Spy Eileen Nearne given heroine's burial in Torquay
Guard of honour given to 89-year-old who worked from behind enemy lines in second world war
The wartime spy Eileen Nearne, who died as a penniless recluse in her small seaside flat, received a hero's funeral today.
Nearne died alone aged 89 at her rented flat in Torquay and council officials feared she would be laid to rest in a municipal plot with no mourners. But Nearne's demise made headlines around the world after details emerged of her wartime exploits behind enemy lines as a member of the Special Operations Executive and hundreds of mourners turned out to bid her a fond farewell.
Veterans from British Legion clubs from all over the West Country provided a guard of honour, lowering 22 standards as her cortege arrived at the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady, where she used to worship.
Representatives from all the armed forces attended as did the Consul General and military attache from the French embassy in London. More than a dozen wreaths lay at the gates of the church, some from fellow worshippers and friends who knew her through her work with animal charities in Torquay.
Her coffin arrived draped in the British and French flags, as befits a hero who was awarded both the British MBE and the French Croix de Guerre. Buglers from Britain and France played the Last Post as the coffin left the church.
Rev Jonathan Shaddock said: "Her story of fidelity, humility, faithfulness and suffering mirrored the cross of Christ."
Eileen's niece Odile Nearne gave a moving tribute to the aunt she knew as Didi. "She had a very strong character and was determined in her patriotic views," she said. "It is because of people like her that we can live peacefully today and have a good life.
"She was polite. She never wanted to speak about what she had done in the war. In fact, she did not want to be famous. People like her just want to forget and not relive their suffering."
Adrian Stone, the chairman of the Special Forces Club recounted her extraordinary career from the time when she was parachuted into France in 1944 and worked as a radio operator.
He told how she never cracked under torture and escaped from the Nazis. He said she had described her experiences in the war for the club's archive, saying: "It was a life in the shadows. I think I was suited for it. I could be hard and secret. I could be lonely, I could be independent, but I wasn't bored. I liked the work. After the war, I missed it."
In accordance with her final wishes, her body will be cremated and scattered at sea
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