Witherington, Pearl (1914–)

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Witherington, Pearl (1914–)

French-born resistance leader. Name variations: Pearl Cornioley; (code names) Marie and Pauline. Born June 24, 1914, in Paris, France; grew up in Hertfordshire; m. Henri Cornioley (1910–1999), 1945.

At the start of WWII, was working in Paris; escaped to England with family (1941), with help from the resistance; became a secretary in the Air Ministry; joined British SOE; parachuted into southern Loire region of occupied France (Sept 22, 1943), where she met up with Maurice Southgate, leader of the Stationer Network; worked as his courier for next 8 months; with arrest of Southgate (May 1944), reorganized the group and became leader of Wrestler Network, running a highly successful sabotage circuit, cutting the railway line to Paris 800 times; with the help of local man Henri Cornioley, built the group to 1,500 members of Maquis; played an important role during the D-Day landings and after.

See also autobiography, Pauline (1997).