Danielle Georgette Reddé

Danielle Georgette Reddé (7 October 1911 – 16 July 2007), alias Camille Fournier or Édith Daniel, was a French resistance member during World War II. She was awarded medals including the British Empire Medal, Croix de Guerre, Escapees' Medal, Légion d’Honneur and Resistance Medal for her service.

Early life Reddé was born on 7 October 1911 in Châtillon-sur-Seine in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. She worked as a typist, then at the Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones service from 1932, assigned to Dijon and Lyon. She also helped to get French, Belgian and British escapees out of France and into Spain by providing them with clothing and food. Groome was recaptured and was later sent to a concentration camp in Germany, where he was tortured. In London, Reddé was recruited into the Central Bureau of Intelligence and Action and the French Volunteer Corps, which became the Women's Auxiliary Corps (Corps Auxilaire Feminin). She trained in June 1943, alongside two other women, Eugénie Grüner and Yvonne Gittus. Reddé's service number was 17213.

After her training, Reddé was parachuted from a Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax bomber aircraft near Montluçon and the Allier Department, in February 1944. She was among the first of nine French women working for the BCRA to be parachuted into France. She operated under several aliases, including the code names Camille Fournier and Édith Daniel.

Indochina Reddé then volunteered to serve in the Far East with the French Direction générale des études et recherches (Directorate General of Studies and Research, DGER, which replaced the BCRA) and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the neo-colonial First Indochina War. She was parachuted into Japanese occupied Indochina with French Lieutenant Francis Klotz, into Viet Cong lines. She was the only French woman to be parachuted into Indochina during the conflict.

Reddé served as a radio operator during Operation Cantry, which aimed to locate and assist French and Allied nationals and repatriate them to Europe. After the end of her mission, she served for another year and a half in the Technical Archives office in Saigon.

Awards

British Empire Medal (United Kingdom) Colonial Medal (France) Combatant's Cross (France) Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France (France) Croix de Guerre (Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 and Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures. France) Escapees' Medal (France) Légion d’Honneur (France) Médaille militaire (France) Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol (Kingdom of Laos) Resistance Medal (France) Reddé was also recommended for a Military Cross (United Kingdom), but was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1946.