British spy who provided vital intelligence was thought by superiors 'to lack cunning'

Eileen Nearne, who died last month at the age of 89, was parachuted into France in early February 1944, where she worked as an agent called Rose.

Her work as a radio operator transmitting intelligence to the Allies earned her the MBE and the French Croix de Guerre, and when she was captured she held out against Nazi interrogators and eventually escaped.

But just days before her deployment, after a two-week training course, her superiors wrote in a finishing report: "She is not very intelligent or practical and is lacking in shrewdness and cunning. She has a bad memory, is inaccurate and scatterbrained. She seems keen but her work was handicapped by lack of the power to concentrate."

The report, dated January 26, 1944, and released into the National Archives today, continues: "It is doubtful whether this student is suitable for employment in any capacity."

Other newly released files include first-hand accounts of Miss Nearne's deployment and capture.

Writing of her arrest at Bourolareine on July 25, 1944, she said: "I had just sent a message when through the window I saw the Gestapo arrive. I had just time to burn the message and to hide the radio set. They searched the house and found the set. They also found the one-time-pad. They asked me questions about my code. I told them lies."

She said she lied repeatedly about her codes and contacts and added: "They put me in a cold bath and tried to make me speak but I stuck to the story."

After escaping, she went on the run before meeting up with the Americans. But they believed she could be a Nazi on the run and she was moved through a number of camps so she could be cleared by officials.

But a recommendation for her MBE states: "For five-and-a-half months she maintained constant communication with London from this most dangerous area, and, by her cool efficiency, perseverance and willingness to undergo any risk in order to carry out her work, made possible the successful organisation of her group and the delivery of large quantities of arms and equipment."