With her departure for France now imminent, Didi could hardly contain her excitement. She knew that she had a lot to live up to; she had heard rumors about how well Jacqueline was doing in her circuit and was determined to do as well herself. Despite her eagerness, she knew that what she was going to be doing in France would be neither easy nor safe. Everyone, from her instructors to Buckmaster himself, had impressed upon her what a difficult task she was taking on and she was aware that her life would depend upon how she adapted to the conditions she found on her arrival. Buckmaster had done her a favor when he commented that she was a good liar: the remark had given her confidence in her ability to become someone she was not, which was what she had to do if she were to be believable and stay secure. She spent a lot of time rehearsing her cover story, convincing herself that she really was a not-too-bright shopgirl called Jacqueline du Tertre, until the story became so familiar to her that she could almost have repeated it in her sleep.
She was told that she would be leaving for France at the end of February 1944 and would be traveling with her new boss, William Jean Savy, known usually as Jean, who was to be the head of a new circuit called Wizard, based to the southwest of Paris in the département of Seine et Oise. When she met him, she knew that the reason she would not need to use a parachute was that he had a physical disability, a withered arm, which prevented him from controlling a parachute. Instead they would be flown to France on board one of the tiny, black-painted Westland Lysanders, which could take off and land quickly on a very short runway or in a small field, a vital attribute in ensuring that they avoided German patrols in the area of the landing zones.
Didi liked Savy. She sensed that he was a solid, dependable type. He in turn realized that his wireless operator had a strong love of France and felt that she was a serious young woman who would help him in the great task he had been set.
Savy had been brought into SOE by France Antelme, a former businessman from Mauritius and now a British Army major, who had begun his own SOE career in Madagascar during the British invasion of the island in 1942. Antelme’s work there had been so successful that he was picked for undercover work in France where, when he arrived in November 1942, his task had been to contact prominent bankers, businessmen and politicians, and to arrange provisions and finance for the Allied invasion of mainland Europe which, they all hoped, would herald the end of the war. He met Savy while in France and arranged for him to be trained by SOE, accompanying him to England in July 1943.
A well-respected Paris lawyer, Savy remained in England for the next seven and a half months, assisting F Section in the preparation of false documentation in advance of the Allied invasion. It was then arranged that he should return to his homeland and, having many influential contacts himself, extend the work that had already been done and would continue to be done when Antelme himself returned to France. Savy was given the code names Regis and Alcide, and the alias Capitaine Jean Millet of the French Army.
In many ways an ideal candidate for the SOE, 37-year-old Savy was well traveled, with a variety of skills including the ability to cycle, drive, ride horses, swim, sail and shoot. He also possessed a pilot’s license. He had, however, two major flaws which, should the Germans suspect him of clandestine activity, would make him easy to identify: his disabled right arm and the fact that he was a well-known figure in Paris. He was so well known that he saw no point in disguising himself in the capital and, when there, worked from his own office at 6 rue d’Alger, happy to disregard his own safety in order to serve his country.
As the departure date for Didi and Savy drew near, Didi felt a slight twinge of unease as well as the excitement that had sustained her since finishing her training, but she brushed it aside. Her suspense was to last a little longer, as bad weather in late February delayed their departure for several days, but they eventually arrived at a landing zone near Vatan in the département of Indre, north of Châteauroux, on the night of 2/3 March, having flown from RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire in a Lysander piloted by Flight Lieutenant Murray “Andy” Anderson of 161 Squadron.
Recalling the flight, Didi said: “I well remember how I felt when, from the aeroplane, we saw the red lights of the reception committee. We had a good landing and when the Lysander came to a stop we were met by two men with strong Parisian accents, asking us ‘Are you OK? We have to be very quick or we’ll all be caught.’ ” The men were from the Greyhound circuit and, hearing their voices, Didi felt that she had come home. As she and Savy moved away from the tiny aircraft, they came face to face with two agents who were returning to England on the Lysander, Georges Lovinfosse and Maurice Durieux. When they saw Didi they were worried that she was much too young for the work that she had come to do. They told her that France was too dangerous for someone so young and urged her to return to England immediately. She ignored their advice, telling them that she had no intention of going anywhere, except to where she was being sent. Lovinfosse, a Belgian businessman, had a country house near Châteauroux and was head of the Greyhound circuit to which the reception committee was attached, while Durieux was an agent of the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), whose task had been to destroy German labor records to impede the conscription of labor from France to Germany. Giving a final glance to the man and the very young woman who had just arrived, they boarded the airplane and were soon on their way to England.
