Courage Undercover

Phyllis Mary Therese O’Connor Dahlman, known as Babs, has quite a story to tell and tells it reluctantly and humbly, if at all. We were lucky enough to hear an abbreviated version one evening and begged, coerced and cajoled with help from a mutual friend to get her to share some of it with our readers. In spite of sounding like Ken Follett’s recent novel, Jackdaws, this story is true.  And it’s a shining example for us and for our children and their children about loyalty, courage and conviction, those seemingly passé characteristics that have become so very rare. Babs says matter-of-factly, referring to the daring raid in Follett’s book, “Well, that’s been fictionalized, but we could have done it.” Believe it.

Picture this. An upscale engagement party given by the bride-to-be’s family at their gracious home in Surrey, about 10 miles from London. The party was attended by 20 young women and 20 young men, all from upper-class families, all with lovely manners and fine educations.

Read the entire article in the September 2003 issue