Heswall U3A members can register for a place at the event by clicking here
10.30 Monday 22nd June Speaker Meeting
Margery Booth, the “Knickers Spy” by Bernard Nevin
Margery Booth is a forgotten English Opera Star from the 1930s but also acted as an undercover wartime spy.
Born in Wigan, she moved to Southport and was recognised as a young child with a notable singing talent, she eventually moved to London where she sang at the Royal Opera House. Margery married a rich German industrialist and lived in Germany where she rose to acclaim in 1930’s Berlin, singing at the Berlin Opera. Adolf Hitler became a personal fan, sending her roses after her performances, dining with him one at least one occasion.
However, she was secretly acting as a British Intelligence agent, passing on secrets under the noses of the feared Gestapo, discreetly hidden in her underwear, hence known as the Knickers Spy, a title given to her by the post-war media.
Margery sang in POW camps for British prisoners to bolster their morale but fell under suspicion of the Gestapo, she was arrested and tortured but later released. She managed to escape across Germany as the war came to an end and she gave evidence at post war-trials where English collaborators such as Lord Haw Haw were charged with treason.
As a result of her secretive life in Germany, she was unkindly treated when she returned to post-war England and her heroics were ignored when she attempted to revive her singing career.
This is a poignant and little known account of a brave Lancashire lady whose story deserves to be told. It certainly introduces an element of intrigue and contributes to the variety of our speaker programme. ‘A spy from Wigan’ sounds highly unlikely but I am sure members would like to know the truth. No doubt that this will be a popular talk.
