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year in the eld and had I been caught I would have been shot
or, worse still, sent to a concentration camp.
It is not for me to criticise the rules for decorating H.M. Forces,
but I do consider it most unjust to be given a civilian decoration.
Our training, which we did with the men, was purely military, and
as woman we were expected to replace them in the eld; women
were parachuted in as W/T operators, etc., and I personally was
responsible for the training and organisation, etc., of nearly three
thousand men for sabotage and guerilla warfare,.
The men have received military decoration so why this
discrimination with women when they put the best of themselves
into the accomplishment of their duties? Precedence? If so, why
should it not come into consideration. When I undertook my
duties in the eld I did not personally take into consideration the
fact that my mission had no precedent;
I was fully conscious of my mission and
never doubted that I could not carry out
my duties (which were equally entrusted
to the men), my training was sufciently
thorough to give me that condence.”
In April 2006, aged 92 and now living in
a retirement home in France, Pearl was
nally awarded her parachute wings.
(shown opposite). She had been previously
ineligble due to the fact she had only had
undertaken three training parachute jumps as a female recruit,
with the fourth being into the eld. As she did not leave France
for her year of active duty, she did not have the chance to do
another operational jump. “the chaps did four training jumps, and