Each country, including France, had its own section in London. As Sansom did not anticipate Henri's return until April 18, she and Churchill proceeded to the hotel in Saint-Jorioz. Sansom was shocked by the lax attitude towards security by her French supporters. As Sansom had told him she was related to Winston Churchill he took her with him to American forces, thinking that this would help his case. The marriage ended in divorce. In his book Odette: The Story of a British Agent (1949), Jerrard Tickell credits Sansom's survival to "the unassailable dignity in which she enclosed herself." Over the next few months The officer responsible for Sansom's torture in Paris was also executed in July 1944, for ordering the shooting of British parachutists captured in uniform. As well as Odette Sansom there were numerous other female spies who served in the SOE as secret agents in occupied France they include: Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sansom-odette-1912-1995, "Sansom, Odette (19121995) January 16, 1995, pp. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. This essay consists of three articles that examine different aspects of the history of prisoners of war. Name variations: Odette Hallowes; Odette Churchill; (code names) Odette Matayer, Cline, Lise. The biography of Odette Sansom Churchill (1912-1995) is absolutely amazing. Born 16 Aug 1886 in Abbeville, France, moved to England with her daughter and died in 1960. She was a Frenchwoman, married to an Englishman, and was living in Somerset with their three young daughters. Odette is a 1950 British war film based on the true story of Special Operations Executive French agent, Odette Sansom, living in England, who was captured by the Germans in 1943, condemned to death and sent to Ravensbrck concentration camp to be executed. When she was eight, an unidentified disorder caused her to go blind for. what happened to odette's daughters. These three would then recruit, arm and work with local French Resistance fighters to sabotage German trains, barges, bridges and supply depots. [17], In Ravensbruck Sansom was kept in a punishment block cell, on a starvation diet, and could hear other prisoners being beaten. Women were employed by SOE for field work, generally as couriers, and frequently as wireless operators. The following month she was sent to Ravensbruck Then she demanded his revolver, put it into her bag, turned and walked into the nearby village. Indeed the theme of her postwar working life, with its service to various charities and help for the underprivileged, was the healing of those wounds, both physical and mental, which had been inflicted upon individuals by the war. The torture involved, beatings, having her toenails torn out and her spine branded by a hot iron. What happened to Odette Sansom daughters? At 2:00 a.m. on April 16, Bleicher, no longer in the guise of "Colonel Henri", appeared in the hotel with Italian soldiers and arrested Sansom and Churchill. Sansom arrived in France on 2 November 1942 and worked as a courier with the Spindle network (or circuit) of SOE headed by Peter Churchill (whom she later married). She was captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, but survived the war. two years. She was then transported to Halle, where she was again treated brutally. Odette Hallowes/Spouse. Some had only rags to cover their feet as they were forced onto the frozen mud. You are here: foo fighters opening bands; plane crash recordings website; what happened to odette sansom daughters . Her body was soon covered in scabs, and she suffered from dysentery and scurvy. November 20, 1946. Anyone who fell behind was shot dead. Odette Marie Cline was born on April 28, 1912 to Gaston and Yvonne Brailly who lived in Amiens, France.Her brother Louis was born a year later in 1913. Instead, after the war, she worked for various charities seeking to lessen the pain of war. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. In July 1940, she had met Etienne Szabo, an officer in the French Foreign Legion. She died in 1995 aged 83. She was captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, but survived the war. When they told her she was to be executed, listing her many crimes against the Nazi Third Reich, she told them to take their pick of offenses, because they could only kill her once. Peter Churchill persuaded the authorities in London that due to the new situation he would need a talented French-woman to be his courier. Odette knew the locations of both, but refused to answer, saving their lives. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Distressed by the occupation of France by the German Army in Odette Hallowes has a story unlike anyone else. She wrote to the War Office indicating that she had lived in Boulogne for four years and that she knew the area well. When You Breathe In Your Diaphragm Does What. The interrogator told her to unbutton it. A matchstick was made in which the equivalent of nine sheets of paper could be carried and then hidden among the regular matches in the box. London: R. Hale, 1976. Susan Slosberg , writer, New Rochelle, New York. Odette was a courier for the SPINDLE circuit of Special Operations Executive (SOE), the secret sabotage outfit Winston Churchill had charged to set Europe ablaze. She was a wife and mother of three who didnt drink, smoke or swear, and to the casual observer she was quite ordinary, perhaps even boring. Odette Sansom (1912 1995) a French/British spy who worked as an SOE operative in occupied France. After he landed by parachute in a remote mountainous area, Churchill and Sansom hid in an inn in St. Jorioz. "If I had courage, it was my grandfather's," Sansom told a London Sunday Times interviewer in 1990. Each was awarded the Order of the British Empire, Popov and Czerniawski as Officers and Pujol as a Member. Your email address will not be published. Violette Szabo has no known grave. Odette Sansom, also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, was born on 28 April 1912 in Amiens, France. She is holding Tania Szab , daughter of SOE officer Violette Szab . 