Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne

Of all the children, Jacqueline was the only one who found a secure job. When she left school she too became a sales representative, working for an office equipment company, and, although based in Nice, she travelled all over the country. In those days such an occupation was considered to be quite an unusual one for a girl but she enjoyed the work, and the travel, which allowed her to see a lot of the countryside. Although she didn’t know it at the time, it would be a foretaste of what was in store for her a few years later.

For the first few months of the war nothing really changed for the Nearne family. The sun was still shining over their home in Nice; Jacqueline was doing well in her job; Francis, who had recently married a young Frenchwoman, Thérèse Poulet, was continuing to look for work; Frederick was thinking about going to England to join the Royal Air Force; and Didi remained at home with her mother and father.

Then, on 10 May 1940, German troops swept into Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland, and all three countries capitulated. Two weeks later Calais and Boulogne were attacked, and the British Expeditionary Force, pinned down by the Germans in the coastal town of Dunkirk, was evacuated, along with several thousand French troops, in what was known as Operation Dynamo. By the middle of June Paris had fallen to the Germans and, on 22 June, the French signed an armistice in the forest of Compiègne, north of Paris, in the same railway carriage in which the Germans had surrendered at the end of the First World War. The threatened war had suddenly become real.

Some months earlier Jacqueline had gone to Boulogne to make sure that the family home on the boulevard Saint-Beuve was secure. The furniture was covered with dust sheets, the curtains drawn, and all the windows and doors locked, but there was little else that she could do to ensure its safety in the event of the German invasion they had all prayed would not take place. Now that had happened, and the family began to wonder what would become of them if enemy troops reached them in the south of France. They didn’t have long to wait for their answer.

Following the French surrender, the country was divided into two parts. The northern part was occupied by the Germans, while the southern sector remained in French hands, with the whole country nominally under the government of Marshal Philippe Pétain, hero of the Battle of Verdun of 1916, who had taken over when Prime Minister Paul Reynaud resigned days before the armistice. Pétain, no longer showing any heroic qualities, based his regime in the city of Vichy, from where he and the puppet administration did nothing for the French people, bowing completely to the will of the Germans. It was an enormous betrayal. Three days after the French surrender Pétain’s betrayal was compounded by the signing of another armistice, this time with Italy, and the formation of a demilitarized zone within France, which included the cities of Nice and Grenoble and which was administered by occupying Italian forces.

Foreign nationals were being forced to move from the coastal areas of France and the Nearne family was no exception. Even French-born Mariquita was regarded as being foreign, as she was married to an Englishman. The Nearnes were given just eight days to pack up and leave their home in Nice and find somewhere else to live.6 The edict that forced them to move was known as ‘residence forcée’ – enforced residence in an area, where residents were kept under police surveillance and life was often made very difficult for no apparent reason, other than that they were not French. The seaside house in Boulogne was obviously not an option as a place to relocate to and they doubted that they would be able to return to the Paris apartment even if they had wanted to, because the capital was swarming with Germans. After a hurried discussion, Jack and Mariquita elected to go to the Grenoble area which, although in Italian-occupied France, was where Francis and his wife had settled. Thérèse was expecting the couple’s first baby later that summer and they wanted to remain close for the arrival of their first grandchild.7

The family home at avenue des Arènes de Cimiez was leased to a Frenchwoman at an inexpensive rent and the Nearnes left Nice, taking as many of their personal belongings as they could carry to a hotel in Grenoble, where they remained while searching for a new home. Eventually in rue Adolphe Muguet, Saint-Egrève, in the mountains north-west of the city, they found a large, rambling old villa that needed restoring and they were able to purchase it. It was nothing like the comfortable home they had had in Nice, although the views of the mountains were beautiful. But at least they had their own house again and their enforced move meant that they were closer to the newest member of the family, a boy born on 24 August, whom Thérèse and Francis named Jack, after his paternal grandfather.8

Gradually the Nearnes managed to introduce some degree of comfort to the draughty old house, but Jack and Mariquita, their two daughters and younger son never really regarded the villa as a home. For them it was just somewhere to stay until the Nazis had been defeated, when they could reclaim the house in Nice and find out what had become of their other home in Boulogne and their Paris apartment.

