Anne-Marie Walters
Encyclopedia
Anne-Marie Walters MBE
(16 March 1923 – 3 October 1998) was a WAAF
officer recruited into the Special Operations Executive
during the Second World War. Her code name was Colette.
Walters was born in Geneva
of an English father, F.P. Walters, who had been Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations
, and a French mother. The family left Switzerland for England after the outbreak of the war and Walters initially joined the WAAF in 1941 (Service Number 2001920). On 6 July 1943 she was recruited into SOE and during the summer and autumn of that year underwent training as an agent at the SOE Special Training School 23 at Loch Morar, Scotland.
The first attempt to parachute her into France in December 1943 failed because of bad weather over the dropping zone and ended with a crash-landing back in England (at a diversionary airfield because of widespread fog). There is a dramatic account of this incident in the first chapter of her book.
In the company of a fellow agent, Claude Arnault (Néron), she was successfully dropped into the Armagnac area in SW France on the night of 3/4 January 1944, to join George Starr
’s WHEELWRIGHT circuit. Walters acted as a courier for Starr until after D-Day. She worked alongside Yvonne Cormeau
(Starr's Wireless Operator).
On her return to Britain in August 1944 she attempted to return to France on active service, if not with SOE then with the Free French Forces. In this she was unsuccessful. Having been promoted to the rank of Section Officer in May 1944 while she was in the field, Walters resigned her commission in November 1944 and left SOE at the same time. She was subsequently awarded the MBE
(Civil list) for her work in occupied France and, from France, the Croix de Guerre
and the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française.
Later she published an account of her experiences in Moondrop to Gascony (Macmillan, 1946; Moho Books, 2009). The book provides a vivid portrait of Starr (Le Patron in the book) and also of Arnault (Jean-Claude in the book) with whom Walters was romantically involved. Moondrop to Gascony won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
in 1947.
After the war she lived in Spain and France and was known as a translator and editor under her married name Anne-Marie Comert. She died in France in 1998 at the age of 75.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(16 March 1923 – 3 October 1998) was a WAAF
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
officer recruited into 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...
during the Second World War. Her code name was Colette.
Walters was born in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
of an English father, F.P. Walters, who had been Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, and a French mother. The family left Switzerland for England after the outbreak of the war and Walters initially joined the WAAF in 1941 (Service Number 2001920). On 6 July 1943 she was recruited into SOE and during the summer and autumn of that year underwent training as an agent at the SOE Special Training School 23 at Loch Morar, Scotland.
The first attempt to parachute her into France in December 1943 failed because of bad weather over the dropping zone and ended with a crash-landing back in England (at a diversionary airfield because of widespread fog). There is a dramatic account of this incident in the first chapter of her book.
In the company of a fellow agent, Claude Arnault (Néron), she was successfully dropped into the Armagnac area in SW France on the night of 3/4 January 1944, to join George Starr
George Reginald Starr
George Reginald Starr DSO MC was a British mining engineer and one of the Special Operations Executive's best secret agents during World War II.-Early life:...
’s WHEELWRIGHT circuit. Walters acted as a courier for Starr until after D-Day. She worked alongside Yvonne Cormeau
Yvonne Cormeau
Yvonne Cormeau, born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War who was the second female radio operator to be sent to France and who talked her way out of arrest by pretending her wireless was an X-ray machine.-Early life:Beatrice...
(Starr's Wireless Operator).
On her return to Britain in August 1944 she attempted to return to France on active service, if not with SOE then with the Free French Forces. In this she was unsuccessful. Having been promoted to the rank of Section Officer in May 1944 while she was in the field, Walters resigned her commission in November 1944 and left SOE at the same time. She was subsequently awarded the MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(Civil list) for her work in occupied France and, from France, the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
and the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française.
Later she published an account of her experiences in Moondrop to Gascony (Macmillan, 1946; Moho Books, 2009). The book provides a vivid portrait of Starr (Le Patron in the book) and also of Arnault (Jean-Claude in the book) with whom Walters was romantically involved. Moondrop to Gascony won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
in 1947.
After the war she lived in Spain and France and was known as a translator and editor under her married name Anne-Marie Comert. She died in France in 1998 at the age of 75.