unusually, she indicated that she ran, rode, swam, skied, and mountaineered.
Money, Rosemary: born 20 August 1922 in Langton, Kent, Rosemary was the daughter of Major General Sir Athur Wigram Money and Euphemia Drummond.
Rosemary worked as a secretary to a barrister in London until 1941 when she went to work at the Admiralty. In May 1945, her request for overseas service was facilitated and she joined SOE to go to India in June 1945.
On arrival in India, Rosemary was unwell; she managed half a day at work before being admitted to hospital. She was put on the Dangerously Ill (DI) list, and they did not expect her to survive the malaria and bacillary dysentery. When it was safe to move her, she was transferred from hospital in Ceylon to a hospital in Bangelore where she began a slow road to recovery.
Her record suggests she reacted badly to treatment or had treatment and sealed records were sent to the UK. One paper reveals she was ‘diagnosed as [having] TOXIC PSYCHOSIS’. Her physical condition improved somewhat, but she is described as being ‘mentally confused’ and only ‘occasionally able to answer simple questions coherently but in the main she is unable to do so.’
Rosemary only returned to the UK on 22 February 1946, disembarking from hospital ship SS Dorsetshire in Southampton. By then she was able to write, something she was unable to do in October 1945.
She must have gone on to recover as it appears she married later in life, becoming Mrs Weaver.
Cadet Ensign Moon, V., B/B926:
Subaltern Moorhead, Helen Mary: born 15 September 1913 in Omeath, Northern Ireland, Helen was vetted in October 1944 with the intention of employing her as an Administative Officer. From 25 November, she was attached to London HQ pending her overseas posting to India; she left on 7 December 1944. Helen returned to the UK in April 1946, and signed off from SOE on 9 May.
Before SOE, Helen was serving with the ATS since 1939 and already held officer rank of Junior Commander. She had voluntarily reverted to Subaltern so she could be employed by SOE and go to the Far East.
Helen was taken on the strength of the FANY on 6 March 1943.
Helen died in 2006.
See ‘Ancestors‘
Her brother, Lt. John Moorhead was KIA in September 1944
Moran, Dorothy Catherine: born 24 January 1923 in Edinburgh, Dorothy was employed by SOE from 26 June 1944. She left for India at the end of August that year, and resigned from SOE on 30 November 1945, in the Far East, so that she could take up a new post with ALFSEA.
Dorothy left Edinburgh to go and find work in London when she was just fifteen. She had just finished attending technical college (1937-38). Dorothy was employed as a typist and receptionist from February 1938 through until SOE took her on, having had three jobs and seeing her pay go from 32/6d to £3.15.
Morgan, Beryl Doris: born 19 January 1922 in Shepherds Bush, London, Beryl joined SOE in April 1945 and sailed for India in May. She had been working for the National Fire Service prior to SOE. Once in the Far East, Beryl was posted to Colombo, Sri Lanka, where she worked as a clerk for Malayan Country Section (MCS) from 13 June 1945.
Beryl signed off from SOE on 7 November 1945 and returned to the UK by 1 December.
Mossman, (Mrs) K.J.H.F., B/B380:
Murphy, Alice: born 16 Augst 1916 in Waterford, Ireland, Alice was ‘put through the cards’ on 5 August 1943. Before going to Cairo (Force 133) and then India (Force 136), as seems to have been normal, she was attached to London HQ. She sailed for the Far East on 4 May 1945, and rather than come home, she signed her termination forms in Colombo on 30 November 1945 to take up her appointment with E Branch of ALFSEA in Singapore.
Before the war, Alice was a book keeper and shorthand typist.
Murray, Winifred Elizabeth Hilda: born 10 February 1916 in Stratford, London, Winifred had six months experience as a telehone operator, which might be why SOE wanted her as a Switchboard Operator in November 1944. In London HQ from January 1945, she sailed for India on 24 March 1945. She returned a year later in March 1946.
She was enrolled as a FANY Volunteer.
Murray-Clarke, (Mrs) S., B/B372:
Murray-Smith, Ulrica Marjory, nee Thynne, B/B759: born 5 May 1911 in London, Ulrica was ‘put through the cards’ in March 1943 and then taken on by SOE the same month. She left for India in October 1943 after working in ‘General Offices’ as a secretary. Ulrica had applied to be a ‘cipherette’ in India, but there was some question of her ‘working capacity’ before she went due to ‘her somewhat exotic appearance and social background’.
Her social background was presumably to do with her husband who was serving in the Household Cavalry, and her father who was Colonel (retired) Ulric Oliver Thynne
On 4 January 1944, a telegram was sent, which indicates that concerns about her suitability for the job had been accurate:
There is no information about how this situation was resolved in the end, but the webpage about her father shows that Ulrica passed away in January 1999.
Myer, A.B., B/B896:
Myles, Charlotte Glover: born 6 December 1914 in Glasgow, Charlotte was vetted in April 1944, employed from June, and left for India on 18 July.
Her employment card above shows she worked in Ceylon, leaving for the UK in November 1945. Her belongings fell in the sea when being loaded on the boat and were all ruined, so she got back to the UK in the clothes she had for the voyage. She was very unhappy, especially when she was told that it was up to her to have insured her trunk.
There was more drama with Charlotte, as this letter reveals:
Was the incident with the trunk linked to the incident with the letter!?!
Naylor, W/T operator, no file.
Neil, (Mrs) Christina Ewing, B/B795: born 2 April 1907 in Glasgow, Christina was employed by SOE from November 1943. She left for India in January 1944 to take up a position as book keeper in Meerut, on a salary of Rs400. Her husband, Charlie Neil was already in Meerut, and also worked for SOE.
Before leaving for India, Christina had not been well, having had a nervous breakdown. In India, her mental health improved, but her physical health declined and she had to have a major operation in October 1944. When her husband was posted back to the UK in early 1944, it was recommended that Christina return with him, as the doctors did not think she should stay in India for another warm season. The couple returned to the UK together in February 1945.
Newberry, Doris Kathleen: born 31 August 1923 in St. Margarets, Middlesex, Doris was employed as a secretary from 17 July 1944. On 1 October, she left for India. Her employment card, hoever, shows she was a Cipherette working in Meerut:
Newdick, Sheilah Mary (Nee Doherty): born 10 May 1920 in Tottenham, London, Sheilah was employed as a secretary from 1 May 1944. She left for India on 18 July that year, and worked in Delhi until 30 November 1945 when she resigned breaking her contract. She forfeited any right to repatriation to the UK. Sheilah returned to the UK in March 1946 and applied for a job with Savory & Moore Ltd, for which SOE provided a helpful reference. It seems likely that she forfeited her return passage to stay in India with her husband as her record shows she was Miss Doherty when she left for India, and she appears to have left SOE in November at a natural conclusion to her service.
HS 9/109/2 Note spelling of ‘Sheila’ here, not ‘Sheilah’ as written by her on her forms.
Newell, Kathleen Rose, nee Daly: born 9 August 1906 in Aldershot, by her early forties, Kathleen was both an orphan and a widower. She was nterviewed and security checked quite late in the war; 21 June 1945, but nonetheless, by 31 July she is recorded as working as a clerk in Kandy, Ceylon.
Prior to SOE, she had worked for the Ministry of Food 1939-42, and latterly ‘Civic Eng. in Chief’s Dept. 1942/1945’.
Her employment card shows her as resigning on 27 November 1945, renouncing repatriation.
Her husband was likely this Frederick Newell, who was KIA Nov 1944.
Photo Credit: Facebook ‘Old Ireland in Colour
O’Sullivan, Maureen Patricia: born 3 January 1918 in Dublin, Maureen’s file is an entertaining read. Obviously an independent minded and fiery character, she was behind the lines for seven months in the Limoges area and as such her exploits as an F Section W/T operator are well known:
After France, Maureen went out to Calcutta where she worked for French Indochina Section. She got married in November 1945, becoming Mrs Alvey (see photo on Find a Grave site).
Sergeant Ogilvy–Dalgleish, J., W/T operator, no file.
Oliver, Betty Lilian: born 17 October 1913 in Wimbledon Park, Betty was vetted in March 1944 and off to India by 9 June. She attended Montrose College, Cliftonville from 1921 – 1928, and then St. James’s Secretarial College in London 1931 – 1932. From 1939 she had worjked for Port Dried Fruits as Secretary to the Officer, Ministry of Food.
Once in the Far East, she worked in Meerut and Calcutta, as a secretary for Q Plans in the former, and in the cipher room at the latter. Her blue card records her as leaving SOE 31 May 1945:
Miss Oliver had (presumably) found love and was soon to be married, which is why she left Force 136, however, there is certainly more to the story as there are three reports about her behaviour as a member of Group A Force 136. These reports indicate that she was absent from work without authorisation, and had turned up under the influence of alcohol; she also appears to have had a reputation for coming home late at night under the influence to her shared accommodation, and creating scenes which made her PNG.
What did Betty do next; did she get married?
Olsen, N.A.G. (Nee Corder): born 9 March 1921 in Folkestone, Kent. Olsen’s file does not provide her first name(s). She was recruited in Poona, India, on 21 July 1943 and worked at the Eastern Warfare School India (EWSI) in Poona as a Cipherette until she shifted to the Special Forces Development Centre in 1944. From 30 January 1945, she was back at EWSI. It would appear that she got married during her time working with SOE.
Ord, Violet Rose: born 21 May 1921 in Canning Town, Violet joined SOE as a FANY and had a specialist duty having completed a ‘finger prnting’ course. She sailed for India on 10 December 1944, and returned on 21 February 1946 when she signed off.
Owen, P.F.J., B/B742:
Owen, Ruth Olwen Huet: born 26 July 1921 in Winnipeg, Canada, Ruth was in the WAAF before being vetted for SOE. She held the rank of Sergeant and was last posted at the RAF’s Regent’s Park Station.
Employed by SOE from 19 September 1944 as a Control Clerk, she left for India on 7 December 1944. She signed off from SOE on 7 May 1946 after returning to the UK.
Corporal Owtram, D.J., coder, no file.