By the late autumn of 1940 Frederick, along with so many other young men, had decided that, with no job and the ever-present threat of being sent for forced labour to Germany, he could no longer remain in France and would therefore go to England. It must have been a time of great anxiety for his parents, but they knew better than to try to persuade him to remain with them in Grenoble, believing that Britain would be a safer place for him than German-occupied France. Upon arrival in England he volunteered for the RAF, was sent to the recruits’ centre at RAF Station Uxbridge in Middlesex, and as Aircraftman 2nd Class Frederick John Nearne (1270875) began his service career on 1 November 1940. A month later he was posted to Ford in Sussex and six days later started his training at HQ Number 17 (Training) Group, part of Coastal Command. He remained there for a year before being posted, on 5 January 1942, to the Middle East Command, where he served at the RAF station in Amman, Jordan; the Middle East Torpedo (Training) school; Lydda (now in Israel); and various maintenance and operational training units in the Levant. He eventually returned to England and received his discharge on 23 October 1946.9

No longer seen as the well-to-do French family that they had previously appeared to be, the members of the Nearne family who remained in France were now regarded, at least by the authorities, as foreigners – citizens of an enemy state – and had to get on with their lives as best they could. Since they were unable to find any of the domestic help that they had formerly relied upon, Jacqueline and Didi had to help Mariquita run the house. One of their tasks was to collect and chop firewood, which was always in short supply but which they needed both for warmth and as fuel for cooking, and they helped with the shopping, cleaning, washing, ironing and cooking. Neither girl minded having to help with these chores – Didi even began to enjoy cooking – but they both minded very much about the reason they had had to move to the house in the first place.

Although they were British nationals, they had almost no memories of the country of their birth and spoke English with French accents. France was their home and they loved their life there. But as time went by and they saw how Britain was standing alone in the fight against the Germans, they began to think that perhaps they too should be doing something for the war effort. The war had made Jacqueline realize how patriotic she felt towards this small country, even though it was so unfamiliar to her. From that moment she knew that she would not be able to remain in France, subjected to the will of the Nazis and the weak-minded French appeasers who had formed some sort of a collaborative government. Slowly over the next few months, perhaps inspired by her younger brother’s decision to leave home, she came to the conclusion that she too would have to go to England and do something to help Britain fight the Germans, although she didn’t have any idea how she was going to do it. She discussed the situation with Didi, who immediately said that she wanted to go with her. Jacqueline was nervous about this, as Didi was still very young and quite naive. But once Didi had an idea in her head, nothing would stop her. If her sister was going off to fight, then so was she.

Meanwhile time passed slowly. The girls had made friends in Saint-Egrève but there was no possibility of employment for either of them. At an age when they should have had lots to do, they were stuck in their mountain hideaway, bored with their enforced inactivity and frustrated that what should have been the most exciting years of their lives were passing them by. For Didi at least, there was a glimpse of that excitement when she met her first boyfriend.10 Andy was a pleasant young man, with a cheeky grin that showed off his slightly protruding front teeth. He was smitten by Didi, but although she was fond of him, the excitement of her first romance couldn’t prevent her from thinking about escaping to England.

Jacqueline was eager to leave for England as soon as possible and, as they were both still British citizens, she and Didi contacted the British consulate in Lyons and obtained British passports. Jack and Mariquita, understandably, did not want them to go but knew that, as with Fred, it would be wrong to try to stop them. So at the beginning of 1942, not knowing if they would ever see their daughters again, they reluctantly said goodbye to Jacqueline and Didi and waved them off on a train bound for Marseilles, at the start of what would undoubtedly be a difficult and dangerous journey.

Once there the girls hoped to find a boat to take them out of the country but they were unaware of what conditions were now like outside their own sheltered world. Although both in their 20s – Jacqueline was by then 26 and Didi 21 – they were, after all, convent girls and had had protected lives thus far, being cosseted by their wealthy family. Although Jacqueline had travelled for her work before the war, she had had no experience of how everyday life in France had been affected after the German invasion. Neither girl had realized that because Marseilles was a port there were very rigorous checks, and they were distressed when they were refused permission to continue on their journey and were sent straight back to Grenoble.

Undaunted, they again contacted the British consulate to ask, this time, for advice on the best way to get to Britain, and were told to stay away from the coastline and try to get to Portugal via Spain. Portugal was officially neutral but had strong sympathies for the Allied cause. Spain, also officially neutral, favoured the Axis powers and there were German spies all over the country, but the sisters were sure that they would be able to reach England. The journey would still be dangerous, but they were determined to succeed and knew that they were better prepared than on their first attempt. Although it was a difficult time to be leaving their home and their parents, they had each other and each girl knew that she could rely on her sister completely.

In April they again said goodbye to their parents and this time they reached the Spanish border by train, managed to cross the country without problems and entered Portugal, where they were given transit visas enabling them to travel onwards to another country. Making their way to Lisbon, they went directly to the British consulate there and asked for more help. The consul told them that he would try to find them a ship to take them out of Portugal, so they booked into a small hotel, where they stayed for nearly three weeks, contacting the consulate at regular intervals to see if there was any information for them. Eventually the consul had news and it was good. He told them that he had found a ship that would soon be leaving for Gibraltar and the captain would be willing to take them on board. He gave them the name of the vessel and of the captain, and advised them to contact him as soon as possible.

