A World War II weapon caused a street in Twickenham to be evacuated, but the elderly woman’s incredible story raises even more eyebrows

A World War II weapon caused a street in Twickenham to be evacuated, but the elderly woman’s incredible story raises even more eyebrows

There had long been whispers about the polite but reclusive lady who lived at number 26, and the discovery of firearms and ammunition at the house seemed to confirm the neighbour’s suspicions. Had their elderly neighbour really been a World War II and Cold War era spook?

Eileen Burgoyne, who quietly lived out her retirement in Grimwood Road for more than 20 years, until her death in 2014, had worked for the intelligence services immediately after the Second World War. She was posted overseas for the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CSDIC), which operated interrogation centres around the world.

Among the cache of weapons discovered at her home by a team of builders on February 16 was a Sten submachine found in full working order. Ms Burgoyne’s cousin, Georgina Wood, had no idea of the fascinating life she had led, but upon her death she was sent many of Ms Burgoyne’s belongings.

Some of the correspondence she received included letters and telegrams from the War Office, photos of Hamburg devastated by Allied bombs, an invitation to a German hotel from a Lieutenant Colonel from 1945, pay-slips from the Woman’s Royal Army Corps and freedom passes from the Danish Allied Committee. What is left of Ms Burgoyne’s personal file reveals she had two periods of service, 1945-47 and 1950-53, and that she was a talented linguist, having studied French and Spanish at college in Manchester.

The police spokesman who accessed her file said there was clearly a lot of detail missing about what exactly she was doing for the CSDIC and there was even reference to files having been destroyed. Among the effects sent to Ms Wood is an invitation to Kaiserhof Hotel in Bad Pyrmont, just one hour’s drive away from the controversial interrogation centre at Bad Nenndorf, opened by the CSDIC shortly after the war for the interrogation of Nazi prisoners. It was closed in 1947 amid accusations of the maltreatment of detainees.

Ms Burgoyne may have worked as a typist or translator during the interrogation of prisoners. Interrogations would have been seen as a man’s job but they sometimes had women in the room typing up what was said, but it is not certain that she did not actively participate in the actual interrogation. One of Ms Burgoyne’s neighbours, said it was quite well known that she had been a spy, and the weapons may have been kept at the home as a form of protection during her retirement, or as souvenirs of a fascinating career.

Interrogators were told that "mental pressure but not physical torture is officially allowed." While murder was forbidden, interrogators were told they "were permitted to threaten to kill prisoners' wives and children", techniques that were deemed "quite proper". The interrogators read between the official lines.

They employed stress positions (standing up for eight days on end), strappado (hanging from the wrists, originally devised by the Spanish inquisition) and denial of food, combined with the "standard sleep deprivation and isolation regime". 

Two prisoners died in the custody of one Captain John Smith. When a prisoner complained that he was going to starve to death, Captain Smith replied with sang froid: "Yes, it looks like you are."

Exactly what work Ms Burgoyne did during and after the war we may never know, but what we can be certain of is this quiet old lady who died age 99 led a fascinating life in the thick of one of the most important chapters in modern history. (George Odling & Ian Cobain).