Vera Atkins

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Vera Maria Atkins

Vera Atkins
Born June 16, 1908(1908-06-16)
Bucharest, Romania
Died June 24, 2000 (aged 92)
Hastings, England
Occupation Intelligence Officer

Vera Atkins, CBE (June 16, 1908 Bucharest, Romania - June 24, 2000 Hastings, England) was a British Intelligence Officer during World War II.

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[edit] Early Life

She was born Vera Maria Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania, on 02 June 1908. Her family emigrated to England in 1933, but after a couple of years, they moved to France. She enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris to study modern languages before attending finishing school at Lausanne. The surname 'Atkins' was her South African mother's maiden name, which she adopted as her own. She was a cousin of Rudolf Vrba.[1]

[edit] World War II

In May 1940, Atkins returned to England, and in February 1941, she joined the French section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She remained a civilian until August 1944, when she was commissioned a squadron leader in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). She was officially the section's intelligence officer while serving as assistant to section head Maurice Buckmaster.

[edit] After World War II

When the allied victory in Europe was accomplished, she went to Germany. Her self-appointed mission was to investigate the fate of the 118 F section agents who had disappeared in enemy territory. She succeeded in every case except one.

In 1987, Atkins was appointed Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur. She retired to Winchelsea, Sussex and died in a nursing home in Hastings on June 24, 2000, aged 92.

Her gravestone is in Zennor churchyard in Cornwall, with the name Vera May Atkins, Legion D'Honneur Croix de Guerre.

[edit] "Into The Dark"

Recorded interviews with Vera Atkins are used in "Into the Dark", a short film directed by Genevieve Simms.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Stevenson, William. Spymistress: The Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II, Arcade Publishing, 2007, p. 3. ISBN 1559707631

[edit] Bibliography

  • Sarah Helm (May 2005). A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE. London: Little, Brown. 0-316-72497-1. 
  • William Stevenson (November 2006). Spymistress: The Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II. Arcade Publishing. 978-1559707633. 
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