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house more than three days. This was for her own security, as well as the security of the rural families who permitted her to stay with them and transmit from their homes and properties. As the
Wheelwright network was large in area, she often had to bicycle up to 50 kilometres (31 mi) to change residences and to deliver or receive messages. While traveling around, she also identified fields that could be used to parachute supplies or as landing areas for airplanes and supplied the coordinates to SOE in London. She identified herself as a district nurse, thus giving her a reason for moving from place to place if stopped by Germans or the French police, the
492:
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482:
372:, to check her papers. She was almost arrested by the Germans after being betrayed by an agent codenamed Rodolph. However, she continued to operate, despite being confronted by "wanted" posters in her neighbourhood which gave an accurate sketch of her appearance. She was stopped at a German roadblock with Starr; the pair was questioned while a gun was held to their backs. Eventually the Germans accepted her story and the false identification papers and she succeeded in passing her wireless equipment off as an X-ray machine.
470:
351:
the aerial through a vineyard. The wireless could be powered by either AC (household) electricity or an automobile battery. Cormeau preferred to use a battery as she believed it was harder for the
Germans to locate the source of the transmission and also because the villages in which she worked often lacked electricity. She carried the crystals for the machine and the codes separately in a hidden pocket of her briefcase. She preferred to use codes written on silk handkerchiefs rather than more cumbersome
76:
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30:
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The most important way for a wireless operator to avoid detection and arrest was to use the wireless only briefly (not more than 20 minutes per transmission), infrequently, and from widely different locations. The life of a wireless operator was lonely. The SOE's instructions were, "The ideal is for
334:
pill offered by SOE to agents so they could commit suicide if captured. She arrived armed with a .22 revolver, but, on Starr's advice, she never carried it with her during her thirteen months in France. To be captured by the
Germans while carrying a firearm or a cyanide pill was, he told her, a death
237:
said that in more than 400 transmissions
Cormeau never made a single mistake. Cormeau also survived an unusually long time for wireless operators who were vulnerable to detection and capture by the German occupiers. She was a recipient of the Order of the British Empire from the United Kingdom and
350:
The standard wireless transceiver issued to SOE wireless operators was the B Mark II, a cumbersome 14 kilograms (31 lb) machine concealed in a suitcase. It required the operator to extend a wire aerial 20 metres (66 ft) long. In the rural areas in which
Cormeau worked she often stretched
367:
In the first few months she was in France, Cormeau worked also as a courier for Starr. She was scheduled to do three wireless transmissions a week, which also involved coding and decoding messages. The
Wheelwright network was large in area and she changed her location often, never staying in one
396:
a perfectly unobtrusive and secure craftswoman...She broke one of the strictest rules of wireless security--i.e. always keep on the move--with success: she transmitted for six consecutive months from the same house. She could see for three miles from the window where she worked, which was one
254:
and in 1940 he was wounded in France and was sent back to the UK. Shortly afterwards he was killed when their London home was bombed. Her life was saved by a bathtub which fell over her head and protected her, although killing her unborn baby. She sent her two-year-old daughter Yvette to the
581:. He predeceased her. She spent her later years at Tall Pines nursing home, formerly in Gally Hill Road, Fleet, Hampshire. After Yvonne Cormeau-Farrow died, she was survived by her daughter. Her memorial service was attended by representatives from both UK and French governments.
425:, the umbrella organisation of resistance fighters. Starr and Yvonne Cormeau drove into the city, American and British flags on their car. The liberation of southwestern France was complete. On 25 September, Cormeau and George Starr departed France, nine days after Starr and
383:
was anticipated, the tempo of activity by the resistance increased and
Cormeau's work as a wireless operator became more demanding. She now transmitted several times a day and she stayed for lengthy periods in one place, the hilltop village of
416:
In June 1944, Cormeau was shot in the leg while escaping from a German attack on
Castelnau, but managed to escape with her wireless. The dress she wore on this occasion and the bloodstained briefcase she carried are on permanent display in the
347:, compared with the 12 words per minute of the average operator. This was important because the longer an operator (called a "pianist" in SOE slang) was on line the more likely the Germans were to find them using direction finding equipment.
397:
safeguard; a more effective one was that there was no running water in the village, so the
Germans who knew there was an English wireless operator somewhere close by never thought of looking for her there.
