Prince Charles spent a very busy day making three public appearances in three various occasions last December 4 — including being the one to unveil a monument honoring WWII’s female agents.
The prince visited the Higgins Museum in Bedfordshire before going to the Christmas Tree festival in town greeting and smiling at the crowd.
He then proceeded to round off his day by unveiling a memorial in honor of 75 women agents who aided resistance movements during World War II.
Prince Charles was joined by most of the agents called up through then Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s orders for the formation of a Special Operations Executive with the purpose of “setting Europe ablaze”.
The prince was the one who unveiled The Tempsford Memorial, which lists the names of 75 agents most of whom flew in that very same Royal Air Force base, and was also the one who placed the last tile on the monument’s mosaic.
The said ceremony was also attended by Baroness Crawley who had called for the public commemoration of the female agents’ contributions during the war in 2011.
M16 head Sir John Sawers was also present during the ceremony and gave an apt tribute to the female agents honored by the memorial saying that “the extraordinary bravery of these courageous women helped change the war”.
“In the modern world, as well as in wartime, you need people who can operate below the radar, who can work secretly and loyally for this country,” he also added.
It was in 2010 when a WWII female agent, Eileen Nearne, died alone and penniless in spite of the years she dedicated putting on WWII efforts risking her life in the line.
Most of the females listed in the monument were first-time recipients of commendation for the service they gave during the war.
From among the brave servicemen and women named in the monument, 29 individuals were arrested by the forces of the enemy. From this number, one committed suicide upon capture, two others died in captivity and another 16 were then executed later.