Oxland, Dulcie Vera (Nee Rogers): born 22 April 1921 in Cardiff, Dulcie was a civil servant before joining SOE in September 1944. Since 1938 she had worked for the Ministry of Labour. After joining SOE, she was attached to London HQ as a coder until 2 January 1945 when she left for India. She returned from the Far East in January 1946.
Cpl Parker J P Coder No P/F
Enjoying this content?
Consider helping with website costs by making a small donation. Thanks.
£1.00
Parker, Maime Betty, B/B797: born 27 October 1917 in Totnes, Devon, Maime was murdered in India short of her 28th birthday.
Click here for the full story: ‘The Unresolved Murder of a Cipherette’
Cpl Parry A Coder No P/F
Parsons, Lucy Joyce, B/B389: born 3 September 1887 in Exeter, Lucy was vetted and then employed by SOE in August 1943. She worked as a secretary ‘to “P”‘ in Delhi before going to Madras in December 1944 where she continued with that role.
In January 1946, Lucy received her joining instructions to make her way to Rangoon where she had been appointed as a Junior Civil Assistant in the office of DDST Burma Command. She therefore signed a waiver to leave Force 136 and take up this job.
Pattenden, Jean, G (Nee Strictland) B/B113: born 28 August 1909 (or 18 September?) in Hailsham, Sussex, Jean was originally employed by the Oriental Mission in Singapore from January 1942. Her codenumber was 0.182. Jean escaped Singapore, reaching Batavia where she temporarily left SOE until joining the India Mission as B/B113 from April 1942.
While with India Mission, she worked in Meerut and in Colombo. She seems to have resigned from SOE in October 1945. In a reference request from Miles Aircraft Ltd dated April 1946, it was written:
‘Mrs Pattenden worked as a cipher clerk and also as a stenographer and typist. She is most painstaking, and also used to work for very long hours under trying circumstances.’ It also indicates that her husband was working in Malaya, and that they had two young children.
Payne, Nancy Barbara: born 26 October 1922 in Neath, Wales, Nancy joined SOE from the National Fire Service where she worked as Mobilising Officer. From November 1944, Nancy worked at London HQ; she left for India on 2 January 1945.
Nancy signed off from SOE on 11 March 1946, by which time she appears to have got married and was now Mrs Nancy Holt. Her file is archived under the name Payne.
Pender, Mary Johnston: born 30 August 1916 in Brechin, Mary was already a FANY when SOE recruited her on 29 June 1945. She left for India after the war was concluded, on 5 September 1945, returning to the UK in May 1946.
Peters, Doris Ida: born 21 January 1924 in London, Doris was employed from 17 April 1944, and left for India on 9 June.
For two years before joining SOE, Doris had worked for Gotlop & Co. Ltd, ‘Makers of he Highest Class Bespoke Tailoring, also known as Town Mills.
Phillip, (Mrs) L., B/B157:
Sgt Phillips C S Secretary No P/F
Phillips, Gwendoline Elsie, B/B793: born 5 January 1910 in London, Gwen’s record reveals that she attended Clapham School of Art from 1926-30.
Gwen had been working in censorship of post and telegraph communications before joining SOE. She was vetted in September 1943 and by November was working as a secretary. She left for India in January 1944. She was posted to Kandy where she worked as a Cipherette, and in January 1945 she was transferred to the FANY. After she resigned in November 1945, she went to work in Singapore at HQ SACSEA.
Phillips, (Mrs) Leila Marian Aylmer, B/B384: born 14 December 1906 in Dublin, Leila was vetted for possible SOE employment in July 1943. That same month, she started work as a secretary in Meerut, India. Previous to this, Leila worked in Durban as a secretary at naval HQ. She resigned from SOE on 31 December 1945.
Her father was Major General William Richard Blackwell.
Phillips, Peggy Mary: born 3 March 1919 in Bromley, Kent, Peggy was ‘put through the cards’ in February 1945. She left for India in March, working for SOE until 30 November 1945 when she signed off to take a job in Singapore with ALFSEA. Peggy had worked for the French Indochina Section as a secretary as she spoke French.
Peggy attended Sydenham County Secondary School from 1929-1935, and then the Institute Francais du Royaume University in London from 1936-37. She had been working for the firm E.K. Cole Ltd before joining SOE:
Picken, Georgina Joyce Russell: born 2 February 1923 in Milton, Kirkcudbright, Georgina was employed by SOE as a FANY Keyboard Operator from 3 November 1944. She left for India on 7 December. She had been working as a shorthand typist at the Employment Exchange in Dumfries. She signed off on 22 January 1946.
Pitt, Sheila May, B/B165: born Shillong, India, 22 January 1913, Sheila was employed by SOE from November 1942. She is recorded as having worked as both a secretary and a ‘Cypherette’.
Prior to SOE, she worked for the Maharaja of Burdwan, and Mount Leverette is mentioned as a place where she worked with the Ministry of Information – but there is no trace of this name online.
It appears she served for three years, six months of which were spent in Chungking, and her final months from July 1945 were spent in Rangoon. She was repatriated to the UK in December 1945.
In January 1945 she was in a car crash and broke her claricle.
Next of kin is noted as her sister. There is no mention of her mother on her MI5 trace, and her father, who worked on the East Bengal Railway, is recorded as deceased.
Poels, Monica Mary: born 26 June 1923 in London, Monica attended St. Mary’s Convent School in Ascot, Berkshire. She was working as a shorthand typist when SOE made enquiries, employing her from 8 December 1944.
From 5 February 1945, she was working for Burma Country Section as a secretary, and from 1 October she was in Rangoon at Tactical HQ. From Rangoon, Monica went to Calcutta in December for repatriation to the UK. She signed her termination of employment on 11 January 1946.
This might be her The Times obituary.
Pointon, (Mrs) M.G., B/B393:
Pollock, Yvonne Celia: born 3 July 1916 in Shanghai, Yvonne worked as a stenographer in Kandy (3 June 1945) and Colombo (from 18 September 1945). She left SOE to take up a position with HQ Allied Land Forces Southest Asia (ALFSEA) on 12 November 1945, renouncing repatriation to the UK.
FEPOW has Yvonne interned in the Philippines, while Ancestry has her death in Australia in December 2015.
Corporal Porter, Elizabeth Mary: born 17 September 1922 in Bournemouth, Elizabeth joined SOE as a FANY just after her 21st birthday. She was specifically employed to be a ‘Cipherine’, also called a ‘Cipherette’.
In December 1943, she left for Cairo where she worked as a coder until joining Force 399 from May 1944 as a Cypher Operator. Force 399 was responsible for operations in Albania, Hungary and Yugoslavia.
‘Undated’ is given for her return to the UK, but on 6 March 1945 she is recorded as having left for more service in India. Elizabeth signed of from SOE on 7 February 1946.
Porter, Ruby Lydia, BB382: born 6 September 1908 in London, Ruby worked at the Eastern Warfare School (EWS(I)) as a secretary and housekeeper. She left SOE on 15 December 1944 having joined in June 1943.
She evidently got married and became Mrs Digges la Touche.
Pratt M S W/T Operator No P/F
Prentice, (Mrs) C.A., B/B768:
Preston, Nellie Elvira: born on 10 December 1920 in Raynes Park, London, Nellie was employed as an Insurance Clerk before SOE. She was recruited on 8 August 1944 and left for India on 10 December. From 20 January 1945 until the end of the war she was employed in Ceylon at Kandy and latterly Colombo. Nellie was repatriated to the UK on the Duchess of Richmond on 28 October 1945.
Before the war, Nellie had been in school until age 18, which seems to have been quite unusual. She finished at Wimbledon School of Art and went into employment as a fashion artist. She was made redundant due to the war which had prompted a 50% reduction in staff employed in ‘luxury trades’ in 1940.
Prideaux-Brune, Pamela Maud, nee Ferrers-Guy: born 8 November 1922 in Melbourne, Australia, Pam joined SOE in June 1944. She resigned in July 1945 ‘for domestic reasons.’
Pam joined SOE unmarried, taking two weeks leave in October 1944 for her wedding. There are clues to her having worked in Cairo for a ‘department of the War Office of similar character to S.O.E.’ during 1943, and possibly earlier.
See The Peerage for more of the family tree. Pam died in 2015. She had five children.
Puckridge, Effie Molyneux, nee Combe, B/B781: born 3 August 1912 in Nairobi, Effie was the daughter of Sir Ralph Molyneux Combe, a colonial judge in East Africa. She was married to Flight Lieutenant Hugh Victor Puckridge DFC.
Before SOE, Effie had been a VAD in Singapore and then worked in ciphers for the RAF and Navy. When she was employed by SOE from January 1944, she worked in Colombo as secretary to the commanding officer of Group B Force 136 (Malaya, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies), as well as Head of Central Registry.
Effie was allowed three months leave and left with her husband for the UK on 5 April 1945. Lt.Col. Hudson was keen to have her back when leave was over, and since there is a date of a return to the UK in October 1945 when Effie was signed off from SOE, presumably she went back to Colombo.
Purdie, Agnes Diana Robertson: born 5 September 1926 in Sheffield, Agnes was employed as a FANY W/T operator from25 May 1944. She left for India on 7 December, and left SOE employment on 1 April 1946.
Purser, (Mrs) M.E., B/B318:
Quigley, (Mrs) R.M., B/B918:
Rackman: Eve, nee Otter: born 15 August 1925 in Cawnpore, India, Eve was recruited in Delhi on 3 October 1944. She was emloyed as a stenographer in finance.
Eve was educated at Darjeeling School and the University of Cambridge. She resigned on 31 July 1945, with a forwarding address c/o the RAF Officer’s Mess in New Delhi.
Raine, Dorothy B/B162: born 26 August 1912 in Hartlepool, Dorothy was an early recruit joining the Oriental Mission in Singapore from 27 January 1942. It seems she briefly left SOE at some point in 1942, but returned from 1 November 1942, when she was alloted the symbol B/B162.
