Inscriptions for women SOE Agents Inayat-Khan, Rowden & Unternahrer (Beekman) at the Air Forces Memorial Runnymede
Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust info: Noor Inayat Khan a descendant of the legendary Tipu Sultan was a secret agent in the Second World War. She was infiltrated into France by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Armed with only a false passport and a pistol, the beautiful and gentle Noor was the first woman radio operator to be sent to occupied Paris. She was betrayed and captured by the Germans. Despite repeated tortured and interrogation she revealed nothing & was executed by an SS officer on Sep 13 1944 at Dachau Concentration Camp aged 30. On 8th Nov 2012 HRH Princess Royal Anne unveiled a memorial in London to Noor. In June 1943 Squadron Officer Diana Hope Rowden, WAAF returned to France by air as a SOE agent. She landed near Angers & moved to eastern France working under the name Juliette Therese Rondeau. She worked as SOE agent until 1944 when, with other female agents, she was detained by the Germans at the Natzweiler concentration camp. A few months later,at the age of 29 she, and her colleagues, dyed a slow and painful death there by lethal injection. Yolande Unternahrer was born in Paris 7th Jan 1911. The family moved to London and Yolande was educated at Hampstead Heath. She spent time in Switzerland becoming fluent in English, French and German. She joined the WAAF as a wireless operator working at several RAF fighter command stations before joining SOE in Feb 1943. She married Jaap Beekman a Dutch army sergeant that year. She was landed in Tours to work as a radio operator for Gustave Bieler head of the Musician Network at St. Quentin. In Jan 1944 Beekman & Bieler were arrested while together at a café. Bieler was shot by the SS at Flossenbürg concentration camp. Beekman was interrogated by the Gestapo before being transferred to Fresnes Prison. In May 1944 the Germans took Beekman and 7 other SOE agents from Fresnes to Germany. Beekman was executed at Dachau concentration camp in Sep 1944.
Size: 3375px × 5063px
Location: Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial Runnymede UK
Photo credit: © wyrdlight / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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