Didi’s recollection continued: “The reception committee had organized a cart which was waiting for us and our baggage. Then, carrying our revolvers in our hands, we were taken across the field in it, to a barn where we spent the rest of the night. The next morning my chef and I parted.”1 Didi’s first night in France, after so long in England, was not what she had expected. She had never slept in a barn before. It was dirty, uncomfortable and full of spiders. It was also bitterly cold. She was not sorry when it became light and the two men from the reception committee told her that it was time to go to the station. Savy was left to make his own way and went off to find France Antelme, who had returned two days earlier.
With her two companions, Didi set off for the station, the young men having told her that they would go with her as far as Orléans and take her to a safe house where she could stay the night. As they left the isolation of the farm and the barn and headed towards the town, they passed very few people. It was still early in the morning and, apart from a few farmworkers, there was hardly anyone around. They reached the station, found the train for Orléans and climbed aboard.
So far everything was going well, but when they reached Orléans and Didi saw German soldiers at the station, she was horrified. Her dismay increased as they walked through the town, as there were more soldiers in the streets. She couldn’t help staring at them, frightening the life out of her companions, one of whom hissed at her, “For God’s sake, don’t do that. Don’t ever stare at them like that.” She quickly realized that she had done a stupid thing and she averted her eyes, managing to ignore the Germans for the remainder of the journey. Although she hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention from the soldiers she realized that it was not enough to have adopted a new identity; she had to show that she was at ease in any situation or else her cover would be blown. Her companions took her to the safe house, where she would spend the remainder of that day and one night before leaving the following morning for Paris. They then wished her good luck and went back to the station for their return journey to their Greyhound circuit, very relieved that their charge’s indiscretion had not caused any unwanted encounters with the Germans.
The following day Didi set off alone for Orléans station. Remembering her mistake of the previous day, she ignored the soldiers she passed on the way. At the station itself there were many more Germans but, gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the revulsion she felt at the sight of them, she bought a ticket for the train to Paris and went to the platform to wait for it.
Once on board the train Didi mentally went through everything she needed to do on her arrival. Her instructions had been to get in touch with a young woman called Louise as soon as possible after arriving. She would be Didi’s contact in Paris and would help her find somewhere to live. As soon as the train arrived at the Gare d’Austerlitz—the station named after the Battle of Austerlitz of 1805, which, according to Napoleon, was the finest he had fought—Didi set off for the Pont Neuf to find Louise. She walked along the quai Saint-Bernard, past the Jardin des Plantes, the main botanical garden of France, on her left and the Pont-de-Sully on her right, and then continued along the quai de la Tournelle until on her right she saw the magnificent cathedral of Notre-Dame on the Île de la Cité. The Pont Neuf led from the left bank—the Rive Gauche along which she had walked—across the Seine to the Île de la Cité and then on again over the part of the river on the other side of the island. She had been told that Louise would be waiting for her on the bridge.
It was still bitterly cold and was snowing heavily. Didi began walking across the bridge looking for a woman she knew to be about her own age but saw no one who could have been her contact. Then, as she reached the part of the bridge that crossed the island, she stopped for a moment to admire the bronze statue of Henry IV astride his horse and saw a girl who was just standing in the snow, while all around her hurried past. Didi knew she had found Louise.
The two women walked towards each other and Louise greeted Didi as if she were an old friend. Then, taking her arm and tucking it into her own, she turned and led the way back across the bridge. She told Didi as they walked that she was taking her to her own home, since it was her first day in the capital. Once they arrived at the apartment in the Place Saint-Michel, Louise began to explain what she could do for Didi and how they would be able to contact each other in the future. She told her that although she could come to the house to pick up and deliver messages, she could not stay there, so it was imperative that she find a room as soon as possible. Louise explained that she shared the apartment with her mother and her sisters, and she couldn’t allow anyone to stay there long term because of the danger to her family. But she told Didi that she could stay that night, and in the morning she would help her find somewhere to live and another room from where she could make her wireless transmissions.
Now that she had safely arrived in Paris, Didi began to feel more relaxed about the work she had come to do. Even if she couldn’t stay with Louise she knew that she would have a place where she could occasionally see a friendly face, even if only for a few minutes, and she felt that her faith in God would help her whenever she felt lonely. She wasn’t worried about being alone; she was comfortable with her own company and in her heart she was sure that she would be safe. Now all she had to do was find somewhere to live and begin her work.