Vera Atkins

Vocation

Romanian-born British intelligence officer during World War II. Her family emigrated to England in 1933 but after a couple of years moved to France. She enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris to study modern languages before attending finishing school at Lausanne. The surname 'Atkins' was her South African-born mother's maiden name, which she adopted as her own. In May 1940, Atkins returned to England, and in February 1941, she joined the French section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She remained a civilian until August 1944, when she was commissioned a flight officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). She was officially the section's intelligence officer. Her biographer Sarah Helm believes that Atkins, who still had relatives in Nazi occupied Europe, may have helped them escape by bribing officials in German military intelligence. When the allied victory in Europe was accomplished, she went to Germany. Her self-appointed mission was to investigate the fate of the 118 F section agents who had disappeared in enemy territory. She succeeded in every case except one. She died in a nursing home in Hastings on 24 June 2000, aged 92. Link to Wikipedia biography