Of the female spies in the second world war
Very few remained alive
Their names are not often brought to the fore
Nor the daring for which they died
Their brave hearted deeds have gone amiss
There’s no-one marches for them
Their souls are forever cast adrift
In an eternal sea of men
Virginia Hall spoke German and French on the side
She trained resistance fighters
Organised drop zones and safe houses to hide
for many wounded survivors
And with her wooden leg code named ‘Cuthbert’
She escaped to Spain and really roughed it.
Princess Noor Inayat Khan wireless operator
whose code name was ‘Madelaine’
Was captured and tortured by interrogators
But kept her silence till the end.
Despite her rank she could not be saved
And is buried in a nameless grave.
Barbara Lauwers ran a lonely hearts club
Sending false love letters to the German side
To make them believe their wives were at the pub
With Frenchmen whom they could not abide
As a result they deserted and raced home
To find their wives in bed alone.
Amy Elisabeth Thorpe the Mata Hari of her day
had the Vichy Press attache beguiled
Soon codes and ciphers were obtained
from the safe in which they’d been filed
For the British she helped break the ‘enigma code’
Then at last released and again on the road.
As for Nancy Wake she was one of our own
Even awarded ‘The Legion Of Honour’
Code named ‘The White Mouse’ she was often prone
To train new fighters and she was a stunner
Who in the guise of a painted lady
The Gestapo thought rather too shady
Violette Zabo sabotaged roads and railway bridges
With her group of trained ‘Marquisards’
Exposed those who abused their priviledges
Producing German war materials in the back yard
In an open field she was finally caught
So few remember how bravely she fought
How brave these daring women of war
Let’s shout their names out loud
Let them know that someone’s keeping score
And that it’s for them we march proud.
© Renee Dallow ( Hybiscus Bloom )
Bourgeoise Bloomers 
