The Memorials to the Women of the S.O.E. — FANY Memorial London, UK

at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge. London, SW1X 8SH

Womens Transport Service (FANY) Memorial

On a Saturday early in May 1948, readers of The Times of London saw a column headed:

Brave Women honoured - tablet unveiled - secret agents who gave their lives

The article started:

" Some of the bravest figures of the war are commemorated among the names of 52 women to whose memory a modest tablet was unveiled yesterday by Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, Commandant-in-Chief of the Women's Transport Service, at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge.

The 52 of those members of the W. T. S. (which began in 1907 as the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) who fell in different theatres of the war... Of these women and girls 13 met death in German prison camps, after having been parachuted into enemy-occupied territory as secret agents to serve the allies by aiding the resistance movements ... There is no formula by which to calculate how much of cold courage was embodied in these 13 women, or what they endured in dying for their countries."

The account described the tablet, "... on an outside wall of the Church in a quiet corner of Wilton Place, away from the bustle of Knightsbridge. The vicarage, the next building, served as the F.A.N.Y. headquarters during the war."

It went on to describe the service held in the Church before the unveiling of the memorial. Those present included Major-General Sir Colin Gubbins, " who controlled the special force to which the 13 secret agents belonged " and added that:

"... of the survivors of that group of 40 brave women about a dozen were yesterday's ceremony, among them Mrs Odette Churchill G.C., M.B.E. The congregation that almost filled the Church included parents, husbands, and children of the women who were being remembered; many French women; not many men; the young officer of the Parachute Regiment; parishioners of St Paul's, Knightsbridge; past and serving members of F.A.N.Y. and of the other women's services.

There were passages in the service which seemed more than usually applicable to the particular occasion - sentences that awakened far but clear echoes of adventures and exploits among the most desperate of the war. The lesson was from the Book of Wisdom: ' But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them ... For God proved them, and found worthy for Himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them.'

Blake's 'Jerusalem' was sung. Prayers were offered, and the congregation helped as the choir sang the Contakion of the Faithful Departed - ' Give rest, O Christ, to thy servants with thy saints, where sorrow and pain are no more.' The vicar spoke from the text, ' Their name liveth for evermore ', and quoted the words that one of the dead women was remembered to have used: ' I would do anything for England.' When the stone had been unveiled by the Princess and dedicated by the vicar, a wreath of poppies was laid by the commanding officer of the F.A.N.Y. Corps and a drummer of the Coldstream Guards sounded Last Post and Réveille. The Times noted that among the wreaths laid after the ceremony was one from Mrs Odette Churchill, inscribed in her handwriting: "To those who failed to return; with love and homage."

On 20th February 2000 I visited the memorial.

As the photographs show it is well maintained and the poppies still survive from last November's Rememberance Day. I found it very moving to read the handwritten messages on the poppies and wreaths to some of the women, from family, friends or colleagues. For so long now I have been reading about their exploits, their history and their families but they always appeared removed from real life in the pages of a book or on old paper in musty files.

This memorial just brings home how real their lives were and the ultimate price they paid for their country.

Please click on the small image below to see a larger version.

	The memorial plaque with all the names. The SOE agents are listed amonst the other WTS/FANY members.
	Close-up of the plaque. You can see where extra details have been added, medals, honours etc, since the plaque was originally inscribed.
	The plaque added to commemorate Oddette Hallowes.
	Larger picture of the memorial.