Jacqueline Nearne
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Jacqueline Nearne MBE (27 May 1916 – 15 August 1982), code named Jacqueline and Josette, was an agent for the British
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
(SOE) in Nazi-occupied
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and other
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
. SOE agents in France allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Nearne was a courier with the Stationer network operating mostly in the Clermont-Ferrand area. She worked in France for the unusually long time of 14 months and returned safely to England.


Early life

Born 27 May 1916 in Brighton, England, Nearne was the elder daughter of an English father and a Spanish mother. She moved with her family to France in 1923. At the age of 18, she began work in southern France as a commercial travelling representative for an office equipment company. France was defeated and occupied by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in 1940. In 1942, along with her sister Eileen, Nearne fled France, making her way to England via Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar. On her arrival in England, Nearne applied to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) but was turned down as she had no experience of driving in the dark and on the left hand side of the road.


Special Operations Executive

Nearne's fluency in French quickly brought her to the attention of SOE's F or French Section headquartered in London. She was given a commission with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANYs) and trained to be an SOE agent in the same class as Lise de Baissac, Mary Herbert, and
Odette Sansom Odette Marie Léonie Céline Hallowes, (née Brailly; 28 April 1912 – 13 March 1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Sansom, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in ...
. De Baissac described Nearne as "movie-star gorgeous but uncertain of herself in the otherwise all-male, buttoned up atmosphere." Her trainers' report on her was negative. She was said to be "mentally slow and not very intelligent" and "could not be recommended." SOE F Section leader Maurice Buckmaster overruled the trainers, accepted Nearne as an agent and later said she was "one of the best we have had." Nearne's sister Eileen would also join the SOE and serve in France as a wireless operator. Her brother Francis also worked for SOE. On the night of 25/26 January 1943, Nearne parachuted into France along with Maurice Southgate, landing near Brioude. The two of them created a new SOE network called Stationer with Southgate as the "organiser" (leader) and Nearne as his courier. Their job was to organize and work with resistance organizations in two distinct areas, first, around
Vierzon Vierzon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher (river), Cher with some light industry and a ...
,
Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...
, and
Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
, and second, south-west near the border with Spain around
Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...
. A wireless operator and second in command, Amédée Maingard, joined them in April 1943 and in September 1943, Pearl Witherington arrived by parachute to became Southgate's second courier. Nearne remained in France for more than 14 months without a break, an unusually long time for an SOE agent to remain uncaptured in France. Both Southgate and Nearne were security conscious. Shortly after Nearne's arrival in France, she stayed for a week in a hotel in
Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...
and French police checked her documents twice. She learned from that not to stay overnight in hotels as their occupants were monitored closely by the French police and the Germans. Instead she rented apartments in Clermont-Ferrand,
La Souterraine La Souterraine (; Limousin dialect, Limousin: ''La Sotarrana'') is a Communes of France, commune in the west-central French Departments of France, department of Creuse. Geography La Souterraine is an area of farming and light industry, comprisi ...
, and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
or spent nights at the homes of Resistance contacts. Most of the time, however, she slept on overnight trains, traveling from place to place to deliver messages and equipment to resistance groups, meet with other SOE agents, and seek out landing fields for clandestine air flights and safehouses. She usually traveled on slower trains as they were less subject to police and German searches and controls than the faster express trains. Her cover story was that she was a representative of a pharmaceutical company with no fixed address. Her forged documents said her name was Jacqueline Norville. Nearne had opposed the recruitment of her younger sister, Eileen, as an SOE agent, declaring her to be too young and immature. Nevertheless, on the night of 2/3 March 1944, Eileen arrived in France as an SOE agent. SOE headquarters ordered Jacqueline Nearne to return to England. SOE policy was that two members of the same family should not be agents at the same time. Despite the exhaustion of being an agent for so long, Nearne resisted leaving, but on 9 April 1944, a Westland Lysander airplane landed at a clandestine airfield where she was present. Chalked onto the fuselage of the airplane was the message, "Jacqueline MUST come." She obeyed the order. Traveling with her to England on the plane was her organiser's wife, Josette Southgate. Three weeks later Maurice Southgate, was arrested by the Germans. The Germans posted a photograph of Nearne on notice boards offering a reward "for the capture dead or alive of an individual known as Jacqueline or Josette." Nearne returned to France in September 1944 after the liberation of France by allied armies. Along with Buckmaster and SOE agents de Baissac and Yvonne Cormeau, she was a member of what was called the Judex Mission. The purpose of Judex was to visit the resistance networks and meet the French people who had worked with and assisted SOE agents and to assess the effectiveness of SOE operations.


Awards and honours

Nearne was awarded the MBE in 1945.


Postwar

Jacqueline Nearne's sister Eileen survived imprisonment in a German prison camp, but she had severe psychological and physical problems when she returned to England. Jacqueline nursed her but Eileen never regained her mental health. In 1946, Nearne played "Cat", a character based on herself, in the RAF's Film Unit production of ''Now It Can Be Told'' which was released to theatres in 1948 as '' School for Danger'', a drama-documentary about the wartime training and deployment of SOE operatives. Appearing with Nearne was another SOE agent, Harry Rée. After being in the movie, Nearne worked in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in the Protocol office of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Her portrait, painted by SOE agent Brian Stonehouse, is displayed on the wall of the Special Forces Club in London. Nearne never married. She died in London on 15 August 1982.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Internet Movie Database bio
sameshield.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nearne, Jacqueline 1916 births 1982 deaths Female wartime spies Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Brighton British Special Operations Executive personnel British people of French descent