1 lot left! She seems to have little experience of the outside world. Continue Learning about General Arts & Entertainment. She was taught self-defence, Morse code, and how to resist interrogation. "People in trouble or despair seem to think I am someone of learning to turn to," she explained. Odette: The Story of a British Agent. She feared neither danger nor dagger, interrogation nor torture. It was there, the next night, that they were arrested by Italian troops and a German security agent. Yolande Beekman ("Yvonne"), Madeleine Damerment ("Martine"), and Eliane Plewman ("Gaby"), along with Noor Inayat Khan , were executed without trial in Dachau on September 13, 1944. German field marshal known as the "Desert Fox" Held by the Gestapo. She was captured six months later and imprisoned in Fresne, the Gestapo prison in Paris. She was captured six months later and imprisoned in Fresne, the Gestapo prison in Paris. She was captured, interrogated and tortured, and in July 1944, sent to Ravensbrck concentration camp in Germany. Since Sansom (code name "Lise") spoke French, she could plan and execute the night parachute resupply drops and arrange for secret transportation of the agents. Nancy Wake was the most decorated woman of the Second World War and by 1943 she was the Gestapos most wanted person with a 5 million-franc price tag and lived most of her life on the edge and in constant danger and her story is one of sheer bravery, strength and defiance. Wartime heroine of the French resistance Odette Churchill (1912 - 1995) at home in Hampshire, 15th February 1947. For over a year, Odette using the codename Lise, worked as a radio operator, for group leader Peter Churchill. They then moved to England where a second daughter Lily was born in 1934. what happened to odette sansom daughters. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. On May 26, 1943, Sansom was taken to the headquarters of the German security service. After the war and his separation from Odette he married Carla Schmidt (19212004). Odette's other companions remained at Karlsruhe until September when they were taken to Dachau concentration camp. They hid microdots bearing secret codes on their bodies, or in toothpaste tubes, shoelaces or buttons. They scraped out human fat 18 inches thick from crematoria chimneys. Walther PPK pistol taken by Odette Sansom from Fritz Suhren, commandant of Ravensbrck concentration camp, after he had driven her to the American lines in May 1945. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Despite all this, Sansom didn't want fame. By October, when her health had just about failed, they moved her to a cell above ground. Her brave endurance saved the lives of many agents. Odette Sansom (1912 - 1995) - a French/British spy who worked as an SOE operative in occupied France. Odette Hallowes, from Red Ball in Somerset, was awarded the George Cross, an MBE and the . Odette Sansom GC, MBE (28 April 1912 13 March 1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War. tortured by the Gestapo she had all her toenails pulled out. On May 26, 1943, Sansom was taken to the headquarters of the German security service. She was captured six months later and imprisoned in Fresne, the Gestapo prison in Paris. On 16th April, 1943, Sansom and Churchill were arrested by Hugo All Rights Reserved. Check out this video! Sansom was trained to serve as a courier and a circuit organizer. The prince is captivated by her soulful countenance and starts to approach her, but she becomes frightened and turns from him. I thank you for having faith in me. Sansom was torn, as she wanted to help but didn't want to leave her children. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sansom instructed Rabinovich to send a wireless message to SOE headquarters in London reporting the contact. On May 12, 1944, 25 days before the Allies landed in Normandy, Sansom, along with six other women agents of the SOE, was taken in handcuffs by night train from Fresne to Karlsruhe Prison in Germany. And danger was ever-present. Mrs Odette Marie Celine Hallowes (see Sansom) (28 Apr 1912- 13 Mar 1995). They were married after just five weeks and Violette gave birth to their daughter Tania on 8 June 1942. Some officials did not believe her story and cast doubt upon her integrity. They killed anyone they feared might testify. That brought her to the attention of Colonel Maurice Buckmaster's Special Operations Executive. By July 1940, these activities were brought under the control of a central organization, called the Special Operations Executive (SOE), also known as "the Firm" and "the Racket." "Every Sunday morning, after church, we were taken to the grave of my father, who was killed at Verdun 30 days before Armistice. Odette Hallowes, a British agent tortured by the Gestapo in World War II and the first woman awarded the George Cross, died at her home in Walton-on-Thames on March 13. In between each "evulsion," he would repeat his questions, telling her she could end "the ceremony" simply by answering the questions. 1932); Lily (b. Hero of the French Resistance, known only as Odette, who worked for the British War Department during World War II and, when captured and tortured by the Nazis, refused to divulge classified information. Its purpose is to accurately identify the goods via barcoding and to relate the physical arrival of the goods to the previously received ODETTE Despatch Advice message. Sansom told the Germans that Churchill was in the country on her insistence. [17][18] The British had calculated that if the Germans thought she was related to the British Prime Minister they would want to keep her alive as a possible bargaining tool. Agents learned how to place explosive matchboxes or fountain pens where they would do the most damage. [19], Sansom succeeded in diverting attention from Churchill, who was subject to only two interrogations, and protected the identities of the two officers whose locations were known only to her. Magazines, CODE NAME: LISEThe True Story of the Woman Who Became WWIIs Most Highly Decorated Spy, Or create a free account to access more articles, The Extraordinary Bravery That Made This Woman One of World War II's Most Remarkable Spies. Geoffrey Hallowesm. Violette Szabo has no known grave. Gleeson, James Joseph. Colonel Henri was a German officer who claimed he wished to work for the allies. Digital She began to understand that they were asking her to volunteer for more than part-time work as a translator. 22 Feb. 2023 . Despite, Odettes suspicions, his involvement led to her arrest. help establish a new circuit in Burgundy. [3][21] The cell was located near the crematorium and would be covered with burned hair from the cremations. On 16th April, 1943, Sansom and Churchill were arrested by Hugo Bleicher of Abwehr. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Odette Sansom was born in France but later moved to England. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. She left her children in a convent and began training with the SOE. 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