It was the final years of the war, and Hélène had been arrested in 1944 after a big push by the Nazis to try to break up all the Resistance networks in France. Also swept up in the arrests around this time were eight other women. Hélène's school friend was one of them.
.jpg)
Suzanne Maudet (nom de guerre: Zaza) was optimistic, kind and generous says Gwen. A month after she got married at the age of 22 to fellow Resistance member, René Maudet, the couple were arrested for helping young French men escape underground into the Resistance instead of being drafted to work in the German factories.
"Then there was Nicole Clarence, who was in charge of all the agents de liaison in the whole Paris region," says Gwen - which put her in immense danger. Aged just 22, she was arrested three weeks before the liberation of Paris in August 1944 and was deported on the last transport out of the city.
Jacqueline Aubéry du Boulley (Jacky) was also one of the last prisoners to be taken away from Paris. Aged 29, Jacky was the oldest in the group, a war widow and part of a key intelligence network in the Resistance, says Gwen. She had been raised by an aunt and uncle as her father was a seaman and away at sea.
"When he came home she moved in with him," says Gwen. "She was pretty salty that way. She kind of spoke like a sailor and she spoke her mind. She smoked all the time, she had a really deep gravelly voice. She was tough."
Gwen also describes her as incredibly loyal and caring.
Madelon Verstijnen (Lon) and Guillemette Daendels (Guigui) were 27 and 23 when they were arrested. Good friends, they came from upper-class Dutch families, says Gwen.
"They came to Paris to join the Dutch network, but were swept up immediately and arrested almost upon arrival," she says. "Guigui was an athletic, much more ethereal, serene person, whereas Lon was kind of an elbow in, 'I got to be in the middle of things,' kind of a person."
Gwen refers to Renée Lebon Châtenay (Zinka) as "incredibly brave". Described by Lon as a "little doll," Zinka was said to be short with blonde curls and a gap between her front teeth. She and her husband worked for a network that helped British airmen escape back to England.
Zinka was arrested at the age of 29 says Gwen, and had a baby in prison who she named France. She was only allowed to keep her baby for 18 days before she was taken away and Zinka was deported to Germany. Zinka always said she had to survive for her daughter.