Commander of the Order of British Empire, Croix de Guerre, Legion of Honour.
Born in Romania as Vera May Rosenberg into a distinguished Jewish family. "Atkins" was an Anglicised version of her mother's maiden name "Etkins". She had trained at a secretarial college in London and then in 1937 in the face of the Nazi threat she and her mother emigrated here. Vera had already been working for some years as a spy on the continent. 1941 - 45 she worked in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), as Intelligence Squadron Officer, overseeing the missions of secret agents to France. During this time she lived with her mother at 725 Nell Gwynn House where the plaque is. Died Hastings.
Her is very good on the work she did and her life after the war. She apparently kept her Jewish identity secret.
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