Nursing a Spy?

Nurse Kearns started working as a district nurse in Narberth, Pembrokeshire just before the war. She was a hunchback and always had her bulldog, Jumbo, in her car. She lodged with Mrs Cook in Northmead, Jesse Road, Narberth and they became good friends. In fact Nurse Kearns was generally well liked and was very popular amongst her patients.

Some months later Nurse Kearns went to London to meet up with her mother-in-law for a holiday; her husband had allegedly passed away before she came to Narberth to work. Mrs Cook had agreed to look after her dog whilst she was away. A few days into the holiday Mrs Cook received a telegram to say Nurse Kearns had passed away, suddenly, in London. The telegram also asked Mrs Cook if she would take care of the dog.

The Narberth Nursing Association were shocked at the news and tried to find out further details of the death of Nurse Kearns, who had been a valued member of their association. It appeared that the death had not been registered in London and the Nursing Association became concerned and contacted Scotland Yard.

A few days later a newsagent from Whitland, a nearby small town, received a letter from a Sister Kean at Brentwood Hospital asking for a copy of the local paper which contained a report of the death of Nurse Kearns. When this letter was later shown to Narberth Nursing Association, colleagues believed the writing was that of Nurse Kearns herself.

So it appeared that Nurse Kearns also known as Sister Kean was not dead at all. The feeling amongst local people was that Nurse Kearns was a spy. Pembroke Dock, which is only around 15 miles from Narberth, was an important area during the war; there was an RAF base which contained squadrons of Sunderland flying boats. It also had several huge oil tanks which held thousands of gallons of oil and these were bombed during the early part of the war. They were smoking for over a week and the smoke could be seen from miles away. I actually saw the smoke from Kilgetty which is at least 7 miles away. Were these bombed as a direct result of information passed on by Nurse Kearns?

Towards the end of the war the death of Nurse Kearns was reported for the second time. This time she was known as Matron Gaudion of Wantage hospital. Her body had been found surrounded by morphine and loose tablets though the coroner recorded an open verdict.
The mystery of Nurse Kearns generated a lot of interest and speculation, with local people being convinced she was a spy. A few years ago I met Nurse Cousins, now an elderly lady but who had been a nurse during the war, as soon as I mentioned Nurse Kearns she said “she was a spy”.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.