Yvonne Baseden
Encyclopedia
Yvonne Jeanne de Vibraye Baseden (born 20 January 1922) was one of only 50 or so female SOE Agents.
. He crash landed in France at the home of the Comte de Vibraye, where he was invited by the Comtesse to have dinner. Whilst at the dinner he met and fell in love with the daughter of the Comte and Comtesse. The couple went on to marry and lived in France following the end of the War. The family travelled and lived around Europe, so as a result Baseden was educated at schools in England, France, Poland, Italy and Spain and in addition to being bi-lingual (English/French) she also spoke a basic level of many other languages. In 1937 the family moved to London, where they settled in Tottenham. Baseden was uninterested in school and left school aged 16 to work apple picking in Bedfordshire. In 1939, before the outbreak of war, she moved to Southampton where she worked as a bi-lingual shorthand typist in an Engineering firm.
as a General Duties Clerk (Service No 4189). She was commissioned in 1941 (later promoted to the rank of Section Officer) and worked in the RAF Intelligence branch, where she assisted in the interrogation of captured airmen and submarine crews. It was through this work that she came to the attention of the Special Operations Executive
(SOE). She joined the SOE on 24 May 1943.
One of the youngest SOE women to be dropped by parachute, aged 22, Yvonne left from RAF Tempsford
airbase near Sandy
on the night of 18/19 March 1944. Her field name was "Odette". She was parachuted into France with Gonzague Saint Geniès, a French organizer (field name : Lucien). They were dropped into South West France, close to the village of Gabarret. The local resistance were working for George Starr's network named "Wheelwright". They hid them for a few days, then she made her own way across France, her wireless equipment travelling separately, to Jura in Eastern France where she worked for four months as the wireless operator to the Scholar circuit. Her cover story was that she was Madamoiselle Yvonne Bernier, a shorthand typist and secretary.
Following the largest daylight air drop of the war to that date, during a routine search by the Gestapo
on 26 June 1944 she was trapped in a cheese factory with seven colleagues from the network. Her organiser took a suicide pill immediately, as he was known to the Gestapo. Yvonne was found, arrested and taken away for local questioning. At the end of that month she was moved to the Gestapo Headquarters in Dijon
and kept in solitary confinement.
On 25 August 1944 she was transferred to a prison in Saarbrücken
and then to Ravensbrück concentration camp
on September 4 of the same year. While at Ravensbrück she became ill and was put in the camp hospital, nursed by among other Mary Lindell
, where she remained until the liberation of the camp. She was one of 50 women released from Ravensbrück to the Swedish Red Cross. All the women were driven in coaches across Germany and Denmark and then on to Sweden. In Malmö
they were cleaned and deloused. Yvonne spent her first nights of freedom on a mattress on the floor of the Malmö Museum of Prehistory, sleeping under the skeletons of dinosaurs. She was then flown to Scotland and put on a train to Euston. On her arrival at Euston there was no-one to meet her, so she called the Air Ministry
and the duty officer arranged for Vera Atkins
to meet her. Miss Atkins then took her home to her father at Brockwell Park
.
with Eamonn Andrews
in the mid-1950s. She married and moved to what was then Northern Rhodesia
, where her husband worked in the Colonial Service. She remarried in 1966, took the name Yvonne Burney, and moved to Portugal
and then in 1999 returned to London. She no longer wanted to talk about her experiences in the war, but gave a brief interview to Sarah Helm for her biography of Vera Atkins. She also appeared in a French documentary ("Robert et les Ombres", director : Jean marie Barrère) in which she met, again but 60 years after the events, two of the resistance fighters who were in the field when she was dropped.
Background and early life
She was born in Rue Violet, Paris. Baseden's father was a World War I pilot in the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
. He crash landed in France at the home of the Comte de Vibraye, where he was invited by the Comtesse to have dinner. Whilst at the dinner he met and fell in love with the daughter of the Comte and Comtesse. The couple went on to marry and lived in France following the end of the War. The family travelled and lived around Europe, so as a result Baseden was educated at schools in England, France, Poland, Italy and Spain and in addition to being bi-lingual (English/French) she also spoke a basic level of many other languages. In 1937 the family moved to London, where they settled in Tottenham. Baseden was uninterested in school and left school aged 16 to work apple picking in Bedfordshire. In 1939, before the outbreak of war, she moved to Southampton where she worked as a bi-lingual shorthand typist in an Engineering firm.