In March 1943, swift passage to Britain was required due to ill health. Why and what happened after that is not in the file:
Corporal Ramsay, May: born 10 October 1910 in Reay, Caithness, May was vetted on 30 August 1943. After being employed as a secretary, she was posted first to Cairo (where she became a FANY), and then to India from 4 May 1945.
May was a Senior Clerical Assistant in SOE’s Cypher Section, and was reported as having been ‘at all times most reliable, trustworthy and suitable for work of a confidential nature.’ She appears to have left SOE in December 1945, and found employment in the Control Office for Austria and Germany from February 1946.
Ensign Rawson, Marie Elsie, B/B685: born 29 June 1897 in London, Marie joined SOE in July 1941. She had secretarial experience working as a personal secretary to Sir James Dunn, of Dunn, Fisher & Co. from 1926 to 32. Her reference from the firm was very positive, as was her reference from her second job, recorded as manageress of a West End factory. Later, her SOE references were also glowing:
‘Miss Rawson is one of the most capable secretaries in the Organisation and has worked continuously at Station XII, where she is a great asset.’
In December 1943, now a FANY, Marie left for India. She returned to the UK in February 1946. There is no hint of what she did in the Far East.
Rees, Constance Ellen: born 15 March 1916 in Mumbles, South Wales, Constance was recruited on 24 May 1944. She left for India on 18 July.
Constance was educated at a Grammar School, then Cheltenham Ladies College 1930-33. This was followed by a year at Gloucester Domestic Science College, and then Pitmans College 1935-36. She then worked as a private secretary for a civil engineering contractor. In 1934-1935, she spent eight months on holiday in Canada and a month in New York. Her first job after Pitmann’s was at the Bannk of England.
Once in the Far East, her blue card shows:
Reid, Fanny Noelle: born 24 December 1920 in Colombo, Ceylon, Fanny was employed as a secretary from 23 January 1945. She left for India on 6 March 1945, and returned just over twelve months later on 28 March 1946. She was assigned to Siam Country Section as a Stenographer and Typist until 15 June when she worked in Q ops (Supplies). This was due to an ‘Adverse report of her work from Lt.Col. Pointon O/C S.C.S.’
Her record shows she had twelve days off work with a lacerated foot in July, as well as Dengue fever in August and Dyspepsia in February 1946.
Before joining SOE, Fanny had attended Mrs Hoster’s Secretarial College and then worked for both the Treasury and the Prime Minister’s Office between 1941 and 1943.
Corporal Richardson, Constance Winifred: born 17 July 1914 in Goodmayes, Essex, Constance was ‘put through the cards’ on 2 December 1943. She served with SOE in both Cairo & Italy, and then India, leaving for the latter on 14 February 1945. FANY from 3 July 1944.
She had attended Mulley’s Secretarial School in 1930-31. From 1931 to 1943 she worked as a typist in an Insurance Company. Told about SOE, she applied with a specific request for work abroad. Her Cairo posting came last minute as a replacement for someone who had become ill.
Ridout, Vera Alice: born 28 June 1923 in London, Vera was relatively late in joining SOE in May 1945, and only leaving for India on 7 August 1945. She returned to the UK in April 1946, when she signed off. Employed as FANY, her MI5 trace shows previious employment as a secretary and book keeper, and indicates that she was wanted for ‘codes’ by SOE.
Cadet Ensign Rigby, Joan Marjorie, B/B928: born 7 August 1912 in Northwood, Middlesex, Joan was a teacher before joining SOE. She was ‘put through the cards’ at the end of July 1942 and joined SOE at STS 54 as a FANY administrator in October.
Joan left for India in March 1944 and returned in May 1945. She signed off from SOE and went back to teaching.
Photo Credit: JohngRiley
Captain Riley, Jean Margaret: born 12 November 1914 in Dunedin, New Zealand, Jean was employed by SOE from 16 November 1942. Jean had a 1st class honours Master’s in Pure & Applied Mathematics. From 1938-39 she taught Maths in New Zealand.
By 1940, Jean was in London working as a secretary at the London School of Medicine; then a similar job in Cardiff, and by 1942 as secretary to the Welfare Officer in an aluminium company. Before going to India, she was a secretary with SOE during 1943-44.
Leaving for India in June 1944, as a FANY, Jean had some interesting jobs as a ‘competent’ officer:
There are notes on her file from as late as October 1946, relating to employment in the UK: ‘will let us know if willing to start in a Junior job. Should probably not be encouraged to come here unless a reasonably responsible job can be found.’
Her file then has numerous documents which present Jean as entirely competent and well respected by all who knew her, leading to her recommendation for an MBE:
See here for life after the war, but 1946 until her return to New Zealand in the early ’50s is not detailed.
Jean Riley would have been pleased to hear Jeff Wilson has made the Black Caps again, as she was particularly fond of ”Goldie”. Andrew Mehrtens, too, was a favourite and when the two faced each other, Highlanders versus Crusaders, as far as she was concerned it was a bob each way.
Miss Riley, who died at the age of 90 in Christchurch last month, was born in Pitt St, Dunedin, on November 12, 1914. She was the youngest of four, having three brothers, Melville, Peter and Graham. The daughter of the Otago Medical School’s Professor Frederick Ratcliffe Riley – a notable surgical tutor, and obstetrics and gynaecology lecturer – and Susan Charlotte Graham, it was not surprising Miss Riley excelled and felt at home in the academic world.
In 1936, she graduated with a master of arts with first-class honours in mathematics from the University of Otago. She taught for two years at Craighead School in Timaru before going overseas in 1938. In London, she undertook further study – a secretarial course – and in the early stages of World War 2 joined the London headquarters of the French Resistance movement. A stint as a member of air operations staff in India and Burma took up part of her 14 years away from New Zealand. She was awarded an MBE for her services during the war.
A return to New Zealand in the early 1950s was a return to Dunedin and the start of a job which made her renowned within and outside Otago University. She was firstly academic assistant to the registrar and, in effect, defined that position and what it was to come to mean. She became academic registrar in 1964. For 22 years, life for Miss Riley was the university. Hers was a demanding role, requiring accuracy and efficiency and a superb knowledge of the university and its calendar. Colleague Dr James Robinson, who had more dealings over the telephone with Miss Riley than in person, said she was very approachable and invariably helpful. ”Students would come to me with problems and so often I would have a student with a problem and just pick up the phone and had an answer quickly.”
One of her two successors in 1975, Tim Gray, said she was a huge influence on his career during the years before she retired. ”She was a meticulous person and took great care. To me she was a colleague, a friend and a boss. ”As a boss she was very fair. She had high standards for accuracy and she passed that on to those who worked with her. Ninety-eight percent was not sufficient – one had to be 100% accurate in that job because you could stuff up a student’s career if you gave the wrong advice.” He remembered long hours working on her living room floor generating the university’s examination timetables.
Miss Riley’s time as academic registrar was also a time of fond memories for her niece, Elizabeth Riley. ”I feel as though I really knew her when she came back from overseas. I remember her going up the steps at university to check on things and going in to see her.”
Nephew Dr Rob Riley remembered when, as a medical school student, he would take his flatmates over to his aunt’s and have roast chicken for dinner. But her forte, he said, was dessert – boysenberries and ice cream.
Miss Riley’s devoted attention to her 12 nieces and nephews stemmed from her never marrying. For her, family was everything, Dr Riley said. ”She would know everyone’s names and what they were doing. She was the co-ordinator of the family, a hub of information.” She was described as loyal and warm with a wicked sense of humour; honest and efficient and respected within the community.
Although the later years of her life were a struggle – she became partially deaf and blind – Dr Riley emphasised her sharp mind and her will to continue with life and learning, talking books acting as her lifeline. She was an avid reader, bridge and tennis player, but it was her unceasing quest for information and her penchant for detail that invoked a reputation that tended to precede her. Nurse manager at her retirement home, Jan Chisnall, said Miss Riley was ”a fine woman, very patient and uncomplaining, very modest about her past”.
She made the best of her final years as she had the earlier ones.
She died age 90 in December 2004.
Ringham, Ethel, nee Hardman, B/B771: born 18 April 1907 near Newcastle, Ethel was employed with SOE from November 1943. She worked in Karachi as a secretary. Her husband’s name was Harold.
Sergeant Ritchie, Joyce Winifred: born 28 June 1922 in Nottingham, Joyce was employed by SOE from 2 November 1944 as ‘Shorthand Typist with the Administrative Section’. She sailed for India on 2 January 1945.
Before becoming a FANY with SOE, Joyce had worked in an Estate Agent’s office.
Roberts, Stella Mary: there seems to be some confusion over Stella’s DOB with ‘circa 1916′ given, and later ’20-25 Year in 1941’. Even her MI5 trace gives only an approximte age. There are no parental details, and it shows that she was already a FANY before joining SOE.
Stella commenced work with SOE on 15 September 1941 as a driver and orderly. In July 1943 she left for North Africa, returning at an unknown date, then only leaving for India in September 1945. She returned to the UK in April 1946.
Robertson, Cora Jesse Julia: born 27 December 1920 in Mandalay, Burma, Cora was taken on by SOE on 11 December 1944; she left for India 16 days later.
Cora attended the Diocesan Girls High School in Rangoon 1925 – 1934, and then Sutton Girls High School 1934-38. She manaaged a book business 1939-40, attended Wimbledon School of Art 1940-43, and then became a teacher 1943-44.
Her father was Major Edmund George Robertson, born 1885, whose address is given as next of kin to be informed if a casualty at V Force HQ 15 Indian Corps.
In India, she was book keeper for the Indian Field Broadcasting Units (IFBU):
Robertson, (Mrs) Lysbeth Desiree, B/B779: born 5 July 1911 in Colombo, Ceylon, Lysbeth worked as a secretary in Colombo from January 1944. It seems she was going to be employed in London, for which she went to Britain around May 1944, but AG branch did not employ her. She was then ‘put through the cards’ for OSS, but was ‘Not revetted’ – which seems like an odd word to use for not employing.
