From The Crystal Butterfly to The London Spymaker

Oct 14

Two months ago, I shared a video (link below) on YouTube, recounting the remarkable liberation of Amsterdam in May 1945. Little did I expect it would capture the hearts and minds of 54,000 viewers, many of whom were touched by the heroics of their Canadian relatives, who played a pivotal role in Holland's liberation. All these reactions from viewers ignited a spark in me, and made me think with even more fondness why I wrote my book on the Dutch Resistance, "The Crystal Butterfly." In the 7th book in The Resistance Girl Series, our heroine, Edda Van der Valk (then Edda Valkena), joins in the jubilation of Amsterdam's liberation.

The popularity of the old Dutch news reel also evoked a profound sense of gratitude in me towards the brave Canadians, Brits, Americans, Australians, and others who landed on Normandy's beaches on that historic day of June 6, 1944 to begin their relentless march northward. It spanned eleven grueling months and was marked by countless sacrifices before the European Continent was liberated from Hitler's Third Reich. How the SOE secret agents played a vital role in assisting the Allied forces with their sabotage actions will be at the core of my new series “Timeless Spies”, coming in 2024.

At an hour’s drive from where I live lies the Canadian War Cemetery at Groesbeek, Netherlands. Two weeks’ ago, on a sunny Sunday, I went on a field trip to honor these young heroes who gave their lives for our cherished freedom. Over 7,600 Canadian soldiers died for the liberation of Holland, and 2,331 of them found their eternal rest at Groesbeek. It stands as an immense Canadian Commonwealth Cemetery, with a minority of other nationalities interred alongside.

My fascination with the Secret Operations Executive (SOE), as discussed in last week's blog, led me to discover that two of the five Canadian secret agents who were murdered in concentration camps while serving in the French section of SOE are commemorated on one pillar at this graveyard. That was my second motivation to pay a visit and pay tribute.

I also reached out to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and became a Foundation member, granting me the opportunity to contribute to their vital work. It puzzled me that the records showed that three agents were commemorated at Groesbeek - Pickersgill, Sabourin Biéler (correct spelling) -, whereas I could only find two names. (See photo left). The War Graves Commission told me that WW2 casualties with no known graves, like these five agents, may only be commemorated in one location. Where Biéler is commemorated elsewhere I’m still in the process of finding out. Considering that all 104 fallen agents of the French Section are commemorated on the Valencay Memorial in France (see last week’s post), the French memorial is not classified as a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. A valuable lesson learnt.

Mind you, these men are heroes of the highest class. They fought alone!

*The author at Groesbeek, left of me you can see the two agents’ names*

*The 5 Canadian SOE agents who died in concentration camps*

I invite you to watch my visit to Groesbeek through the video linked below, and I'm excited to share that you have one more week to download and read for free the first chapters of "The London Spymaker," set to be released next March.