Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent
I don’t like blowing my own trumpet I find it really difficult but at the same time I want people to know what really happened PEARL WITHERINGTON CORNIOLEY
EDITOR’S NOTE BY KATHRYN J ATWOOD What you hold in your hand is not a history book It is a piece of history History books are often written by people who were not there This is the testimony of someone who not only was there but who actively participated in what happened It is what historians call original source material Pearl Witherington was an agent of the Special Operations Executive SOE a British wartime organization that secretly trained and sent agents into Nazi-occupied countries during World War II Immediately following the war the British pub lic was shocked to learn that female agents had worked behind enemy lines for the SOE risking their lives and in some instances losing them in the fight against the Nazis Books were written and films produced about these women for a fascinated public who couldn’t seem to get enough Pearl became very distrustful of such endeavors after an author wrote a book that fictional ized her wartime work to make it seem more dramatic than it had been When the stories of other agents were deliberately altered in similar ways in books and films Pearl refused to give any interviews for many years xi
xii EDITOR’S NOTE Toward the end of her life however she began to feel that her story might be inspiring to young people in difficult circum stances French journalist Hervé Larroque approached her in 1994 with the idea of writing her memoir and as their acquain tance progressed she felt she could trust him to handle her story properly He conducted multiple interviews some with Pearl alone and others including Pearl’s husband Henri Cornioley from December 1994 through June 1995 The transcript of those interviews was published in French by Éditions par exemple in December 1995 with the title Pauline one of Pearl’s wartime code names M Larroque appreciated what I had done with Pearl’s story in my book Women Heroes of World War II in which she is pro filed and agreed to have me edit the English translation of Pau line into a straight narrative with added introductory material to place the memoir within its historical context Because Pearl was adamant that her story not be altered I have taken great care to change as little of her own wording as possible In most instances M Larroque’s brief questions are simply incorporated into the text A large part of the edit ing process involved bringing together material on one sub ject that had been garnered from various interviews and was found in various sections of the manuscript What remains is Pearl’s story in her own choice of words and her own style of speaking Because Pearl’s husband Henri was present during some of the interviews there is specific material enlightening com ments by Henri humorous interchanges between him and Pearl that would be lost if converted into a narrative There are other sections where keeping the text in its original dialogue format provides more clarity A selection of these can be found in the appendix
EDITOR’S NOTE xiii I am very honored to present Pearl Witherington’s memoir to the English-reading public at last May the memory of her courage and determination in the face of great difficulty con tinue to inspire future generations
