Some four years in the making, and needing approvals from the Austrian and Dutch governments, this project finally came to fruition. Chair of Trustees, Louisa Russell, led a seven-strong party from SECRET WW2 that included Trustees Colonel (ret’d) Nick Fox, Paul McCue, and Professor Juliette Pattinson; Info Officer Carol Browne; and Friends Sharon Spinos and Wing Commander (ret’d) Dr Peter Dixon.

Jamie Sehmer, Friend of SECRET WW2 and son of Major Sehmer, attended from England with his sons Alexander, Edward and Luke. Members of the Wärndorfer family, from Britain, Germany and Austria, were marshalled by Nick Fox, and relevant embassies in Vienna were represented by Lt-Colonel Ewan Harris, UK Defence Attaché and Mrs Nikki Harris, and by Colonel Stéphane Loechleiter, French Defence Attaché and Chef de bataillon [Major] Jehan Hartmann, Asst French Defence Attaché – the latter with his two sons.

After the plaque’s unveiling in the quarry area of the camp, a fascinating 2-hour tour of the site was conducted, in perfect English, by a young member of staff, Rupert Pilsl, to whom we were very grateful. A refreshments reception in Mauthausen’s cafe closed the afternoon.

The plaque was funded by the Sehmer family, the Intelligence Corps Association and SECRET WW2.

As an example of how important our plaques and information boards can be, a member of a French association that visited the site shortly after our unveiling noted the name of F Section agent Lieutenant Comte J.A.M.A. “Arthur” de Montalembert. The family back in France was notified and we are now in contact with, and providing information to, a nephew – also Arthur.