25 December 1997(1997-12-25) (aged 88) Fleet, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Allegiance
United Kingdom France
Service/branch
Special Operations Executive French Resistance
Years of service
1943–1945
Rank
Field agent and wireless operator
Commands held
Wheelwright
Battles/wars
World War II
Awards
MBE, Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre, Médaille de la Résistance
Cormeau and the Wheelwright circuit were based in Gers Department.
Yvonne Cormeau, born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld (18 December 1909 – 25 December 1997), code name Annette, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine organization, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), in World War II. She was the wireless operator for the Wheelwright network led by George Starr in southwestern France from August 1943 until the liberation of France from Nazi German occupation in September 1944. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Cormeau was acclaimed for the quality and quantity of her wireless transmissions. SOE cryptographer Leo Marks said that in more than 400 transmissions Cormeau never made a single mistake.[1] Cormeau also survived an unusually long time for wireless operators who were vulnerable to detection and capture by the German occupiers. She was a recipient of the Order of the British Empire from the United Kingdom and the Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre from France.
^Marks, Leo (1998), Between Silk and Cyanide, New York: Penguin, p. 590
YvonneCormeau, born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld (18 December 1909 – 25 December 1997), code name Annette, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine...
during World War II. Starr was described by his wireless operator, YvonneCormeau, as short in stature, five feet six inches in height, very nervous,...
the SOE on 15 February 1943. She trained with Noor Inayat Khan and YvonneCormeau. In 1943, Beekman married Sergeant Jaap Beekman of the Netherlands Army...
saboteur, code name "Néron." Denise Bloch, courier, code name 'Ambroise" YvonneCormeau, wireless operator, code name "Annette" Philippe de Gunzbourg Charles...
explosives. This is an incomplete list: Noël Burdeyron Peter Churchill YvonneCormeau Benjamin Cowburn Noor Inayat Khan Peggy Knight Bob Maloubier Harry Peulevé...
1922) 21 December – Bruce Woodcock, boxer (born 1920) 25 December – YvonneCormeau, World War II spy (born 1909) 26 December – Tommy Price, speedway rider...
British 1908–1982 Adolphus Richard Cooper 1899–unk Ted Coppin 1915–1943 YvonneCormeau F, Wheelwright British 1909–1997 CdeG, DM, GS, MBE, LdH, War Medal 1939-1945...
allied armies. Along with Buckmaster and SOE agents de Baissac and YvonneCormeau, she was a member of what was called the Judex Mission. The purpose...
mountaineer, avalanche. Anita Conti, 98, French explorer and photographer. YvonneCormeau, 88, British SOE agent during World War II. Georgi Gavasheli, 50, Soviet/Georgian...
Yolande Beekman Nicolas Bodington Andrée Borrel Maurice Buckmaster YvonneCormeau Madeleine Damerment Henri Déricourt Henri Garry Renee Garry Selwyn Jepson...
STATIONER network; four agents for the WHEELWRIGHT network of George Starr: YvonneCormeau, radio operator, Anne-Marie Walters, courier, Claude Arnault, saboteur...
(full name not known) Yvonne Baseden Sonya Butt Muriel Byck (died of illness) Blanche Charlet YvonneCormeau Lise de Baissac Yvonne Fontaine Olga Jackson...
Global Information
United Kingdom
France