WAAF & Special Operations Executive
On 4 September 1940 (aged 18), Baseden joined the Women's Auxiliary Air ForceWomen'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...
as a General Duties Clerk (Service No 4189). She was commissioned in 1941 (later promoted to the rank of Section Officer) and worked in the RAF Intelligence branch, where she assisted in the interrogation of captured airmen and submarine crews. It was through this work that she came to the attention of 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). She joined the SOE on 24 May 1943.
One of the youngest SOE women to be dropped by parachute, aged 22, Yvonne left from RAF Tempsford
RAF Tempsford
RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire, England was perhaps the most secret Royal Air Force airfield in World War II. It was home to the Special Duties Squadrons, No. 138, which dropped Special Operations Executive agents and their supplies into occupied Europe, and No...
airbase near Sandy
Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy is a small market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is between Cambridge and Bedford, and on the A1 road from London to Edinburgh. The area is dominated by a range of hills known as the Sand Hills. The River Ivel runs through Sandy. The dedication of the Anglican church is to...
on the night of 18/19 March 1944. Her field name was "Odette". She was parachuted into France with Gonzague Saint Geniès, a French organizer (field name : Lucien). They were dropped into South West France, close to the village of Gabarret. The local resistance were working for George Starr's network named "Wheelwright". They hid them for a few days, then she made her own way across France, her wireless equipment travelling separately, to Jura in Eastern France where she worked for four months as the wireless operator to the Scholar circuit. Her cover story was that she was Madamoiselle Yvonne Bernier, a shorthand typist and secretary.
Following the largest daylight air drop of the war to that date, during a routine search by 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...
on 26 June 1944 she was trapped in a cheese factory with seven colleagues from the network. Her organiser took a suicide pill immediately, as he was known to the Gestapo. Yvonne was found, arrested and taken away for local questioning. At the end of that month she was moved to the Gestapo Headquarters in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
and kept in solitary confinement.
On 25 August 1944 she was transferred to a prison in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
and then to Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
on September 4 of the same year. While at Ravensbrück she became ill and was put in the camp hospital, nursed by among other Mary Lindell
Mary Lindell
Mary Lindell , also known as the Comtesse de Milleville, the Comtesse de Moncy and Marie-Claire was a British-born nurse who lived in France and worked independently against the Nazis during World War II. During the First World War, she served as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment and...
, where she remained until the liberation of the camp. She was one of 50 women released from Ravensbrück to the Swedish Red Cross. All the women were driven in coaches across Germany and Denmark and then on to Sweden. In Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
they were cleaned and deloused. Yvonne spent her first nights of freedom on a mattress on the floor of the Malmö Museum of Prehistory, sleeping under the skeletons of dinosaurs. She was then flown to Scotland and put on a train to Euston. On her arrival at Euston there was no-one to meet her, so she called the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
and the duty officer arranged for Vera Atkins
Vera Atkins
Vera Atkins, CBE was a British Intelligence Officer during World War II.-Early life:...
to meet her. Miss Atkins then took her home to her father at Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare park located between Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, bordered by Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill , and Dulwich Road in South London....
.
After the war
After the war she appeared on This is Your LifeThis Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
with Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
in the mid-1950s. She married and moved to what was then Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
, where her husband worked in the Colonial Service. She remarried in 1966, took the name Yvonne Burney, and moved to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and then in 1999 returned to London. She no longer wanted to talk about her experiences in the war, but gave a brief interview to Sarah Helm for her biography of Vera Atkins. She also appeared in a French documentary ("Robert et les Ombres", director : Jean marie Barrère) in which she met, again but 60 years after the events, two of the resistance fighters who were in the field when she was dropped.