The sisters immediately hurried down to the docks to meet the man, who was a jovial Englishman. He told them that although he had never carried passengers before he would be willing to take them, and so the arrangement was made. Jacqueline and Didi went back to their hotel, collected their bags and paid the bill. They returned to the ship and found that the captain had moved out of his cabin so that they could share it and have some privacy from the all-male crew on the voyage. When they reached their new quarters they could hardly believe what they found. The captain had filled the cabin with flowers for them and decorated other parts of the vessel with more flowers. It was such a kind gesture and they were very touched by his thoughtfulness. They reached Gibraltar without any problems and, after docking, had only three days to wait before continuing on the next stage of their journey. This time they were bound for Glasgow.

The entire expedition had taken around five weeks and had been very tiring but, in May 1942, as the ship made its way up the west coast of Scotland and into the river Clyde, Jacqueline and Didi were elated to have finally reached Britain. As they presented their passports they saw that some people were being directed to what seemed to be a holding area and discovered that they were refugees who had nowhere to go. Although the girls intended to stay with family friends in London, they were nervous that they too might be regarded as refugees, so they gave the name and address of a distant cousin, Mrs Plunkett of Heaton House, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire,11 thinking that they might stand a better chance of going through the formalities successfully if it was believed that they were going to be living with family. Whether or not they were actually in danger of being classified as refugees is doubtful. But they had had enough of bureaucracy and didn’t want to take any chances, now that they were so close to their destination. They needn’t have worried. Handing back their passports, the official waved them through the barrier and they were free.

The train journey to London took hours and left them feeling exhausted. They eventually arrived and, looking for somewhere to get a drink and something to eat, they came across a Lyons Corner House and decided to order afternoon tea to celebrate reaching the capital. They sat down and looked around them at the other customers. Everything seemed so much better than it had been in France. They even spotted someone eating a piece of cake and could hardly believe their eyes; they had not seen such luxury for a long time. When the waitress came to take their order they asked for tea and then, rather hesitantly, enquired if there was any chocolate cake. The waitress, noticing their foreign accents, stood and glared at them, her hands on her hips, and then snorted in disgust and enquired sarcastically, ‘I suppose you have not heard there is a war on?’12 They didn’t get their cake that day but, remembering what they had just endured in order to reach the relative freedom of London, they laughed at the waitress’s reaction. Refreshed by cups of tea, they found their way to the home of their family friends, Odile and George, at 97 Darenth Road, Stamford Hill, N16. Now all they had to do was find some war work.

CHAPTER 2

Secrets and Lies

It had not occurred to either sister that they might have problems finding suitable work on arriving in England and as they began to receive rejection after rejection they started to become despondent. Surely there must be something suitable for two intelligent girls who were fluent in English and French?

Jacqueline applied to the Women’s Royal Naval Services – the WRNS – whose advertising slogan at that time was ‘Join the Wrens and free a man for the fleet’ and was called for an interview. She set off with high hopes, but these were dashed when she was told that they needed drivers. Her disappointment was compounded when she was rejected for the post of driver after admitting that she had never driven in the blackout. Didi fared no better. She almost obtained a position as a barrage-balloon operator but was deemed unsuitable for the role. The sisters were beginning to think that they had wasted their time and effort in coming to England. In desperation, they contacted the Ministry of Labour, stressing their language abilities.

Life in England wasn’t all a disappointment. Although Jacqueline and Didi stuck closely together there were times when they went their own ways and met new people. Soon after arriving in London Jacqueline met a young army cadet called Jimmie and they went out together a few times before he was posted. He extracted a promise from her to write to him and said that he would like to see her again when he came back to London on leave. He even told her that he had seen a brooch that he wanted to buy for her.1 It was flattering, as he was obviously quite keen on her, but soon all thoughts of the new friendship were forgotten when Jacqueline received a letter, sent to Mrs Plunkett’s address in Cheshunt, from a Captain Jepson at the War Office. Dated 5 June 1942, it said:

Dear Miss Nearne,

Your name has been passed to me as that of someone possessing qualifications which may be of value in a phase of the war effort. If you are available for interview I would be glad to see you at the above address at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday 25th June, 1942.

I would be glad if you would let me know whether you can come or not.

Yours truly,

Selwyn Jepson

Captain.