355:
made of paper. Early in her mission, SOE provided
Cormeau with a much more portable Type A MK III wireless which weighed only 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) and was contained in an attache case.
276:
she answered an appeal on the noticeboard for linguists, and was recruited by SOE and began training as an F Section wireless operator on 15 February 1943. She was promoted to the rank of
222:
occupation in September 1944. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents allied themselves with
318:. Her assignment was to work as the wireless operator on the SOE F Section Wheelwright circuit in Gascony. The leader of the circuit (or network) was George Starr, code name
359:
the W/T operator to do nothing but W/T work, to see his organiser as little as possible, if at all, and to have contact with the fewest possible number of the circuit."
1011:
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Tentative of History of In/Exfiltrations into/from France during WWII from 1940 to 1945 (Border Crossings, Parachutes, Planes PU & Sea Landings), rev108-31122023
438:
991:
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996:
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Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France, London, Patrick Stevens Ltd, 1991; ISBN
1001:
947:
661:
246:
Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld was born in 1909 to a Belgian consular official and Scottish mother. She was educated in both Belgium and
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dinner. Cormeau and her daughter, Yvette Pitt, were reunited and lived in London. Cormeau was one of the earliest members of the
409:. She assisted in the cutting of the power and telephone lines, resulting in the isolation of the Wehrmacht Group G garrison near
959:
720:
532:
250:. She was living in London when in 1937 she married Charles Emile Cormeau, a chartered accountant. Her husband enlisted in
405:
network who operated for a longer period of time. She made arrangements for arms and supplies to be dropped for the local
796:
646:
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Cormeau was a talented and accurate wireless (W/T) operator, being able to transmit 18 to 22 words per minute in
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Newly widowed, Cormeau decided to "take her husband's place in the Armed Forces" and she joined the
233:
Cormeau was acclaimed for the quality and quantity of her wireless transmissions. SOE cryptographer
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280:. Her daughter, Yvette, was only two years old at the time. Cormeau placed her in a convent of
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and described as the "real Charlotte" of the novel and film. She was an advisor to the
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Foot, M. R. D. (1966), SOE in France, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 466.
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in London along with her WAAF officer's uniform. On 21 August, Toulouse fell to the
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Cormeau sent over 400 messages to London, second only to Auguste Floiras of the
639:
The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Women Agents of SOE in the Second World War
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Churchill's Angels, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, pp 119-120
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In her 70s, she married again to James Edgar Farrow, with whom she lived in
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as an administrator in November 1941 (Service No 2027172). While serving at
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in southwestern France from August 1943 until the liberation of France from
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219:
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http://www.plan-sussex-1944.net/anglais/pdf/infiltrations_into_france.pdf
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285:
562:. She became a linchpin of F Section veterans and arranged their annual
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She was the subject of a 'This is Your Life' programme in November 1988
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groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from
789:
Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France
296:. She was the only one of the three to survive her mission to France.
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where she remained until she was five. She did her SOE training with
281:
234:
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410:
388:, the headquarters of George Starr. The official historian of SOE,
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247:
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227:
29:
558:. She then worked as a translator and in the SOE section at the
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Charlotte Gray film website with video interviews with Cormeau
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892:, Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, pp. 116-117
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Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, pp. 119-120
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in London and she was a committee member. She promoted
622:
A Quiet Courage: Women Agents in the French Resistance
255:
countryside to escape the frequent bombing of London.
238:
the Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre from France.
179:Cormeau and the Wheelwright circuit were based in
1012:Female recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
322:whom she had known before the war when living in
194:(18 December 1909 – 25 December 1997), code name
968:
429:clashed and he ordered them out of the country.
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992:British Special Operations Executive personnel
550:A year after the end of the war, Cormeau was
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299:On the night of 22 August 1943 Cormeau left
727:, users.nlc.net.au; Retrieved 25 June 2014.