Cadet Ensign Robertson, M., B/B931:
Robinson, Ailsa Mary, nee Stewart: born 17 June 1914, Ailsa worked as Assistant Food Executive Officer for the Ministry of Food in Henley on Thames from October 1939 to March 1945. From June 1945, she worked as a bookkeeper while her husband, Captain B.W. Robinson worked in Intelligence at HQ 14 Army. She resigned from SOE in January 1946.
Robinson, Ann Valere, B/B754: born Melbourne, Australia, 10 July 1923, Ann signed the Official Secrets Act on 27 October 1943 having joined SOE.
Unusually, she is recorded a working part time, and as both a secretary and a cipherette. She worked in Madras, going full time from 1 October 1944. The next month she left for the UK, but noted 1 April 1945 ‘Not re-employed in London to date’ is the last thing on her record summary.
On her MI5 trace, her father’s occupation is shown as ‘Manager, Cables & Wireless Ltd. P.O. Box 160, Mombasa’.
This is her obituary, only the year of the DOB is wrong:
CAMPBELL (nee Robinson). – Ann Valnere Born July 10, 1927 Passed away peacefully On Aug. 10, 2010 at her home in Surrey Rd Nth South Yarra Loved mother of Donald and loved grandmother of Elysia, Tahlia, Madeleine, Alexander, George and Eleanor. Sister of Patricia and aunt to Valnere, David, Hilary and Diana. Well-respected academic colleague and friend and associate of many people from various constructive and innovative avenues and walks of life. Your intelligence, company and inspiration will always be missed.
Ancestry: Ann married Ian Campbell and had a child in 1946.
Robinson, Frances Nina, nee Gatward, B/B772: born 18 July 1895 in Melbourne, Frances was recruited in India in September 1943. She worked as a bookkeeper and secretary in Madras until she left for the UK in November 1944.
Ronald, Sarah Jennings: born 13 November 1920 in Smallhythe, Kent, Sarah was a FANY who joined SOE relatively late on 29 June 1945. She was employed as a coder, typex and typist, leaving for India on 7 August. She returned to the UK in April 1946, and is recorded as signing off from SOE on 30 April.
Before SOE, Sarah worked at Bletchley Park as a cypher machine operator. She was a stamp collector, dress maker and enjoyed all sports.
Rose, Margaret Mary, nee Mantle: born 2 February 1914 in Edmonton, Canada, Margaret was employed by SOE frm 23 October 1944, and left for India on 10 December. She worked in Calcutta as a stenographer from 16 January 1945.
Rose was married to Lt.Commmander John Ninian Rose RINR, and it is his Indian Navy address in Madras provided for any future correspondence after she signed off from SOE on 7 April 1945.
One of Margaret’s references is from the Canadian Dept. of Munitions & Supply, where she was a section leader in charge of shipping RCAF equipment. She had been employed there since October 1940, but resigned specifically to join SOE and have the opportunity to ‘go to India to be near her husband.’
Ross, Beatrice Anna: born 18 February 1920 in Allangrange, Scotland, Beatrice joined SOE on 24 April 1944 and left for India on 9 June that year. From 1937-1940 she had been employed as a shorthand typist, and from 1940 to 1944 served inn the WRNS.
On arrival in India, she worked in Meerut until 3 September 1944 when she was employed in Poona at the Special Forces Development Centre. In March 1945, she went to Kandy, Ceylon. Beatrice sailed for the UK on 15 September 1945.
Ross, Dorothy Florence: born 11 June 1918 in Brixton, London, Dorothy was taken on the strength of SOE in November 1944, leaving for India on 27 December. She signed off in Colombo to take up a new position with ALFSEA in Singapore.
Before SOE, Dorothy worked as a ‘Leading Firewoman’ for the National Fire Service from 1 September 1939 until 30 October 1944. Before the war, she worked as a secretary 1934-39, and this is what she did for SOE in Ceylon.
Rost, Kathleen Grace Henrietta, B/B920: born 18 June 1924 in Ajmer, Rajputana, Kathleen was security checked on 28 April 1944, but her blue record card has her down as working as secretary to DAQMG from 17 April. She was recruited in India. Subsequent posts were working as secretary to Col. Ivory and Lt.Col. Clarke.
Kathleen appears to have had a little brother, born in 1927, but who died in 1928.
Ruch, Isabel Olive: born 23 September 1910, in London, Isabel only joined SOE on 9 April 1945. Her posting to India came through and she sailed on 19 May 1945.
Isabel attended the Haberdashers Aske’s Girls School in Acton from 1921-27. The school moved site in 1971, and removed the ‘Aske’s’ name in 2021 because of links to the slave trade.
Once in the Far East, Isabel worked for the Malayan Country Section as a secretary from 13 June, in Colombo. She then shifted to Madras in September, where she continued as a secretary and book keeper until 30 January 1946. She also signed to renounce repatriation, although the reason for this is not revealed here. Others renounced repatriation for one of two reasons: a man or further employment.
Ryley, Mavis, nee Dunlop, B/B783: born 22 August 1907 in Trimulgherry, Mavis was employed by SOE to work as a Cipherette in Meerut from January 1944. She had previously done the same job at South Army HQ for seven months. Mavis resigned from SOE on 5 November 1944, apparently as a ‘result of eyestrain’.
Her husband was Major John William Ryley. He was GSO 2 at HQ Southern Army.
Sander, (Mrs) V.A., B/B753:
Sansom, Claire Heydon: born 23 November 1920 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, Claire signed the Official Secrets Act on 29 November 1943. She was first posted to Cairo on 14 January 1944, and then left the UK for India on 16 April 1945. She left SOE in February 1946 having returned to the UK.
Employed as a civilian, on her form for the Middle East, it details her job as a ‘cipher trainee’. Dates never seem to be given for returning from North Africa or the Middle East, so how long she was there is unknown. Once she arrived in India, Claire worked as a ‘Cypherette’ in Calcutta from 22 May. Her card shows she was repatriated by air (unusual) on 11 February 1946.
Claire was also degree educated, and fluent in French as a consequence:
The final page of her file is replaced with a yellow redacted slip. The last document is usually the MI5 trace.
Claire died aged 93 on 1 September 2014, in Chichester. It appears her father was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War, and was a poultry farmer otherwise. Her mother, Ivy, was a school teacher.
Sapsworth, Phyllis, nee Hall: born 7 August 1906 in Natal, South Africa, Phyllis is unusual because she worked for both the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and SOE. Her first MI5 trace in October 1942 was to vet her for the OSS, which she joined on 2 November 1942. She is recorded as being a secretary in the American Embassy.
Also noted on her initial trace is her husband, Captain Stanley Sapsworth, with his present address given as Marlag und Milag Nord, Germany. This was a POW camp for captured naval personnel. Captain S.A. Sapsworth was in charge of the SS Mopan, captured by the Admmiral Scheer in November 1940, part of the story of Convoy HX 84.
Two years to the month agter her first MI5 trace, Phyllis was vetted again with a view to SOE and FANY employment. Her two page FANY record is burnt around the edges, but show she got married on 1 April 1938.
Phyllis left for India on 24 March 1945 after working at London HQ, but there is no record of her work out in the Far East. She signed off from SOE on 14 December 1945.
Saunders, Ethel Marian: born 12 July 1913 in Perranporth, Cornwall, Ethel was employed by SOE from 28 March 1945, with a view to taking a role in India; she sailed on 5 May. She did not leave SOE until June 1946, when she took a job on the staff of the Chief Engineer of Southeast Asia Command, in Singapore.
Her blue employment card ofers some other dates, apart from detailing that she worked in Colombo from 29 May as ‘Secretary – Admin.’ It says Ethel ‘Obtained position as JCA with HQ ALFSEA. Left 12.11.45.’ What does JCA stand for?
Her declaration terminating employment is dated 8 November 1945 with a forwarding address with E Branch, HQ ALFSEA in Changi, Singapore.
Ethel could shoot, and drive a lorry (these two are normally unticked!).
An update to her file in August 1946 provides a reference for employment with Wallace Attwood Company, which appears to have concerned with Management, Production, Marketing and Cost Consultancy.
Prior to SOE, from Jan 1939 to March 1945, she worked for the Chloride Electrical Storage Company Ltd, as private secretary.
Scarborough, Evelyn Mary: born 26 May 1925 in Ilford, Essex, Evelyn was a student until SOE approached her. From 9 August 1943, she was employed as a secretary, leaving for the Far East on 4 November 1944. She signed off on 20 November 1945 and returned to the UK in January 1946.
Evelyn clearly impressed her superiors within the first months, as she was put in for a pay rise in December 1943 because she was judged as having ‘exceptional ability’. She had taken on the preparation of the ‘Diplomatic Bags for North Africa’ in addition to her secretarial duties, a job which required ‘a high sense of responsibility.’ She was working for ‘Massingham‘ at this time then.
A letter from Evelyn specifically asks for an overseas posting if one should become available; she wanted Spain or Italy.
In the Far East, Evelyn went to Colombo:
In August 1945, she was keen to go to Australia, rather than be repatriated to the UK, but this does not appear to have happened in the months between tis request and arrival in the UK in January 1946.
Scott, Allison Agnes., B/B778: born 11 October 1923 in North Shields, Allison was ‘put through the cards’ in October 1943. From November she was employed as a secretary, and in December she left for India. Her nickname was ‘Bunty’.
Allison had attended a secondary school for girls in Stockton-on-Tees from 1935 to 1940, matriculating with honours in seven subjects. From school she went to the Admiralty from November 1940 until February 1942. She then appears to have worked as a vocalist for the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company. She was ‘very musical and has an exceptionally good singing voice’ according to her headmistress.
In India, she was working in the Cypher department as a supervisor for Rs400 p/m. In 1945, she was ill with tonsillitis and in hospital for 15 days in June. She continued on sick leave from 18 July -2 August. By October, presumably better, she went to Hong Kong with the Civil Affairs Service, and while there, in November, she married Major Talau [sp?]. She broke her London contract with SOE to go to Hong Kong.