The address that Captain Jepson gave was Room 055a, War Office, SW1. Jacqueline wrote back immediately, saying that she would be pleased to meet him on 25 June. She told Didi about it but asked her not to say anything to anyone else, as the letter was vague enough either to be something very important or to mean nothing at all; she was also beginning to feel embarrassed about her difficulties in obtaining employment. Jacqueline was eager to know what this ‘phase of the war effort’ meant, but she had nearly three weeks to wait until the appointed date and the time passed slowly. Didi was also impatient to receive her own letter inviting her for an interview, which she was convinced would soon arrive. It didn’t and, as the time got closer for Jacqueline’s interview, Didi kept reminding her to ask why she hadn’t been invited too. Jacqueline had to promise her several times that she would make a point of asking before her sister was satisfied.

Thursday, 25 June arrived and Jacqueline, dressed in a smart but understated outfit, left Stamford Hill to travel to the War Office. There she was met by Selwyn Jepson himself and ushered into a small room. Jepson was a quietly spoken man, nothing like how Jacqueline had imagined a military officer would be, and the room, apart from two hard chairs and a small table, was empty. There were no personal touches, no books or manuals, no charts or maps, no telephone or framed photo on a desk. Jacqueline was confused by the surroundings and by now rather worried about the interview, but when Jepson began to speak to her, asking her questions about her previous employment, her family background and her reasons for coming to England, his calm manner put her at her ease. She found herself telling him about her family and what had happened to them after the fall of France, how her brother was already in England in the Royal Air Force and how she desperately wanted to do something that would make a difference in winning the war.

Jepson considered everything she had said and then asked her how she would feel about going back to France. She immediately wondered if it would be as a spy and asked him if that was what he meant. He told her that it would not exactly be as a spy but that it would be in an undercover role and that there were risks involved. He explained that if she were selected – and at that stage this was by no means certain – she would be enrolled in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), which would give her a cover story for her friends and family, as the work he was suggesting was so secret that she mustn’t tell anyone at all what they had discussed. He advised her to go home and think hard about what he had said, and told her that he would write to her again to let her know whether or not he thought she would be suitable.

With the interview at an end Jacqueline suddenly remembered her promise to Didi, and told Jepson that she had a younger sister who had come to England with her and who was also keen to find useful war work. He thanked her for the information and for attending the interview, and repeated that he would be in touch very soon. Shaking her by the hand, he pointed her towards the exit and was gone.

Jacqueline emerged from the War Office feeling dazed and confused. She was relieved that there was a possibility of employment for her but she hadn’t dreamt that it would be anything like this. Although she had been keen to use her French language skills, she thought the role might possibly have been as an interpreter or a translator. She hadn’t considered going back to France as a secret agent and, after all the problems that she and Didi had had getting out of France, felt that it was ironic that if all went well she would soon be back where she had started.

In the short time that it had taken to attend the interview her entire world had turned upside down. She was elated yet scared, and she couldn’t wait to get home so that she could tell Didi what had happened. But as she walked along the road she suddenly realized that she couldn’t tell Didi, as she had been told that she mustn’t tell anyone. Her mind turned to ways of concealing what she now knew about the job. She knew that, try as she might, it would be almost impossible to fool her sister; they were so close that she felt Didi would know immediately if she lied to her. She didn’t want to lie but neither did she want to disclose what she had been told. She also realized with an uncomfortable jolt that if Didi discovered what the job really was, she too would want to return to France; and, while she was quite prepared to be put in such a perilous position herself, she was horrified by the thought of her young, unworldly sister being subjected to the same danger. Her dilemma occupied her thoughts throughout her journey home.

When she reached Stamford Hill an anxious Didi was waiting for her. Wanting to know everything that had happened, she began firing questions at her sister. Who had interviewed her? What sort of a job was it? Had she been successful? Her final question was the one that Jacqueline had been dreading: was there a possibility that there might be another vacancy that she could fill?

Taking a deep breath, Jacqueline told Didi that she had been interviewed by the man who had written the letter to her, Captain Selwyn Jepson, and that the job was as a driver for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. She said that she would soon hear if her interview had been successful but she thought it had. Jacqueline assured Didi that she had told Jepson about her and he had said that he would contact her if he felt there was also a suitable position for her with the FANY.

Didi was puzzled and slightly disappointed. She was curious to know why Jacqueline had not, it seemed, emphasized her desire to use her language skills. Surely her ability to speak, read and write fluent French could have been used to better advantage than by merely becoming a driver. Knowing her sister so well, she began to suspect that Jacqueline was hiding something from her. Perhaps she wasn’t even going to work for the FANY. Had she just told Didi that to make her believe that it was important war work she would be doing when really it was just a way of making ends meet?

Jacqueline herself could not stop thinking about the interview, and what it would mean to her if she was offered the position and accepted it. Jepson had told her to think very hard about what it involved and advised her not to rush into a decision, but she already knew what she was going to do. Although the role was not what she had imagined and she knew that it would be hazardous, she felt that she would be doing something that was really worthwhile, which was why she had come to England in the first place.