Janet Dean gave a remarkable illustrated talk -’ My grandmother was a spy.’
Indeed, her Belgian grandmother, Margriet Ballegeer, spied for Britain in German occupied Belgium in the Great War.
Hating the Occupation, she stole identity documents and passed on information provided by the ‘train watchers’ and others, through Holland. Briefly imprisoned for forgery in 1915, and in spite of the enormous risks, she continued to work against the Germans.
In 1917, her group was betrayed. She and her comrades were repeatedly interrogated. Early in 1918, her fiancé and five others were sentenced to death. They were shot but Margriet’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, from which she was released by the Armistice.
Michael Lucas
Next Meeting
Wednesday 18th July 2018 'Making the Most of a Computer for Family History' by Eric Probert