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Barbara-OConnell

A veteran interview with

Barbara O’Connell

Barbara O’ Connell worked at SOE’s secret ‘Massingham’ base in Algeria. Getting there mean’t she was at risk of U-boat attack.

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About Barbara O’Connell

Barbara O’Connell recalls the freedoms and responsibilities she gained as a young woman working as a volunteer FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) in World War II.

Barbara recounts her time at Fawley Court in Henley where she was trained to code by writer and expert cryptographer, Leo Marks, leader of the Codes and Ciphers team which provided the crucial communications link for Special Operations Executive agents working in occupied Europe. She was later transferred to Grendon Underwood listening station in Buckinghamshire, and recalls, with some humour, the awful sleeping arrangements and the terrible food, and how she managed to find ways around these problems.

Too excited to be scared, she tells of a journey by boat through U-boat patrolled waters to Algeria where she worked at the SOE’s secret ‘Massingham’ base at Sidi Ferruch, just outside Algiers. Promoted to cadet Ensign, she coded messages sent during operations to secure the Italian armistice. Some years later, those involved were invited to Bologna, and Barbara proudly shows the ‘amazing medal’ presented to her in recognition of the part she played.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martyn Cox
Reviewed by:
Joan Turner

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

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Home | Veterans | Barbara O’Connell

A veteran interview with

Barbara O’Connell

Barbara-OConnell

Barbara O’ Connell worked at SOE’s secret ‘Massingham’ base in Algeria. Getting there mean’t she was at risk of U-boat attack.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
O’Connell, Barbara. A Veteran Interview with Barbara O’Connell. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/barbara-oconnell/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.
APA Style:
O’Connell, B. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Barbara O’Connell [Interview by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/barbara-oconnell/
Chicago Style:
O’Connell, Barbara. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Barbara O’Connell. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/barbara-oconnell/
Harvard Style:
O’Connell, B. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Barbara O’Connell. [Interviewed by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/barbara-oconnell/ (Accessed: 11 October 2026)
Vancouver Style:
O’Connell, B. A Veteran Interview with Barbara O’Connell [Internet]. Interview by M. Cox. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2026 Oct 11]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/barbara-oconnell/
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