Susan Ottaway

The death of an eccentric recluse is rarely an event to be given more than a few lines in a local newspaper. But when, in September 2010, police were called to a tiny, cluttered flat in Torquay and discovered the body of local 'cat lady' Eileen Nearne, they also found a small bundle of possessions that told an amazing story.For Eileen Nearne had been an agent for the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War, going undercover in Nazi-occupied France to send wireless messages of crucial importance to the Allies. Astonishingly, Eileen was not the only special agent in the family - her sister Jacqueline had also been an SOE. Rarely had two members of the same family sacrificed so much to such dangerous work.SISTERS, SECRETS AND SACRIFICE pays tribute to these fiercely patriotic women with hearts of courage, who fought for freedom at much personal cost. While Jacqueline narrowly avoided capture several times, tirelessly couriering secret documents for the resistance, Eileen was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo before being incarcerated at Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was only 23.This is a true story of triumph and tragedy, of two sisters who sacrificed themselves to defend our freedom, who stood shoulder to shoulder during the darkest of days.

A True Story

Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice

The incredible true story of British special agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne, sisters who risked everything to fight for freedom during the Second World War. When elderly recluse Eileen Nearne died, few suspected that the quiet little old lady was a decorated WWII war hero. Volunteering to serve for British intelligence at age 21, Eileen was posted to Nazi-occupied France to send encoded messages of crucial importance for the Allies, until her capture by the Gestapo. Eileen was not the only agent in her family---her sister Jacqueline was a courier for the French resistance. While Jacqueline narrowly avoided arrest, Eileen was tortured by the Nazis, then sent to the infamous Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. Astonishingly, this resourceful young woman eventually escaped her captors and found her way to the advancing American army. In this amazing true story of triumph and tragedy, Susan Ottaway unveils the secret lives of two sisters who sacrificed themselves to defend their country.

The Untold Story of Sister Spies in Occupied France

A Cool and Lonely Courage

Two sisters. Two special agents. One War. Sisters and Spies is the incredible true story of British special agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne, two sisters who risked everything to fight for our freedom during the Second World War.

Sisters and Spies: the True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne

A beautiful young widow and mother of a small daughter, Violette Szabo undertook two secret missions to France in 1944 as an agent for the Special Operations Executive. Just after D-Day, a few days into her second mission, she was arrested following a gun battle and sent to Ravensbruck, the women's concentration camp near Berlin, where she was executed at the beginning of 1945. The first edition of this book, published in 2002, was written with the cooperation of some of Violette's family members - in particular her elder brother Roy and her daughter Tania - as well as several of her friends and two of the only three SOE agents to survive incarceration in Ravensbruck. The author was also given access to letters written about his daughter by Violette's father, Charles Bushell, which had never before been made public and remain in a private collection to this day. This updated edition contains more information, available following the release of documents in 2003, which poses questions about Violette's relationship with her family and highlights anomalies in the way the official version of Violette's story was told. 'Ottaway confirms that she is a meticulous researcher and first-rate historian.' Alliance Advocate 'This excellent biography presents a vivid portrait of Violette as an agent and as a person. Extensive research and interviews with people who knew and worked with her have enabled the author to set out the facts and re-examine Violette's remarkable life. This is a moving and gripping read which offers a valuable insight into the character of one of Britain's greatest heroines.' This England

The Life That I Have

Violette Szabo

Jackie George

Jackie George was one of the first women to be used by the army in the fight against terrorism in Northern Ireland. 'She Who Dared' is her own frank account of the training she undertook and of the covert operations in which she took part during her two tours of duty in Northern Ireland. It is illustrated with her own photographs, some of which readers may find shocking.

Covert Operations in Northern Ireland with the SAS

She who Dared

From the first time Concorde took to the skies on 2 March 1969 until its final flight on 26 November 2003, the supersonic jet captured the imagination of the public. When Air France and British Airways announced their decision to stop flying Concorde there was a feeling of sadness and disbelief amongst the fans of this beautiful aeroplane around the world. But what of the men who flew her? There were fewer Concorde pilots than US astronauts, but only a handful of them ever had public prominence. This is the story of one of those better known pilots, John Hutchinson. From his birth in India in the final decade of British rule and his escape to England following the bloody battles that accompanied Partition, to the present day, this is the tale of John Hutchinson's exciting and sometimes precarious life, featuring near-death experiences and a life-changing personal tragedy. "A superbly interesting read, written about arguably the most eloquent of all Concorde pilot speakers. One of life's true gentleman and a superb pilot, it is a long overdue biography." - PPrune

John Hutchinson Concorde Pilot

The Wind Beneath My Wings

Two sisters. Two special agents. One War. Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice is the incredible true story of British special agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne, two sisters who risked everything to fight for our freedom during the Second World War.

Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne

The story of Violette Szabo is one of the most extraordinary in the annals of World War II espionage and covert operations, but her story is little known in the United States. Violette Szabo was by all accounts extraordinarily beautiful, but also totally fearless and a dead shot. She became a member of the Special Operations Executive, Britain's premier sabotage and subversion organization of the time. On June 7, 1944 Violette Szabo left behind a two-year-old daughter to parachute into France on a special mission for SOE. Szabo and other British agents were assigned to organize French resistance fighters to hinder the advance of the SS Das Reich Division to the Normandy beaches. Unfortunately, Szabo's party was soon ambushed by the SS. Unable to walk due to a twisted ankle, Szabo covered the retreat of her comrades with machine-gun fire. Captured, she went through a series of interrogations and changes of confinement before ending up at Ravensbrück, the German all-women's concentration camp. She was finally executed on January 26, 1945. She was 23 years old. This exceptional work has been written with the assistance of Violette Szabo's daughter Tanya, and unravels fact and fiction about one of the most fascinating characters of World War II.

The Life that I Have

Hitler's Traitors -German Resistance to the Nazis is the story of the groups and individuals that opposed Hitler and his government and tells of their heroic, but largely ineffective, efforts to rid themselves of the most evil regime in modern times. They came from many different backgrounds -Protestant pastors, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoeller; Catholic bishops such as Clements Galen, who was Bishop of Munster, and his cousin Konrad, Count von Preysing, Bishop of Berlin; politicians Otto Wels and Ernst Thalmann, students Hans and Sophie Scholl, their friends Christoph Probst and Alexander Schmorell and their university professor, Kurt Huber; military men such as Claus von Stauffenberg and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and even a member of the Waffen 55, Kurt Gerstein. Sadly by the time the Nazi regime came to an end most of those Germans who had resisted it were dead: arrested, imprisoned, tried and executed in the most barbaric manner.

Hitler's Traitors

The story of Violette Szabo is one of the most extraordinary in the annals of World War II espionage and covert operations. This exceptional work has been written with the assistance of Violette Szabo's daughter, Tanya.

Susan Ottaway

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