Plans must have changed fairly sharpish, for in a letter to her father in August 1945, SOE’s head of civilian women assured Mr Scott that Allison would be sent home as soon as possible after her terms of service had expired. Mr Scott was reassuringly told that, although his daughter had been ill for some months and lost a lot of weight to the extent that he would ‘find quite a change in her appearance’, she was ‘cheerful and full of life’ when feeling better, and being well looked after. She went to Darjeeling to convalesce in better climatic conditions than Calcutta.
Scott-Small, Pauline: born 10 March 1925 in Wimbledon, Pauline was vetted on 30 November 1944 with the expectation of employment as a FANY Keyboard Operator. In this role, she started at London HQ on 20 January 1945, only leaving for India on 6 March. She was back in the UK and signed off from SOE on 13 February 1946. She listed her Other Interests as ‘Outdoor Sports, Reading.’
Sears, Florence Mary, B/B745: born 30 August 1896 in London, Florence was ‘put through the cards’ in September 1943. She had been working as a telegraph censor in Bombay. By October 1943, she was in Delhi working for SOE in their Finance Dept. She signed off from SOE on 15 May 1946.
Selwyn, (Mrs) C.G., B/B399:
Seymour, Mary Ellen, nee Shufflebotham: born 4 May 1916 in Fort Camden, County Cork, Mary was security checked and recruited in 1942 on her 26th birthday. She left for Accra on 17 July 1943, returning to the UK on 19 September 1944. Mary then left for China, having had two months of leave, on 10 December 1944. She signed her termination form in China ‘to take appointment with Civil Affairs in Hongkong.’
Her blue card reveals she worked on Remorse from 3 February 1945, in Kunming, as a secretary. This job finished on 30 November and she went to Hong Kong from Kunming.
When Mary joined SOE in 1942, she was unmarried, and had been working as Assistant Secretary to the General Manager of Kendal, Milne & Co. in Manchester. In Accra, they were particularly impressed with her performance, and the Head of the West African Station lobbyed for her to be paid more favourably:
Shanley, Constance Rachael: born 10 September 1923 in Edinburgh, Constance was a student before SOE, recruited just ater her 20th birthday. Enroled as a FANY W/T Operator, she left for Cairo on 5 December 1943. After her Middle East posting, she went to India on 14 February 1945. She returned to the UK and signed off from SOE on 29 December 1945.
Corporal Sharp, Marjorie Hildreth: born 25 October 1908 in Coulsdon, Surrey, Marjorie was vetted on New Year’s Day 1943 and employed by SOE from 17 February ‘as Secretary for Spartan Exercise.’
She left for India in July 1944, and eventually signed of on 3 June 1946.
Her FANY record ‘other Interests’ lists ‘Walking, Climbing & Photography’, as well as her posts in the UK:
Shaw, Aileen Maud: born 16 October 1911 in Quetta, India, Aileen was employed as a secretary from 19 June 1944. Within a month, she left for India, returning in March 1946. Aileen was working for the Ministry of Food, who replied to SOE saying that they would only release her if Aileen was to go to India.
Aileen went to school in India and Belgium, and then travelled around a lot through the 1930s, working as a Governess in Scotland, Belgium, India, back to Scotland and then London from 1937.
Both her mother and father were born in India, and her father worked on the railways.
Once in India, Aileen worked in Q Ops as a record clerk, and from 10 September she was with E Group in Rangoon, also as a record clerk. E Group was concerned with repatriation of POWS and civil internees.
Shebbeare, (Mrs) Helen Margaret, B/B775: born 13 August 1910 in Darjeeling, India, Helen was apparently ‘put through the cards’ in January 1944. Her employment card, however, shows that she was working in Colombo by 13 December 1943. Working for Malaya Country Section as a filing clerk, Helen left SOE on 6 January 1945.
She was married to Major Charles Charlewood Shebbeare, 204 Indian (I) Base Ordnance Depot (BOD), Ceylon Command.
Sherwood, (Mrs) Audrey Frances, nee Watson, B/B153: born 5 June 1908, in Stanford, Lincolnshire, Audrey was employed by SOE from 18 August 1942 in India. She worked in Meerut, Delhi and Colombo before leaving SOE on 30 November 1944.
Audrey was married to a rubber planter and had lived in Malaya before the war Her husband was being held as a POW in Siam. With SOE, she worked in the Malay Country Section as she was fluent in Malay, and earned quite a high salary at Rs600 p/m. Unusually, a document from May 1944 reveals that she worked on the collation of Intelligence, and had done so for ten months before being sent home to Britain on doctor’s orders. She ended up on five months paid sick leave before leaving SOE on 30 November. In London, she went into hospital for a few days where she was x-rayed. The outcome was that she was not allowed to return to the East until 1945.
She did not return to SOE, but went to work for the Ministry of Information, in a job that she sounded very excited about. This was just as well because a confidential letter told London that MCS did not want her back. Although intelligent and very willing, apparently she disrupted the team and had too much influence for an operational unit – it was not a woman’s place…
Sherwood, Mary Elizabeth: born 3 December 1922 in Croyden, Mary was employed as a secretary from 6 November 1944 and left for India on 12 December.
From 1936-1940, Mary attended St. Swithun’s Girls boarding school in Winchester. She then worked at the BBC Broadcasting House from August 1941.
Once in the Far East, Mary worked for Siam Country Section (SCS) as a secretary from 18 January 1945. Her sickness record shows a run of bad luck, contracting dysentery, Hepatitis and Dengue Fever during her time in India.
When she finished with SOE on 15 November 1945, it looks like she wet to East Africa. The forwarding address is given as the Combined School of Infantry Training in Nakusu, Kenya.
Mary’s father was an artist: ‘Cartoonist and illustrator born George Sherriff Sherwood in Handsworth near Birmingham. He contributed social cartoons to the Humorist (1925-40) and Punch (1930-38).’ From Artbiogs
Illustration from Lewis Carroll Society Facebook
Shiells, Mary Isabella: born 23 December 1921 in Newtonards, Dumfries, Mary joined SOE in October 1944 as part of the FANY. She was to be a registry clerk with the rank of Volunteer. She left for India on 7 December 1944, only returning to the UK in April 1946, when she signed off from SOE. Before SOE, Mary worked as an Employment Clerk at the Ministry of Labour for five years. She enjoyed walking, cycling, reading and gardening.
Silver, Valerie Audrey B/B387: born 12 May 1924 in Rawalpindi, Valerie was recruited in India from 10 August 1943. She was a secretary.
Her father was Captain B.J. Silver, Indian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (IEME) Station Workshop, Meerut.
Sinclair, Louise Stuart: born 23 July 1914, Louise has a very early MI5 trace, dated April 1940 with a view to being employed by Section D. Section D was one of three organisations which then became SOE in July 1940. Employed from April, she was with SOE from the very beginning, through until January 1946.
Louise wet out to India in June 1944. Once there she worked in Meerut in Ciphers and as a secretary from 14 July. She shifted to Trincomalee and worked in Ceylon from 21 October 1944.
A document dated 20 November 1943 indicates she was at Station IX, and had recently taken on work that was ‘usually handled by an officer’.
Louise attended the Francis Holland School for Girls in London. After school, she worked as a secretary for five years, and in 1940 she was ‘studying for Auctioneers Exams.’ She had been driving ambulances since April 1940. She had travelled quite extensively because of her father’s job – FIC, China, India, two years in Germany and holidays in France and Belgium.
Skill, Hazel Yvonne, B/B773: born 26 July 1915 in Bangalore, India, Hazel was employed as a secretary in Poona from December 1943. Apart from her MI5 trace which details her father as Lancelot Skill, ‘c/o A.C. Customs, Castle Rock’, there is no further information in this file.
Skill, Veda Neave, B/B358: born 9 October 1920 in Bangalore, India, Veda was employed by SOE from 3 March 1943. Before joining SOE, she had worked at the RNI Cipher Office in Bombay. She continued as a cipher clerk in Poona, but her record does not reveal anything more.
Sleeman, May Alice, nee Glibbery: born 20 November 1913 in London, May was cleared for employment and then recruited by SOE on 30 August 1943. Her first posting was to Cairo from 6 October 1943; she left for India on 16 April 1945.
Once in India, May worked as a Cipherette in Calcutta. She was single when she joined SOE, becoming Mrs Sleeman out in India when she married F/Lt K.H. Sleeman on 29 September 1945. This was the first day of her annual leave, so her honeymoon presumably lasted until 14 October! She signed off from SOE back in Calcutta on 31 January 1946, renouncing repatriation to the UK.
Sergeant Smith, Irene Phyllis, nee Fisher: born 13 October 1906 in Stroud, Irene was employed by SOE from 21 July 1944; she left for India 51 weeks later. She was a FANY secretary and after training worked at various(?) STS HQs between employment and deployment overseas. Prior to SOE she had been Chief Clerk in the Home Guard. When she signed her termination form on 8 January 1946, she was still unmarried.
Smith, Margaret Ada: born 24 February 1921 in Northampton, Margaret was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Nurse at the RAF hospital in Ely, Cambridgeshire before joining SOE as a secretary from 26 June 1944. She apparently left for India on 29 August 1944, but is recorded as working as a clerk in the camp commandant’s office in Colombo from 22 July 1944.
Margaret returned to the UK onboard the Duchess of Richmond from 28 October 1945. She was employed fairly swiftly as a doctor’s secretary on what she thought was a decent salary (£5 p/w) until she ‘found out what the income tax was.’ After the war, she applied to work as a secretary in the Governor’s office in the Gold Coast (Ghana). Whether she got it is not recorded.
She obviously has quite a bit of personality, as she wrote to the SOE office in London, opening with ‘Do you remember me – the Pest!’ Later on, she asks ‘How are all the abandoned females returning from the East?’ She finished her letter with ‘thanks for your help when I returned so forlornly’.
Cpl Snowden D A Coder No P/F
Solly-Flood, Barbara: born 27 June 1915 in London, Barbara was employed by SOE from September 1944. She left for India in January 1945, returning in March 1946. She was a secretary for Operation Remorse. She had been working in the censorship department of the Post Office, but before going to work on Remorse, she had to complete training in ciphers so that she arrived with the ability to be efficient. Apparently, there had been enough mistakes coming from Remorse ciphers to insist on the course being taken before dispatch to India.
