SOE Wines

Wanborough Manor and the SOE

Did you know that during the Second World War, Wanborough Manor about half a mile away from the vineyard on the north side of the Hog's Back served an important but secret training camp for the French section ("F Section") of the Special Operations Executive ("SOE").

The SOE was established by the British Government shortly after the fall of France in Summer 1940 and was a secret part of military intelligence charged with subverting and sabotaging the enemy overseas. In effect, this meant working with the local resistance in occupied countries to help disrupt the Germans. The SOE trained agents and landed them in occupied territory. Trainee agents passed through a number of specialised training camps, including Wanborough, before being sent into the field. Their missions were extremely dangerous and a very high proportion of SOE agents did not return. If captured, they were treated as spies (rather than soldier) and generally were tortured by the Gestapo and eventually executed. It is estimated that about half of the SOE agents who passed through Wanborough and went into the field did not survive making this one of the most dangerous active assignment during the Second World War. From 1942 the SOE was allowed to recruit women agents and a significant proportion of the SOE agents were women, making this one of the very few areas that women could serve on the 'front line'.

It is very hard for us today to appreciate the courage that these brave women showed in volunteering for duty where it was more likely than not that they would not survive. The story of the SOE is also not one that is well known - Government papers relating to its activities were either destroyed by fire shortly after the War or were kept secret until the mid-1990s. 

In order to celebrate this little-known piece of local history, and to honour all the Wanborough agents, we decided to commemorate these heroines by creating and naming some of our wines after a few of these amazing women. The first such wine was named after Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan (codename Madelaine) and the second release was name after Beatrice Yvonne Cormeau (codename Annette).

2020 - Noor

Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, codename Madeleine, was a distinguished F Section agent born in Moscow in 1914 to a Sufi teacher and an American mother. Her family settled near Paris but fled to England after France’s fall in 1940, where she trained as a wireless telegraphist (W/T). Spotted by F Section, she was sent to Wanborough for further training and subsequently completed her W/T training at Beaulieu. In June 1943, she flew to France by Lysander to work with Garry in Paris. After the Prosper operation's failure, her role became critical; she evaded capture until October 1943, when she was betrayed. She twice attempted to escape from her German captivity, was sent to Pforzheim prison, and ultimately was transferred with colleagues to Dachau, where she died. Her story has been documented in Jean Overton Fuller’s ‘Madeleine’ and recently in Shrabani Basu’s ‘Spy Princess’.

2021 - Yvonne

Only one of the four women agents in Party 27X survived the War. She was Yvonne Cormeau (Codename: Annette). She told an interviewer from the Imperial War Museum that during the training at Wanborough only the men were considered for selection as organisers or saboteurs, while the women and other men were considered for work as couriers or W/T operators.  After completing her general training, she went on to train as a W/T operator, before parachuting into France in August 1943 to work with George Starr. During the next 12 months she worked outstandingly and transmitted over 400 messages. She survived the War and lived on for many years in Fleet in Hampshire.

2022 - Pearl

Cecile Pearl Witherington – codename Marie - born in Paris in 1914 to British parents, initially worked with the Air Ministry before moving to Paris as Personal Assistant to the Air Attaché. She escaped France via Lisbon in 1941 and arrived in London in July. Recruited by F Section in 1943, she joined Party 27AA at Wanborough, where her extensive training record highlights her exceptional skills, leadership qualities, and bravery. She was recognised as an outstanding shot and a natural leader, with a strong, dominating personality eager for active roles. After Wanborough, she completed further training at Beaulieu and parachuted into France in September 1943 as a courier. Following the arrest of her circuit leader, she became responsible for the northern Indre as the only woman circuit organiser, working alongside her fiancé Pierre Cornioley, whom she later married. Her group conducted extensive railway sabotage after D-Day, disrupting lines over 800 times in June 1944. She survived the war and lived into her 90s.

2023 - Yolande

Yolande Elsa Maria Beekman – codename Yvonne – was born in 1911 and a Swiss citizen, previously worked in children’s fashion in London. Recruited into SOE, she was given a false identity during training, and despite initial remarks questioning her suitability, her determination and skill in wireless communications earned her a place. After completing her specialist training as a wireless operator, she was sent to France in September 1943, working with Guy Bieler near Saint-Quentin. In January 1944, she was captured by German direction finders and subsequently imprisoned in Karlsruhe, then transferred with other women to Dachau, where she was executed in September 1944.