624:, London, Transworld Publishers Ltd, 1990;
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1007:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
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28:
745:"CORMEAU, YVONNE BEATRICE (ORAL HISTORY)"
210:. She was the wireless operator for the
174:
969:
641:, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2002;
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791:, London, Patrick Stevens Ltd, 1991;
314:, 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of
997:Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers
594:. She was interviewed for the movie
375:In the early months of 1944, as the
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1002:Recipients of the Resistance Medal
590:in 1989 when she was surprised by
330:She declined to take with her the
14:
1028:
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202:'s clandestine organization, the
127:Field agent and wireless operator
772:, New York: Penquin Press, p. 97
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437:After the war she was appointed
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65:Fleet, Hampshire, United Kingdom
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820:Rossiter, Margaret L. (1986),
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1:
958:"Yvonne Cormeau (F) Section,
687:Imperial War Museum Interview
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423:French Forces of the Interior
310:aircraft and parachuted into
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961:, Retrieved 12 December 2019
949:, Retrieved 12 December 2019
204:Special Operations Executive
106:Special Operations Executive
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824:, New York: Praeger, p. 175
708:, New York: Penguin, p. 590
502:Order of the British Empire
192:Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld
10:
1033:
867:O'Connor, Bernard (2012),
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392:described Cormeau's work:
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888:Escott, Beryl E. (2010),
807:O'Connor, Bernard (2012)
538:MĂ©daille de la RĂ©sistance
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451:MĂ©daille de la RĂ©sistance
441:, and decorated with the
168:MĂ©daille de la RĂ©sistance
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946:"Charlotte Gray movie,"
706:Between Silk and Cyanide
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533:Croix de Guerre (France)
386:Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon
312:Saint-Antoine-du-Queyret
264:Recruitment and training
822:Women in the Resistance
768:Glass, Charles (2018),
584:She was the subject of
514:France and Germany Star
433:Honours and decorations
572:Anglo-French relations
554:with the WAAF rank of
399:
184:
394:
178:
116:Years of service
1017:Female wartime spies
987:People from Shanghai
326:. Her code name was
305:No. 161 Squadron RAF
198:was an agent of the
890:The Heroines of SOE
809:Churchill's Angels,
749:Imperial War Museum
723:7 June 2009 at the
704:Marks, Leo (1998),
568:Special Forces Club
419:Imperial War Museum
339:Wireless operations
928:Glass, pp. 219–228
604:television series
377:invasion of France
185:
937:Foot, pp. 419–420
879:Foot, pp. 103-104
770:They Fought Alone
587:This Is Your Life
543:
542:
427:Charles de Gaulle
252:The Rifle Brigade
224:French Resistance
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110:French Resistance
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674:. 8 January 1998
668:"Yvonne Cormeau"
526:LĂ©gion d'honneur
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443:LĂ©gion d'honneur
294:Noor Inayat Khan
160:LĂ©gion d'honneur
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59:25 December 1997
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447:Croix de Guerre
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214:network led by
164:Croix de Guerre
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597:Charlotte Gray
560:Foreign Office
556:Flight Officer
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509:1939–1945 Star
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63:(aged 88)
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620:Liane Jones,
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752:. Retrieved
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676:. Retrieved
671:
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606:Wish Me Luck
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564:Bastille Day
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529:(Chevalier)
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259:World War II
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216:George Starr
208:World War II
195:
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187:
186:
146:World War II
142:Battles/wars
61:(1997-12-25)
15:
982:1997 deaths
977:1909 births
901:Foot, p.104
552:demobilised
390:M.R.D. Foot
286:Oxfordshire
220:Nazi German
212:Wheelwright
183:Department.
136:Wheelwright
971:Categories
678:10 October
612:References
579:Derbyshire
345:Morse code
335:sentence.
242:Early life
206:(SOE), in
70:Allegiance
43:1909-12-18
754:19 August
672:The Times
235:Leo Marks
119:1943–1945
721:Archived
411:Toulouse
328:Annette.
324:Brussels
320:Hilaire,
316:Bordeaux
284:nuns in
282:Ursuline
248:Scotland
196:Annette,
132:Commands
100:Service/
718:Profile
546:Postwar
363:At work
332:cyanide
308:Halifax
228:England
190:, born
795:
645:
628:
407:Maquis
403:Jockey
381:allies
370:Milice
152:Awards
102:branch
94:France
91:
79:
693:Notes
303:in a
793:ISBN
756:2019
680:2009
643:ISBN
626:ISBN
449:and
292:and
270:WAAF
181:Gers
124:Rank
56:Died
37:Born
602:BBC
439:MBE
379:by
156:MBE
973::
787:,
747:.
732:^
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637:,
608:.
574:.
453:.
445:,
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230:.
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845:(
758:.
682:.
45:)
41:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