Barbara’s father was Brigadier General Richard Elles Solly-Flood.
Her brother Peter was also in SOE, with the Yugoslav section.
In 1946, Barbara married Major D. J. 0. Thomas, Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Spalding, (Mrs) Frederica Margaret Eva Dorothy, nee Lyon, B/B361: born 2 August 1906 in Rajputana, Frederica was employed as a secretary at GHQ India from March 1943. It seems she was an Intelligence Officer in Delhi from 10 April 1944. She left SOE a year later in April 1945. She died on 8 August 1978 in Wiltshire.
Frederica’s father was Lt.Col. Clive Wentingworth Lyon.
Spanier, Janine (Jane) Charlotte Bloch: born 22 November 1912, Jane had dual British and French nationality. She joined SOE on 1 April 1941, having worked in the War Office with M.O.9 beforehand.
By 2 April 1942, Jane was codenamed D/MIL.4 in Staff Duties Branch, maintaining the records of all officers ‘and will answer all questions relating to interviews, transfers and postings.’ On 1 October 1943 she transferred to B/B Section preparatory to leaving for India where she was alloted the symbol B/B757.
In India, it appears she got married but unfortunately she died in August 1944 due to ‘infantile paralysis’, more commonly known as Polio. Polio vaccines were only trialed in 1954 in the USA.
Lt.Col. Kennedy wrote:
A scribbbled addition suggests her married name was Kinkaldy.
Photo Credit: Find A Grave
Speakman, June: born 3 June 1924, June joined SOE in November 1944 as a FANY cipherette. After training and attachment to London HQ, she left for India on 14 July 1945. She signed off from SOE in early January 1946, having returned to the UK. June’s FANY record is another burnt one:
After the war, June returned to Essex and married Nevill Bamber, a former RAF pilot, in 1949. She and her husband adopted two children, one of whom allegedly shot the whole family dead (including two grandchildren) on 7 August 1985. Jeremy Bamber is serving a life sentence, but forty years on he maintains his innocence and has put in three appeals for a miscarriage of justice.
Long read The Guardian, April 2025
Short read, The Guardian, 2020, ITV made a series called White Farm about the murders
Jeremy Bamber Campaign and official campaign website
Spence, Isabel: born 9 April 1924 in Simla, India, SOE security checked Isabel in June 1944. She was enrolled as a FANY and started work as a W/T operator from 18 August 1944 at STS HQ in French Section as she had a university degree from Edinburgh in French and German.
She left for India some time after February 1945, and signed off in India in December.
Spens, Patricia Mary: born 15 July 1919, Patricia was employed by SOE from 15 October 1942. She left for India in 1944, returning in February 1946. She was a FANY.
In February 1944, she was described as ‘exceptionally efficient’ and recommended for a pay rise as she ‘holds a very responsible post.’ Before SOE she had worked for the BBC and the War Office.
Pat’s father was made 1st Baron Spens in 1959, having been an MP since the 1930s, and Chief Justice of India, 1943-1947. The page forgot to mention he had a daughter, so this wikipedia page has been updated(!).
The Peerage shows she married Reverend Grier in 1946, had three children. She died in 2001.
Photo Credit: Special Forces RoH
Sproule, Patricia Ann: born 24 August 1924 in Ashford, Middlesex, Patricia joined SOE as a ‘De-coder’ and was ‘engaged at S.T.S. 53’ from 1 September 1942. In 1943 she went to North Africa, and on 14 April 1945 she left for India. She signed off on her return to the UK on 11 April 1946.
Before SOE she was employed in Aldershot doing secretarial work for the Army Legal Department / Army Welfare.
Her father was Lt.Col. George Moore Sproule, MC.
More details of her service on SFRoH
‘Paddy’ died in August 2010 age 85.
Stafford, Margaret Jane Hawthorne, nee Ferguson: born 10 February 1924 in Nutfield, Surrey, Margaret was vetted on 28 April 1944. Taken on as a clerk from 5 June, she left for India the following month. When she joined SOE, Margaret was unmarried.
From 1936 to 1940, Margaret attended the Dartford County School for Girls. After school, she had been working first in her father’s grocer’s shop, then, from 1941, as a library assistant.
In India, from 20 August 1944, she was a Registry Clerk, moving to Colombo from September 1945 where she continued as a Registry Clerk for ‘Group B’, ie Malaya, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Her termination of employment was signed on 23 January 1946, in Kuala Lumpur, where she renounced repatriation. Presumably this was to stay with her husband in the Far East.
Stavely G E Coder No P/F
Stephenson, Cynthia Margaret, B/B367: born 3 September 1910 in Sheffield, Cynthia was the daughter of Sir Henry Stephenson, Bt., DSO, of Hassop Hall, Bakewell in Derbyshire. Before the war she had worked as a private secretary for ‘various directors of Documentary Films’. She joined SOE in 1940, but from 21 march 1943 she was Colin Mackenzie’s secretary. Mackenzie was the head of SOE in the Far East. Already highly respected for her competence in London, she didn’t disappoint Mackenzie:
Cynthia signed off from SOE on 26 April 1946 after returning to the UK.
Stephenson, (Mrs) E.H., B/B787:
Sgt Stevenson A W/T Operator No P/F
Story, (Mrs) P.M., B/B381:
Strickland, (Mrs) E.M.G., B/B353:
Studholme-Wilson (Mrs) Joy Noel, B/B752: born 18 December 1914 in Sydney (possibly Alice Springs) Australia, Joy was recruited in August 1943 and worked as Head of Cipher Section in Calcutta. In September 1944, she went to work on Operation Remorse in China. By December she was ill and being sent to the UK, but she only signed off from SOE in September 1945.
Before SOE, Joy had been with the British Army Aid Group (BAAG). She spoke Cantonese and French.
Her husband, Geoffrey Studholme-Wilson, was Superintendent of Police in Hong Kong, and was being held in Stanley internment camp. It is not clear how she managed to escape to India and her husband didn’t.
Geoffrey Studholme Wilson, CMG, Commissioner of Police, Tanganyika
Police Force, 1958-62, died 21 April, 2003. He was 89.
He was born 5 June, 1913, the son of J.E.S. Wilson, & was educated at
Radley College.
Career: joined Hong Kong Police, 1933; Commissioner of Police, Sarawak
Constabulary, 1953-58; awarded the King’s Police Medal, 1950; OStJ,
1951, &c.
He was appointed CMG in 1961.
He married in 1936, Joy Noel, daughter of Capt C. St. G.
Harris-Walker, by whom he had two sons.
He was predeceased by Mrs Wilson, who died in Portugal in 1978 aged 63.
The funeral takes place at St James Anglican Church, Oporto, Portugal,
24 April, 2003
Cadet Ensign Suckling, B/B932:
Sully, Myra Stafford: born 8 November 1921 in Neath, Wales, Myra joined SOE in November 1944 as a shorthand typist. After about a month at London HQ, she sailed for India on 10 December 1944. She was enrolled as a FANY. She signed off from SOE on 9 January 1946.
Swan, (Mrs) M.C., B/B748:
Cpl Swithinbank A W/T Operator No P/F
Tandy, Myrtle Muriel, B/B840: born 4 February 1913 in London, Myrtle was a civilian employee of the US Army before joining SOE in February 1944. She signed off from SOE on 20 March 1946.
From 16 October 1939 until 16 October 1944, Myrtle was in the ATS, completing her four year contract and reaching the rank of Sergeant. For political views, Myrtle recorded ‘Socialistic’. Already orphaned, Myrtle’s next of kin was her sister, Edith.
With fifteen years secretarial experience, SOE employed her in the same capacity first at HQ in London, and then in Calcutta from June 1944. It is interesting that there is a redacted page in her file, and that initially, Myrtle was employed for her knowledge of German having spent eighteen months in Stuttgart during 1936 and 1937.
Taylor, Denise Ursula (nee Woodward): born 15 November 1919 in London, Denise was to be employed as a senior secretary from 13 December 1943. She left for India on 22 January 1944. On reporting for duty in India on 10 March, there was a back log of ‘dull’ clerking jobs owing to the expansion of Force 136. This caused Denise to dispute her contract and culminated in her walking out of her job with SOE. The resulting correspondence shows that she refused to be brow-beaten by the threat to have her deported to Britain for breach of contract, and she ended up staying in India and marrying Squadron Leader D.L. Taylor in August 1944 – and working as Forces Radio compere.
Taylor, Margaret Fenella: born 28 August 1922 in Birmingham, Margaret was vetted in September 1944 to see if she was suitable for SOE employment. She joined as a FANY Cadet Ensign in October 1944, working as a shorthand typist at London HQ while awaiting overseas posting.
Margaret left for India on 10 December 1944 and was employed at SOE’s signals base known as ME9 as a typist. She evidently found love in India, as by the time she signed off from SOE in 1946, Margaret Taylor was now Mrs Margaret Pearce.
Taylor-Bark, Joan Violet Dunn: born 19 January in Liverpool, Joan was security checked in May 1944 with a view to becoming a FANY. Employed from June 1944 at HQ as a secretary, on 7 December she sailed for India. She returned from India and signed off from SOE on 8 April 1946.
Joan was a private secretary prior to joining SOE, and she enjoyed riding, tennis and swimming. Her home address is given as Bocking Lodge in Braintree, Essex.
Taylor, J., B/B791:
Taylor, Rachael: born 14 July 1923 in Glasgow, Rachael was working as a ‘clerkess’ for a manufacturing company when SOE vetted her in December 1942. She started work at Station 53 on Teleprinters on 5 February 1943. She was a FANY.
Her SOE career took her, first, to North Africa in December 1943, and then to India from 6 March 1945. She signed off from SOE on 1 April 1946 having just returned to the UK.
According to her MI5 trace, Rachael’s mother was from Kiev.
