Wigan student calls for memorial to amazing singer and spy

The Notre Society, led by young history enthusiast Tommie Harte, has approached Wigan Council about a permanent tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Margery Booth
Margery BoothMargery Booth
Margery Booth

Born on Hodges Street, Margery enjoyed huge success in the classical music world and became a friend of Adolf Hitler while also spying for her country while in Berlin.

She performed for troops in prison camps while at the same time getting top-secret information about the Nazi regime back to England.

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Now her amazing story, which has captured imaginations both locally and far afield, has reached 19-year-old Tommie, who is studying conservation at Myerscough College.

Tommie HarteTommie Harte
Tommie Harte

He founded the Notre Society to improve knowledge of fascinating but forgotten chapters of Wigan’s history and when he read of Margery’s amazing life knew he wanted to make a campaign for greater recognition for her the organisation’s first large-scale project.

He has already emailed senior figures at the local authority, which has promised to look into his request to collaborate on some kind of statue or other visible reminder of Margery.

Tommie, from Highfield, said: “A lot of history and cultural identity has been forgotten or erased from public memory.

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“Margery was a woman of bravery and inspiration who put her life on the line during the Second World War. She was tortured by the Gestapo and helped to bring the likes of Lord Haw Haw to justice.

“Sadly she was also wrongly accused of being a Nazi sympathiser by people when she came home and as she was sworn to secrecy went to live in New York where she died quite young.

“She’s also a great figure for this moment of feminism when a lot of people are commemorating female figures. She’s one of the best of those in Wigan.

“It’s unfortunate that still not that many people in Wigan know about her.

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“When I started to find out her back story I was fascinated and very surprised. The only commemoration of her is on the Women At War board at Wigan Parish Church, where there’s a small sketch, her name and a bit about her. I don’t believe that’s good enough for someone like her.”

Although the process of getting some kind of memorial is still at the very early stage Tommie says he would particularly like a statue, perhaps along the lines of the figures in Wigan town centre which commemorate the area’s mining history.

He admits he would also quite like to see a plaque at the house where she was born, but says he is wary of asking for too much at a time when the council is facing the demands of tackling Covid-19.

Tommie said he first came across Margery’s story thanks to a newspaper article about a team which is trying to make a film of her life.

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Having made her professional debut at Wigan’s Queen’s Hall in 1935, she moved to London and sang at Covent Garden before her marriage to Dr Egon Strohm, a man from a brewing family, took her to Germany.

There she appeared on top stages including at Bayreuth and was mistakenly trusted by the Nazi regime at the outbreak of the Second World War.

When she was sent to the Stalag III-D camp she gained information about traitors and on one occasion sang for the Fuehrer himself just after a British officer had hidden secret documents in her dress.

She refused to reveal information to the Gestapo when they captured her and made her way west, eventually being liberated by the US Army.

She died in the USA in 1952, aged just 46.

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Coun Chris Ready, cabinet member of communities and culture at Wigan Council, said: “Recognising people from our history that have significantly influenced how we live our lives today, whether that be practically or culturally, is a great way to harness the heritage of a place.

“Commemorating achievements of those before us for all to see not only instils pride in residents but teaches younger generations about their history.

“We’ve been proactive over recent years to put the borough’s influential and significant figures at the forefront through plaques, Believe star events and The Fire Within exhibitions.

“We are looking into the options available to us in relation to recognising Margery Booth and look forward to further conversations with the Notre Society.”

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