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Eileen Nearne

For her neighbours in Torquay she was a reclusive little old lady that nobody much visited. But after her death the truth about Eileen Nearne’s heroism has come out, and an extraordinary tale it is too: parachuted into occupied France she worked as a radio operative for the Special Operations Executive; was captured and tortured by the Gestapo but didn’t crack; spent time in Ravensbruck concentration camp, then escaped from a forced labour camp only to be recaptured but again prove courageous enough to fool her SS interrogators. In an age where telling all has become the norm, Eileen Nearne’s ability to keep quiet about her incredible past is an object lesson.

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Brit Quote:
Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. - Benjamin Disraeli
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On this day:
Tolpuddle Martyrs Sentenced - 1834, Argentine Forces land on South Georgia - 1982
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