Eliane Plewman
Encyclopedia
Eliane Plewman was a French
SOE
agent and member of French resistance
.
Plewman was born Eliane Browne-Bartroli in Marseille
. The daughter of an English father and Spanish mother, she was educated in England
and in Spain
. When she finished college she moved to Leicester
to work for an import company.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Plewman worked for the British
Embassies in Madrid
and Lisbon
. In 1942 she went to Britain to work for the Spanish
section of the Ministry of Information
. That same summer she married British army officer Tom Plewman. Later she joined the Special Operations Executive
(SOE) and was given a codename "Gaby".
On 13–14 August 1943 Plewman parachuted into France and joined a MONK resistance network of Charles Skepper. She worked as a courier
in the area of Marseilles, Roquebrune
and St. Raphael.
When the network was betrayed in March 1944, Plewman was also arrested. The Gestapo
interrogated her for three weeks and then transferred her to Fresnes prison. On 13 May 1944 the Germans transferred her and three other SOE agents (Yolande Beekman
, Madeleine Damerment
and Noor Inayat Khan
) to prison at Karlsruhe
. On 10 September they were transferred to the Dachau concentration camp, where she, Beekman and Damermant and Inayat Khan were forced to kneel in pairs and were executed by a single shot to the head on 13 September 1944.
Eliane Plewman is remembered on the Brookwood Memorial in Surrey (Panel 26 Column 3) and the F Section Memorial, in Valencay, France.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agent and member of French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
Plewman was born Eliane Browne-Bartroli in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. The daughter of an English father and Spanish mother, she was educated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. When she finished college she moved to Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
to work for an import company.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Plewman worked for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Embassies in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. In 1942 she went to Britain to work for the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
section of the Ministry of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
. That same summer she married British army officer Tom Plewman. Later she joined the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) and was given a codename "Gaby".
On 13–14 August 1943 Plewman parachuted into France and joined a MONK resistance network of Charles Skepper. She worked as a courier
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
in the area of Marseilles, Roquebrune
Roquebrune
Roquebrune may refer to the following communes in France:* Roquebrune, Gers, in the Gers département* Roquebrune, Gironde, in the Gironde département* Roquebrune, the former name for Roquebrune-Cap Martin, in the Alpes-Maritimes département...
and St. Raphael.
When the network was betrayed in March 1944, Plewman was also arrested. The Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
interrogated her for three weeks and then transferred her to Fresnes prison. On 13 May 1944 the Germans transferred her and three other SOE agents (Yolande Beekman
Yolande Beekman
Yolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
, Madeleine Damerment
Madeleine Damerment
Madeleine Zoe Damerment was a World War II spy.-Biography:...
and Noor Inayat Khan
Noor Inayat Khan
Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan / Nora Baker, GC, MBE , usually known as Noor Inayat Khan was of Indian Muslim origin...
) to prison at Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
. On 10 September they were transferred to the Dachau concentration camp, where she, Beekman and Damermant and Inayat Khan were forced to kneel in pairs and were executed by a single shot to the head on 13 September 1944.
Honours and awards
- King's Commendation for Brave Conduct
- Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with bronze star (France)