Tew, (Mrs) F., B/B371:
Thomas, Helen Harran (nee Gilmour) B/B383: born 2 October 1916 in Greenock, Scotland, Helen had worked for Jardine Matheson & Co. in Shanghai, with whom she had a ‘GOOD RECORD’. Her MI5 trace is dated 5 September 1941, so she joined the original Oriental Mission before the war with Japan started and worked as a secretary in Singapore.
An entry dated 11 March 1942 indicates that Helen left SOE at that date, but by June 1943, she was working in the Political Warfare Division of SOE as a secretary, and by 1944 she was earning Rs700 (the largest wage seen yet).
Thompson, (Mrs) B.R., B/B776:
Thomson, Helen Mary: born 13 April 1921 in Ashford, Kent, Helen was a secretary at the Bank of England before she joined SOE on 23 January 1945. She had attended the City of London Secretarial College in January 1938 after attending Christ’s Hospital from January 1931 to September 1937.
She left for India on 6 March 1945 and was signed of on 26 April 1946 after her return to the UK. While in the Far East, she worked in Colombo, Kandy and Meerut. A medical note from 21 May 1946 shows that she was suffering from Lamblia (small worms in the intestine) which was not considered a serious condition. The treatment was paid for by SOE, a total of £3. & 3 Shillings (about £111.99 in 2017).
Thomson, Moyra Elizabeth Stewart: born 6 February 1924 in Conagher, County Antrim, Moyra was security checked in late November 1942, and employed by SOE from 28 December 1942. Initially employed as secretarial staff, in October 1944 she was enrolled as a FANY before leaving for India on 10 December 1944, almost two years into her SOE service. She signed off in February 1945 after three years and two months, just after her 21st birthday. Moyra was recommended to SOE by Queen’s Secretarial College.
Before secretarial college, Moyra attended Portsmuth HIgh School (1934-1937), Southlands School in Exmouth (1937-1939) and secondary school in Bushmills, County Antrim (1939-1941).
In her report for 1944, Moyra was described as ‘An intelligent, capable hard working secretary.’ This was despite the fact that earlier inn the year she appears to have lost a typewriter!
Moyra’s father was Managing Director of Harland and Wolfe of Belfast, the shipbuilders. With a large estate just outside Belfast, ‘The family was of course very well known.’
Thunder, (Mrs) J., B/B152:
Sgt Thyne H WTO No P/F
Tidmarsh, Audrey Grace, B/B312: born 4 August 1920 in Brixton, London, Audrey worked for SOE from January 1943 until April 1946. She went out to India in February 1944.
Audrey’s return to the UK was a medical evacuation after sustaining ‘multiple injuries’ in a jeep accident: ‘I was proceeding in a jeep along Theatre Rd. when another jeep came out of a side turning and hit us. I remember no more.’ It was 3am on Christmas Day 1945.
The accident had life changing consequences, after she very nearly died. A substantial claim was put in for, but there is no record on the file of it being a success.
Audrey’s father also has an SOE file.
Tinney, (Mrs P.G.D., B/B397:
Tippen, Patricia Dorothy (Nee Bridgen): born 13 April 1921 in Clapham Park, Patricia was employed by SOE as a shorthand typist from October 1944. She left for India on 7 December and returned in April 1946. She was a FANY with the rank of Volunteer on joining. In ‘other interests’, Patricia wrote the unusual entry of ‘social work’ besides the usual tennis, reading and cycling.
Todd, Aileen Margaret: born 19 April 1914 in Ruislip, Middlesex, Aileen was a FANY driver when SOE employed her from 2 October 1942. She was posted to Station XVIII as a Driver/Orderly from 17 October until posting to Massingham in North Africa from 23 December.
Aileen returned from Algiers on 18 May 1944, but appears to have gone back the next day(?). On 29 October 1944, she left for India, not returning to the UK until April 1946.
Aileen’s MI5 Trace shows her father (James Cameron Todd) was born in Rangoon. He has a Wikipedia page. Aileen will have barely known him, as he died in 1915.
Toovey, Diana Mary Wooton: born 22 July 1924 in Quetta, India, Diana was recruited in London in December 1943 to be a FANY W/T operator. She left for India on 26 September 1944 and terminated employment in India on 19 November 1945.
Tostee, K.M., B/B362:
Townsend, Doreen Marie: born 29 June 1921 in Neasden, London, Doreen was employed as a W/T operator at STS 54 from 24 March 1943. Prior to joining SOE, her occupation is recorded as ‘Student on Singing’.
Doreen left for India on 14 February 1945, returning to the UK in April 1946.
Trigger, Eileen Shirley: born 20 April 1920 in Newcastle, Staffordshire, Eileen was employed as a secretary from 14 November 1944, recruited by FANY HQ. She left for India on Valentine’s Day 1945 after a spell at STS 46, and was signed off on return to the UK on 28 March 1946. Before joining SOE, she worked as a secretary to the director of production in an Engineering Company.
Turner, Elaine May Kathleen (Mrs): born 5 October 1911, and recruited ‘locally’ at Swatow in China. Elaine had worked as secretary to Colonel A.G. Clark, the Assistant Military Attache with the British Military Mission in Kunming, prior to SOE.
Part of Operation Remorse, she left SOE on 31 October 1945, although her termination form was signed 29 September. Her husband was Major J.H. Lewis Turner.
Turner, Joan, nee Forgan (divorced and changed name back to Forgan by deed poll from Dodd in Jan 1944): born 18 February 1912 in Northwich, Cheshire, Joan was security checked in April 1944 and employed from 30 May. She left her job as a cashier for Collaro Ltd in Nottingham to join SOE.
She was originally going to train to be a cypher clerk, but a more immediate posting to India came up, requiring her accountancy skills. She left for India on 18 July 1944.
Unusually, her blue card has no details added for where she worked or for what section, but she took an address in Calcutta. It appears that during her time in India she married for a second time, and when she left SOE she stayed in India rather than get repatriated.
Urquhart, Pamela Fyson: born 7 September 1922 in Ilford, Essex, Pam was vetted in March 1944 to be employed as a cipher clerk. She served with SOE from 11 May 1944, leaving for India in June that year. She signed off on 30 October 1945.
Pam attended the City of London School for Girls 1934 to July 1942, and was an undergraduate at King’s College reading German in 1944. One of her references was from Pam’s headmistress, who wrote: ‘To us she was a person of few words and appeared well able to desist from babbling…’ And later on ‘she is not a weakling, and her difficulty is not in that direction so much as in a rather obstinate strain in her character.’
Pam left Calcutta on 3 November 1945, apparently having made no contribution to the war effort with her command of both French and German.
Varney, Marjorie (nee Goodfellow): born 19 April 1917 inn London, Marjorie was a dictaphone typist. She was employed as a secretary by SOE from 19 September 1944, and left for India on 3 November. After a brief spell in Meerut a a typist, she was posted to Kandy where she worked as a cipherette from 23 December to 25 May 1945. She was then back at Meerut until reporting back in the UK in November 1945. Her English salary was £210 p/a plus a billet allowance of 15/-d per week.
Before SOE she worked as a dictaphone typist for the Dictaphone Company Ltd from November 1941 until SOE recruited her. Between 1935 and 1939, she worked for The General Asphalte Company Ltd., leaving because she got married (5 August 1940). She then worked for Prudential 1939-1941, which she left because of the Ministry for Labour. Her husband was Eric Ernest Varney, born 3 June 1908.
Walker, Irene Margaret, nee Drews: born 14 January 1920 in London, Irene was security checked in May 1944 and employed from 5 June 1944 as a secretary. She left for India on 18 July that year. Until recently, she had been a ‘supervisor of Production of Medi al Supplies’ for a firm called May & Baker Ltd., who were sad to see her go.
She was Roman Catholic, Conservative, familiar with the Isle of Arran, and she ticked that she could bike, swim and run.
Irene’s blue record card indicates she was a clerk in General Registry and in Movements before working as a Cypherette. Also, that she left SOE on 20 September 1945, in India, and her new ‘NOK’ was Captain R.G. Walker. Another young lady who found love on war service in India!
Walker, Lilian Jean: born 25 June 1925 near Maidenhead, Lilian was a FANY and security checked with a view to becoming a coder. She joined SOE on 23 February 1944 and went on a teleprinting course at Cranwell. Lilian left for India on 26 October 1944.
Walker, (Mrs) V.E., B/B365:
Wall, Flora Mieville, nee Brown: born 1 June 1905 in Montgomery, Wales, Flora was ‘put through the cards’ on 21 November 1944, but only employed from 5 March 1945. She left for India on 14 April.
Both her parents being deceased, Flora’s stepfather, Charles Brown, is listed as being imprisoned by the Japanese in Changi; he was part of the Malayan Civil Service.
Flora lived in Malaya for a year, ‘staying with relatives’. Unusually, Flora has completed the ‘Technical Knowledge’ part of her SOE A4 Form: 2 years work as Secretary & Research Assistant in Wireless Section of the Political Intelligence Dept. of the Foreign office.’ She was dealing with enemy radio stations.
It appears she met and married Lt.Col. W.M.C. Wall of 31 Indian Mountain Battery, resigning from SOE in India on 30 November 1945 and renouncing repatriation. She was employed in Kandy, Ceylon, however, as a secretary, from 8 May 1945.
Walls, Josephine Francis Aurora: born 22 April 1925 in Sale, Cheshire, Josephine was a Photographic Laboratory Assistant when approached by SOE. She joined on 15 September 1944 and left for India on 14 February 1945. She signed off on returning to the UK on 21 February 1946. She joined as a FANY and was a W/T operator. She wanted to train to be a vet.
Walshe, E.H.M., B/B760:
Walton, Lydia Moncrieff Thomson, nee Husband: born 13 April 1923 in Dundee, Scotland, Lydia was recruited as a FANY to operate W/T sets from August 1944. By February 1945, she was on her way to India, returning to the UK in 1946 and signing off from SOE on 16 February. Prior to SOE, Lydia had been working as a ‘Clerkess, Grade II Collector of Taxes Office, Bank Street, Dundee.’
Ward, Elsie Charlotte: born 20 November 1901 in Potters Bar, Elsie was already FANY when she joined SOE at the late date of 29 June 1945. She only signed off on 11 July 1946, which is also much later than the norm. She left for India on 7 August 1945.
