Mona Louise Parsons (February 17, 1901 â€" November 28, 1976) was a
Canadian actress, nurse, and member of an informal Dutch resistance
network in the Netherlands from 1940 to 1941 during the Nazi
occupation. She became the only Canadian female civilian to be
imprisoned by the Nazis and one of the first and few women to be tried
by a Nazi military tribunal in the Netherlands.She received a
commendation for her bravery in helping Allied airmen evade capture
from both Air Chief Marshal Lord Arthur Tedder of the Royal Air Force
on behalf of the British people and from General Dwight Eisenhower,
who expressed the gratitude of the American people.[1]Parsons was born
in Middleton, Nova Scotia. Upon graduating from the Acadia Ladies'
Seminary in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a certificate in elocution,
Parsons attended the Currie School of Expression in Boston. She
returned to Wolfville to attend Acadia University for a time, where
she acted in several productions. After leaving Acadia, Parsons
briefly taught elocution at Conway Central College in Conway,
Arkansas. She studied acting and moved to New York City in 1929, where
she became a Ziegfeld chorus girl in the Ziegfeld Follies revues.[2]
She later became a nurse after attending the Jersey School of Medicine
from which she graduated cum laude in 1935. She was employed in the
Park Avenue offices of an expatriate Nova Scotia otolaryngologist. In
February 1937, Parsons' brother introduced her to millionaire Dutch
businessman Willem Leonhardt. The couple married in Laren, Netherlands
on September 1, 1937.[1]Upon the invasion of the Netherlands by the
Germans in May 1940, Parsons joined a network of resistance composed
of people from diverse walks of life: farmers, teachers,
businesspeople. Like the famous Corrie ten Boom, Parsons sheltered
downed Allied airmen in her home, "Ingleside", near Laren. At the
beginning of the German occupation, Parsons dismissed her servants so
that their quarters on the top floor of Ingleside could be used to
accommodate Allied airmen. A hiding place, behind the closet in the
master bedroom, was available as a temporary emergency shelter for the
airmen if her home was searched by the Nazis. Once the pilots left
Parsons' home, they were transported to Leiden, where fishing boats
took them to rendezvous with British submarines for their return to
England. The number of Allied pilots she saved is unknown. The last
airmen to hide at Ingleside remained for an unprecedented six days in
September 1941. The network had been infiltrated, and contacts were
unable to move the airmen as previously planned. Flight Engineer
William 'Jock' Moir and Navigator Richard Pape were finally moved to
Leiden, where they were caught by the Gestapo.[3]
Canadian actress, nurse, and member of an informal Dutch resistance
network in the Netherlands from 1940 to 1941 during the Nazi
occupation. She became the only Canadian female civilian to be
imprisoned by the Nazis and one of the first and few women to be tried
by a Nazi military tribunal in the Netherlands.She received a
commendation for her bravery in helping Allied airmen evade capture
from both Air Chief Marshal Lord Arthur Tedder of the Royal Air Force
on behalf of the British people and from General Dwight Eisenhower,
who expressed the gratitude of the American people.[1]Parsons was born
in Middleton, Nova Scotia. Upon graduating from the Acadia Ladies'
Seminary in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a certificate in elocution,
Parsons attended the Currie School of Expression in Boston. She
returned to Wolfville to attend Acadia University for a time, where
she acted in several productions. After leaving Acadia, Parsons
briefly taught elocution at Conway Central College in Conway,
Arkansas. She studied acting and moved to New York City in 1929, where
she became a Ziegfeld chorus girl in the Ziegfeld Follies revues.[2]
She later became a nurse after attending the Jersey School of Medicine
from which she graduated cum laude in 1935. She was employed in the
Park Avenue offices of an expatriate Nova Scotia otolaryngologist. In
February 1937, Parsons' brother introduced her to millionaire Dutch
businessman Willem Leonhardt. The couple married in Laren, Netherlands
on September 1, 1937.[1]Upon the invasion of the Netherlands by the
Germans in May 1940, Parsons joined a network of resistance composed
of people from diverse walks of life: farmers, teachers,
businesspeople. Like the famous Corrie ten Boom, Parsons sheltered
downed Allied airmen in her home, "Ingleside", near Laren. At the
beginning of the German occupation, Parsons dismissed her servants so
that their quarters on the top floor of Ingleside could be used to
accommodate Allied airmen. A hiding place, behind the closet in the
master bedroom, was available as a temporary emergency shelter for the
airmen if her home was searched by the Nazis. Once the pilots left
Parsons' home, they were transported to Leiden, where fishing boats
took them to rendezvous with British submarines for their return to
England. The number of Allied pilots she saved is unknown. The last
airmen to hide at Ingleside remained for an unprecedented six days in
September 1941. The network had been infiltrated, and contacts were
unable to move the airmen as previously planned. Flight Engineer
William 'Jock' Moir and Navigator Richard Pape were finally moved to
Leiden, where they were caught by the Gestapo.[3]
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