Warfare in News

Posted on Wednesday 4th December
The Prince of Wales has unveiled a new memorial commemorating the female secret agents who flew out of RAF Tempsford, Bedfordshire to aid resistance movements in occupied Europe.
At a Service of Dedication, Prince Charles met relatives of the women and members of the public at a nearby public house. He sat with three veterans, who described their memories of carrying out covert missions.
The mosaic style memorial was constructed in an attempt to tell the stories of the women who risked their lives across the continent during the Second World War.
Historian Bernard O'Connor said he had records of more than 80 female secret agents flying from what was then the most secret airbase in Britain, the stories of most had never been disclosed. Mr O'Connor told the BBC:
'I think the contribution that they made to the liberation of their countries needs to be told.'
Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, praised the women's 'extraordinary bravery which helped change the war'.
At a Service of Dedication, Prince Charles met relatives of the women and members of the public at a nearby public house. He sat with three veterans, who described their memories of carrying out covert missions.
The mosaic style memorial was constructed in an attempt to tell the stories of the women who risked their lives across the continent during the Second World War.
Historian Bernard O'Connor said he had records of more than 80 female secret agents flying from what was then the most secret airbase in Britain, the stories of most had never been disclosed. Mr O'Connor told the BBC:
'I think the contribution that they made to the liberation of their countries needs to be told.'
Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, praised the women's 'extraordinary bravery which helped change the war'.
Further Reading
Women Wartime Spies
(Hardback - 224 pages)by Ann Kramer
From Mata Hari through to Noor Inayat Khan, women spies have rarely received the recognition they deserve. They have often been trivialised and, in cinema and popular fiction, stereotyped as vamps or dupes. The reality is very different. As spies, women have played a critical role during wartime, receiving and passing on vital information, frequently at considerable risk. Often able to blend into their background more easily than their male counterparts, women have worked as… Read more...
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