Anne Dawson (secret agent) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Dawson
MBE
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| Born | 29 October 1896 London, England
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| Died | 8 October 1989 (aged 92) |
Anne Dawson MBE (born October 29, 1896 – died October 8, 1989) was a brave British secret agent. She worked in Belgium during the First World War, when the country was occupied by German forces. Anne was one of only two known British female agents working behind enemy lines in Flanders. The other was Edith Cavell, a nurse who lived in Belgium before the war.
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Anne Dawson's Early Life
Anne Dawson was born in Camberwell, London, England, on October 29, 1896. Her birth name was Anna Henderika. Her father, Francis Dawson, was British. Her mother, Catherine Dawson, was from a Dutch family.
Catherine spoke Dutch to her children, including Anne. Anne was the oldest of three children. Her father left the family when she was young. Anne helped her mother care for her younger brother and sister.
Anne was a very smart student. She won awards for her studies. She was especially good at languages, including Latin and Greek. Besides English, she spoke fluent Dutch. She also had a good understanding of French and German. These language skills would become very important later in her life.
Secret Work in World War I
During the First World War, Anne joined a special intelligence unit. This unit did secret work behind enemy lines. Because she was so good at languages, especially Dutch, she was perfect for missions in Belgium. Many people in Belgium spoke Flemish, which is similar to Dutch.
Anne's unit was called "Wallinger London." They started by interviewing refugees and travelers in Britain. From 1917, they worked from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Anne's job was to gather information. She would ask refugees and local people about German troop movements. She then gave her reports to her contacts at the Dutch border.
This work was extremely dangerous. If Anne, a British citizen, had been caught, she would likely have been executed. It was very rare for British intelligence to use their own citizens behind German lines. Most often, they used local people.
Because of the high risks she took, Anne received a special award. It was called the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). This award was created in 1917. It recognized civilians and non-military officers who did outstanding service for the military. Anne received her MBE in 1920.
Life After the War
After the war, from 1919 to 1922, Anne worked in Koblenz, Germany. She worked for the British High Commissioner. This was a high-level job. She received her MBE award there in 1920. She chose not to go to Buckingham Palace for the ceremony. She preferred to keep a low public profile. This choice would help her many years later.
In 1922, Anne started studying English literature at a university in Amsterdam. She graduated in 1927. At the same time, she began teaching part-time. She taught at St Norbertus Lyceum in Roosendaal, a town in the Netherlands. She later bought a house there with a friend and colleague.
Anne became a Roman Catholic sometime after the war. However, she later questioned many of its beliefs. She eventually stopped practicing the faith. There were some discussions at the school about her religious views. Some people also worried about having a female English teacher for older students. They also had concerns about "the way she dressed" and her "eccentric lifestyle."
Anne's Family Life
Anne met her future husband, Xavier François Marie Gérard Wolters, around 1928. He was Dutch. They got engaged, but Anne broke it off to care for her sick mother. After her mother died in 1929, they got back together. Anne and Xavier married in England in 1931. Xavier was very smart and interested in many things. These included astronomy and engineering.
In 1932, Anne and Xavier moved to Eindhoven, a city in the Netherlands. Eindhoven was a growing city. It had many new industries like electronics. This attracted smart scientists and engineers. Anne and Xavier both thrived there.
They had six children. Anne gave them English names. She also decided that the family would speak English at home. This continued even during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. One time, her child spoke English on a train. A German soldier got on, but luckily, he didn't recognize the language.
Anne was very proud to be British. She strongly disliked the Nazi regime. In 1942, she named her third son Frank Allan. This was after the newsreader of the BBC broadcasts to occupied Europe. In July 1944, she sewed a large British flag. She hung it outside her house when British and American soldiers freed Eindhoven on September 18, 1944.
Anne was a British citizen living under Nazi rule. She was never sent to an internment camp. This was thanks to many people who knew she was British but kept it a secret. Also, brave officials in Eindhoven changed her name in official records. They changed it from Anne Dawson to Anna Müller. They also changed her place of birth. Anne only found out about this act of courage after the war.
Later Years and Passions
Anne did not enjoy being just a housewife. She loved cooking, but she left other household tasks to others. This allowed her to focus on her passions. She loved painting and sketching. But writing was her true talent. Before the war, she published two children's books. She also wrote a major historical novel called Cardinal, Chancellor and King.
After her second historical novel, Mary d’Arcy, was published in 1948, she stopped writing books. She spent a long time translating a big academic work into English. She also found time to study Hebrew and Italian. She read Roman writers in their original languages. Anne also returned to teaching secondary school. She taught until she retired.
Later in life, Anne volunteered. She translated publications for a religious charity. This charity worked in Communist Eastern Europe. She also coached university students in literature. Anne was a strong and determined woman. She kept her full mental abilities as she got older. She passed away on October 9, 1989, just before her 93rd birthday.
Images for kids
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Anne Dawson in 1917
See Also
