Heroine

I was reading about Odette Marie Celine Sansom – Her father ws killed during WW1 when she was 4, she overcame temporary blindness and rheumatic fever as a child – as an adult she got married and had 3 children.

During WW2 she applied and was accepted to work for the special operations executive where she would have to work undercover in France – she was told it was very dangerous work, and she knew she could be killed.

During her parachute training she had a bad fall – but again carried on, and she landed in France in October 1942

She was captured by the Germans along with her colleague – Peter Churchill – they agreed to a cover story claiming they were married and he was related to Winston.

Odette was taken to Fresnes prison in France where she suffered 14 brutal interrogations - she kept to her story, took full responsibility and insisted that she she be shot, not Churchill. Her story was believed and Churchill was only interrogated twice.

During her tortures Odette had an iron burnt on her back, and her toe nails were pulled out.

In June 1943 she was sentenced to death, but was reprieved and taken to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany where she spent 2 years in solitary – 3 months and 11 days of this in a darkened room.



While I was reading about this remarkable women – I found myself thinking of Charlene Downes, Paige Chivers, Emma West and Jacqueline Woodhouse – who all have suffered torture, and in the cases of Charlene and Paige – murder.