It was a pleasure to attend the unveiling of a plaque in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester, on Saturday 12th May, in honour of Madge Addy; a former nurse in the Spanish Civil War and World War Two agent for the Special Operations Executive.
The mission of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) was sabotage and subversion behind enemy NAZI lines and upon the instruction of then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, SOE were ordered to ‘set Europe ablaze!’
SOE are known for the heroic role that women played during WW2, with agents including Noor Inayat Khan, who died in Dachau Concentration Camp and Odette Hallowes, who later testified against guards charged with war crimes at the Ravensbrück Trials.
Other known names include Violette Szabo - whose legacy was cemented due to the smash hit film Carve Her Name with Pride - after being executed in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp and “the white mouse” Nancy Wake, who died in London in 2011.
Madge Addy is the second known member of Special Operations Executive, to have lived in the Chorlton area of Manchester. A Mr. Patrick Fleury, who lived on Barlow Hall Road and died in the Wythenshawe Hospital in 2007, also served with SOE during World War Two.
Among those who spoke at Saturday’s event, included Eddy Newman, the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Jeff Smith MP, Alison Bunn of the Royal British Legion and the International Brigade Memorial Trust, who organised the event.
Hussein Al-alak is the editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra)
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