Elsie is recorded as working for a shipping company as a cable clerk, so presumably with this knowledge of signals, SOE wanted her as a ‘coder’.
Wardlaw, Diana Lorette, nee Deverell: born 26 April 1916 in London, Diana joined SOE on 5 June 1944 with the intention of sending her to India. She left for the east on 18 July. She was Miss Deverell when she joined SOE. She was in the ATS (Sept 1939 – Dec 1940) and a Red Cross Nurse, and had attended the Royal College of Music. Diana went to school at Malvern St. James
From 18 August, she was working in Meerut, and then in Delhi from October 1944. Her blue card shows she was a clerk in the Finance section, but her handwritten letter before leaving for India shows she expected employment as a cipherette.
Diana’s father, Major Francis Deverell is on the The Peerage website. He died in 1941 aged 60. Her mother was Hilda Strutt, daughter of Baron Hedley Vicars Strutt.
Warwick, Phyllis Elizabeth Frances: born 15 July 1909, in Gosport, Hampshire, Phyllis is unusual in that she was first vetted for SOE in March 1944 but not employed. There is no clue as to why. Presumably she continued to work as a VAD until vetted a second time in May 1945. This time she joined SOE as a FANY and she left for India on 5 September 1945. She signed her termination papers in India on 20 November 1945.
Wasey, (Mrs) Estelle Stanley, B/B780: born 8 May 1905 in New South Wales, Estelle joined SOE to work as a secretary in Colombo from January 1944. By 15 April 1944 she had signed her declaration of termination of engagement ‘as her work was not satisfactory.’
Estelle was married to F/Lt. Lionel Herbert Wasey, RAF Volunteer Reserve. He is mentioned several times in this document, which indicates that the Wasey’s lived on Dickoya tea plantation and that Lionel won the MBE in 1945.
Watkins, Betty Winifred: born 16 August 1916 in Battersea, Betty joined SOE on 14 November 1944. After a short spell at London HQ, she was off to India on Valentine’s Day 1945. She signed off from SOE on 29 March 1946 having been a shorthand typist, having been employed in that role for Nestle 1933-1940.
Her MI5 trace shows her brother was a POW in Stalag XX-B. It appears he was in the Coldstream Guards and captured in Tobruk in June 1942.
Ancestry shows Betty died in 1963, aged just 47.
Watt, Jeanie Shanks Young: born 21 October 1923 in Dumbartonshire, Jeanie joined SOE on 14 November 1944 (although 30 October is also indicated in her file). After a few months at London HQ, she went to India on 6 March 1945. She signed off on 9 April 1946.
Jeanie’s MI5 trace shows she had worked for one year in the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office. Jeanie was also a FANY.
Watts, Sheila Annie: born 24 August 1921 in Quarry Dene near Woolacombe in Devon, Sheila was a telephonist at the Post Office before joining SOE in November 1944. She was a wireless operator at STS 54a and STS 52a&b before she left for India on 8 June 1945. Employed as a FANY volunteer, she signed off from SOE on 13 February 1946 when she returned to the UK.
Captain Graham-Weall, Lavinia Jane MBE: born 21 December 1910 in Garston Watford, Lavinia joined SOE on 12 October 1944. She left for India on 25 November after a few weeks at London HQ. She returned to the UK on 21 April 1946. Lavinia was an officer with the rank of Junior Commander in the ATS/FANY and served with 731 Company RASC, according to initial doocuments in her file.
Later documents reveal that in India, she was posted to ME 82. Then her file has this:
Webster, J.B., B/B762:
Scrymgeour-Wederburn, Susan Mary: born 28 March 1926 in Edinburgh, Susan signed the Official Secrets Act on 11 December 1944. She left for India on 6 March 1945, and signed off from SOE on 3 April 1946.
Geni shows she died in 1981 just 54 years old, having married twice. MyHeritage reveals she married at 23 in 1950, and divorced and remarried in 1970.
More family tree on The Peerage
Wellard, Mrs W., B/B809:
Wellsted, Florence Knightley B/B838: born 10 September 1909 in Newhaven, Sussex, Florence was vetted in December 1943, but not employed by SOE until April 1944. She left for India on 5 May 1944. From 1935 to 1944, she was employed as secretary and personal assistant to the chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
For political views, Florence wrote ‘A mixture of Conservatism & Socialism.’
Her blue card shows she worked in Meerut, Kandy, Delhi and back to Meerut in 1945 as secretary to GI and GIII Security. She was repatriated to South Africa on 12 January 1946. Presumably this was because she had finally been able to marry her fiance, Major H.F. Meston who was serving with V Force: they had been engaged since at least 1941. Major Meston was a Tea Planter in civilian life. Hector Findlay Heston and his brother are listed HERE.
Wemyss, Adeline Lucy, B/B390: born 17 (or 27th?) April 1900 in Moulmein, Burma, Adeline was recruited by SOE on 6 August 1943. She had been working as secretary to Commander Lyle, Royal Navy, so she was trained in ciphers. She worked in Calcutta, Madras and Rangoon with SOE before leaving on 15 December 1945. At some point she got married, and became Mrs Jackson.
Most likely the sister of Frederick Fleming Wemyss, who was also with SOE.
Wharton E Coder No P/F
Whittenbury, (Mrs) M., B/B394:
Wilden-Hart, Joan Ray: born 13 October 1924 in London, Joan filled in her C.R.1. form on 23 August 1943. It shows that she attended Hastings & St. Leonards Ladies’ College 1932-36, and Cheltenham Ladies’ College from 1936-1939. Rather than deceased, she wrote ‘not living’ in the section for details of her father; he was born in 1881, was a professor of Economics, and died in 1932. Her mother, born 1900, was also called Gladys. Unusually, she has written ‘Yes’ beside ‘Run?’ on her form, along with swim and cycle – was she a triathlete?
Before going ut to India, Joan was posted to Lisbon from 20 January 1944. Although Portugal was neutral, SOE did important work there (siilar to other neutral countries, eg Turkey). She returned from Lisbon in April, and left for India on 3 November 1944. Once in the Far East, Joan worked in Colombo, and from 11 October 1945 she wasin Kuala Lumpur.
Wilkinson J P Coder No P/F
Captain Will, Bertine Melba (nee Rix): born in Budaun, India, in March 1902, Bertine was educated at the Sherborne School for Girls before studying Medicine and Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital, London University. Her husband, James Hampton Brown Will is recorded as being imprisoned in Changi, Singapore. From 1933 to 1940, Bertine worked as a GP in Malaya; from 1940-42 she was assistant to Dr Thompson in Somerset. By 1943, she was in India serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps having been granted an Emergency Commission in July 1943. In January 1945 she joined Force 136 as a Medical Officer for Group A (Burma, Siam, French Indochina) and was based at ME81 in Calcutta. In July, she moved to ME82 in Colombo where she was MO at HQ for Group B.
Williamson, Iva Marie: born 5 August 1923 in Malta, Iva was employed as a W/T operator from 15 September 1944. She left for India on 24 March 1945 and signed off from SOE on 24 April 1946. She was a FANY. She had been farming with the Land Army.
Willis, Constance Mary: born 28 October 1924 in Rochester, Kent, SOE had her security checked te day after her 20th birthday. By 20 January, Constance was employed as a shorthand typist and attached to London HQ, awaiting her posting overseas. She did not go until 8 June 1945, but remained out in the Far East until May 1946. She was a FANY.
Photo Credit: British Resistance Archive From December 1940 – 16 August 1941, Edith was Confidential Secretary to Colonel Cyril R. Major at Auxiliary Units, Coleshill House.
Wilmott, Edith Mary: born 6 July 1909 in Bristol, Edith joined SOE on 18 August 1941 from the ATS (rank of Sergeant). That same month, she was ‘engaged as secretary to the Head of the East African Mission in East Africa.’
In the gap between East Africa and leaving for India, she was with Force 133: ‘Miss Wilmott has been employed in Durban, Cairo, Baghdad and India’. She had ‘proved to be an unussually fast and accurate stenographer.’
She then served in Colombo as a Grade A secretary in Air Ops, and then Kuala Lumpur from 11 October 1945. She left for the UK on 14 March 1946.
Edith attended Colston’s School for Girls, now named Montpelier High 1921-1927.
Wilson, Muriel Agnes Kinnie B/B600: born 12 September 1914, Muriel has just one document in her file. Employed from at least 30 October 1942, probably in India, B/B600 became A/DH4 in April 1944 and in December she left for Australia. She returned to the UK in March 1946.
Wilson, (Mrs) M.L.J., B/B391:
Withers, Ethel Geddes, nee Williamson, B/B758: born 13 November 1911 in India, Ethel was employed as a secretary from 28 September 1943, and left the UK for India in October.
Ethel’s MI5 trace shows she was the daughter of Sir James Williamson, she was a VAD, and Secretary and Organiser of the Dominion Soldier’s Club in Aldershot. It also shows she was divorced from Lt.Col. Henry Hastings Cavendish Withers, Royal Engineers (married 1937-1940).
Wolstenholme, (Mrs) I.D., B/B798:
Cpl Wood J E Med Ord No P/F
Cpl Wood P B C Coder No P/F
Woodward, D.U., B/B792:
Wormley, Mollie Dorothy Treneman: born 25 November 1919 in Reading, Berkshire, Mollie was vetted on 1 September 1944, and was off to India on 10 December. She signed off on 2 January 1946. She was a FANY. She was employed as a shorthand typist. She appears to have died in 2002.
Wright, Angela Mary: born 14 February 1924 in Dublin, Angela was a student at Cheltenham Ladies’ College when SOE looked into employing her in March 1943. From 15 may 1943, she was employed as a FANY W/T operator at STS 54. On 26 September 1944, Angela left for India, and was signed off after her return to the UK on 5 December 1945. Her home address is recorded as Surrenden Road in Brighton.
Enjoying this content?
How about a small donation to help cover website costs? Much appreciated!
£1.00
The Special Operations Executive in Burma 1941-1945 
