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Anne-Marie Walters

アン＝マリー・ウォルターズ

An-Marī Worutāzu

Pen Names: Anne-Marie Comert（Married name used in later life (used for literary agency and professional work)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1923-03-16 （Geneva, Switzerland）
Died
1998-10-02 （La Baume-de-Transit, France） age 75
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English, French
Residence History
Geneva, Switzerland → England, United Kingdom → United States → Spain → France

Career

Occupations
Women's Auxiliary Air Force officer, SOE field agent (courier), Author, Editor, Translator, Literary agent
Active Years
1941-1998
Affiliations
Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Special Operations Executive (SOE), F Section, French Resistance (Maquis)

Education

International School of Geneva
Country: Switzerland
Attended the international school founded in connection with League of Nations officials.

Awards

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
1945
Organization: United Kingdom (royal honours)
Result: 受賞
Croix de Guerre (France)
1945
Organization: French government
Result: 受賞
Médaille de la Résistance française
1945
Organization: French government
Result: 受賞
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1947
Work: Moondrop to Gascony
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Moondrop to Gascony

1946 Memoir 246 pages

A memoir recounting Walters's experiences as an SOE courier in France during World War II. It covers missions, collaboration with the French Resistance, relationships with network leaders, and the tensions and small moments of life under occupation.

ResistanceEspionageWomen's rolesCourage and danger

Bibliography

  • Moondrop to Gascony, Macmillan, 1946
  • Moondrop to Gascony (later editions/reprints)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct, memoir-style narrationdetailed, on-the-ground descriptions
Recurring Motifs
couragewar and resistancefriendship and betrayalfemale agency

Health

  • Alzheimer's disease
    晩年（詳細不明）
    Suffered from cognitive decline in later years that affected private life and work.

Legacy

Anne-Marie Walters served as an SOE courier supporting the French Resistance during WWII and later gained literary recognition for her memoir Moondrop to Gascony. She is regarded as an important testimony to the courage and complex relationships of women agents during the war.

Archives

  • The National Archives (Kew), file HS 9/339/2 (filed under her married name)
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and other library holdings

In Popular Culture

  • Frequently cited in studies and books about wartime spies and female resistance fighters.

Quotes

  • One day I am sent to Auch to collect blank and stamped travel permits, then next I go to Tarbes to take some money to a man who works there. The third I cycle to take a message to the wireless operator or someone else. Then I'm off for three days to Tarbes and Montréjeau where I have to wait for a reply.
    Source: Moondrop to Gascony (1946)
  • My family might not have recognized me had they seen me sitting in a third-class carriage with a beret tipped low over my forehead, wearing an old raincoat and generally looking half-witted while eating a chunk of bread and sausages.
    Source: Moondrop to Gascony (1946)

Trivia

  • Arrived in France at age 20 and was one of the youngest female SOE agents (alongside Sonya Butt).
  • Won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1947 for Moondrop to Gascony.
  • Awarded the MBE in 1945 and received the Croix de Guerre and Médaille de la Résistance from France.
  • After the war lived in the United States, Spain and France and worked as a translator, editor and literary agent.