Marthe McKenna (1892-c. 1966) was, by day, a Belgian combat nurse during World War I, caring for German soldiers. By night, she was an Allied spy.
Marthe McKenna (1892-c. 1966) was, by day, a Belgian combat nurse during World War I, caring for German soldiers. By night, she was an Allied spy.
This month, we’re highlighting Women of Resistance. Whether fighting tyranny, oppression, sexism, racism, reproductive control, or any number of other ills, these women created paths for change.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
This month on Womanica, we’re highlighting women who led extraordinary lives of resistance. Whether fighting tyranny, oppression, sexism, racism, or reproductive control, these women created paths for change.
Today’s woman of resistance was, by day, a Belgian combat nurse during World War I, caring for German soldiers. By night, she was an Allied spy.
Let’s talk about Marthe McKenna.
Marthe was born in 1892, in a small, Belgian village. Like most of their neighbors, Marthe’s parents were farmers.
Marthe was in her early twenties when in 1914, World War One broke out. Germany invaded France, by way of Belgium. When troops reached Marthe’s hometown, they burned most of it to the ground – including her family’s farmhouse.
One building that was left standing was the local abbey. Nuns converted it into a field hospital. Marthe, who was home on vacation from Ghent University, began working as a nurse. She’d been studying medicine at school, and she was multilingual – she spoke English, German, French and Flemish.
At the makeshift hospital, Marthe cared for everyone – German, French, British. It didn’t matter. Even after her parents fled to another city, Marthe stayed, sometimes working 20 hour days. German forces were so impressed by her that they awarded Marthe the Iron Cross, a wartime medal given to those who’d served the empire well.
In 1915, Marthe finally left her home village, and reunited with her parents in another Belgian city called Roeselare.
The war was far from over. Marthe was dedicated to her work as a combat nurse. And armed with her Iron Cross, she found work at a local hospital for German soldiers. But she also took another job.
Marthe later wrote that a neighbor from back home, called Lucelle, recruited her to be an Allied spy. But historians have since suspected that Lucelle was actually the code name for Marthe’s aunt, Marie Deroo. Marie, or Lucelle, was already working for British intelligence. And soon, Marthe was, too.
For the next year, Marthe passed messages between the Allied forces and the Belgian resistance.
Marthe was driven by a strong sense of patriotism. But, she also struggled with the actual effects of her work as a spy. During one mission, she flirted with a German soldier who worked at the train station. She smiled and giggled, and learned when munitions were going to be sent to the German front. Marthe told her intelligence boss – and then watched as the British bombed the station.
She then had to reckon with the fact that the soldier she’d flirted with was in serious danger.
Still, Marthe wanted to play more of an active role in the resistance. She later said that, because of her gender, she couldn’t be a soldier. Being a spy was her way of fighting back.
In 1916, Marthe found out about a sewer tunnel that ran beneath a stockpile of German weapons. She was ordered to blow it up.
Marthe and another agent crept into the tunnel and placed dynamite inside. But in the rush to leave before the explosion, she dropped her watch – which was engraved with her initials.
That November, Marthe was arrested for espionage.
The punishment for spies was a death sentence. But Marthe – whose Iron Cross medal, once again, came in handy – was given life in prison.
Life in prison, it turns out, was less than two years. By 1918, Germany had surrendered, and Marthe was freed.
After the war, Marthe married a British officer named John McKenna, and moved to England. In 1932, she published a memoir called, “I Was A Spy!” (with an exclamation mark). It was an immediate hit. The book earned a rave review from the New York Times. The Sunday Dispatch, in England, compared Marthe to Joan of Arc.
Winston Churchill even wrote a foreword.
Later, it was revealed that Marthe’s husband, John, probably wrote the book, and fictionalized large parts of Marthe’s story.
The couple continued to write books about spies, and Marthe eventually moved back to Belgium.
Marthe died in 1966. Her popularity in England, was in stark contrast with her memory in Belgium – until recently.
In 2016, Roeselare commemorated World War I. This was the city where she tended to German soldiers, passed along messages, and blew up sewer tunnels. In one interactive exhibit, Marthe was a key character. Visitors could pretend to be spies just like she was.
All month we’re highlighting women who led lives of resistance. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!