Whitehaven exhibition about a wartime heroine

An exhibition at the Whitehaven Office of Cumbria County Archives between 1 December 2015 and 29 January 2016 tells the story of "... a most remarkable woman", wartime heroine Olga Baudot de Rouville (1891 - 1979).

This is a link to a recent BBC news report about the exhibition (which gets the name wrong of the "French-speaking volunteer archivist" quoted!):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-34845086

Sister Olga Baudot de Rouville was a French Red Cross nurse at Lille during both World Wars. During the Second World War Sister Baudot de Rouville was a key member of the 'PAT' escape and evasion network. Her main 'nom de guerre' was "Thérèse Martin" (after the Roman Catholic saint, St Thérèse of Lisieux). In the summer of 1944 she offered her services as a nurse to the 'Maquis' during the uprising in the Vercors.

After the war Sister Baudot de Rouville lived for a time with the family of Dr. John Heslop, M.C. near Cockermouth (now in the county of Cumbria). Dr Heslop was one of the RAMC doctors Sister Baudot de Rouville had worked with in the hospital at Lille for wounded British soldiers and airmen following the Dunkirk catastrophe of 1940.

She left for Ireland in 1947 to look into a family legacy (her mother was Irish) and never returned to Cockermouth, Her wartime testimony and other personal possessions were subsequently donated to the Cumbria Archives by the Heslop family. It is this collection upon which the present exhibition has been based.
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(N.B.: While researching this project a number of lines of enquiry were made via 'WW2 Talk'. These have provided excellent additional material for the project. Thanks to all who helped in this way).

 

What is the correct name of the archivist?

 

"Yours truly" when I am not using my 'nom de plume': Joseph Ritson.

The last story I was asked about by the BBC was for a "WW1 at Home" feature. Whoever wrote the summary for that story for the BBC website got the first names wrong of the two main characters in the story, despite the fact they were given a written summary with the correct details in advance!

 

Congratulations to yourself Joseph and Whitehaven archives the exhibition was excellently put together well done.

Cheers Mike.

 

Glad you enjoyed it.