Russethouse Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Secret agent Nancy Wake has died : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14441032 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 "Freedom is the only thing worth living for. While I was doing that work, I used to think it didn't matter if I died, because without freedom there was no point in living," Wake once said of her wartime exploits.Having read the report she seems to me to have been an amazing person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 What made me smile was her attitude when she discovered her first husband had been killed in the War - 'I killed plenty of Germans, I only wish I had killed more' ! There is a determined spirit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 She certainly was a larger than life character.I am giving a talk on the SOE women on 31 August to an international club: these will naturally include Odette Sansom [Churchill], Violette Szabo, Noor Inayat Khan and Nancy Wake. Additionally, I shall point out that Eileen Nearne died last year in almost total obscurity and penury, having had her British pension stopped in 1956. Three Nearne siblings were active in SOE, as well as two from the family de Baissac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemonimo Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote user="Evianers"]She certainly was a larger than life character.I am giving a talk on the SOE women on 31 August to an international club: these will naturally include Odette Sansom [Churchill], Violette Szabo, Noor Inayat Khan and Nancy Wake. Additionally, I shall point out that Eileen Nearne died last year in almost total obscurity and penury, having had her British pension stopped in 1956. Three Nearne siblings were active in SOE, as well as two from the family de Baissac.[/quote]Truly remarkable women. I wish I could enjoy your talk, Evianers as I'm sure you have a wonderful tale to tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virginia.c Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Their bravery was awe inspiring. RR I read of Nancy Wake's passing with admiration for her war time achievements and I too wish I could be at your talk, Evianers. If you ever publish it, I am sure there would be a few wanting to read it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Yes, I would love to hear your talk or have a copy of a publication. A fascinating subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thank you everyone for your vote of confidence. The talk will be a Powerpoint presentation accompanied by an indepth explanation of the workings of SOE with the emphasis on the many courageous women who participated in clandestine activities, the most notable [for me personally] of whom was Noor Inayat Khan, who was kept chained hand and foot in prison with not even her chains taken off to eat - [this because she had had the audacity to try to escape from 84 Avenue Foch with John Starr and Col. Faye]. Thankfully the humane governor of Pforzheim prison eventually allowed her to spend some of the time out of chains. Needless to say, along with most of the other SOE women, she was executed in the most babarous fashion. It was only recently whilst I was researching the matter for the talk that I found out that Natzwiler-Struthof extermination camp is in France and not in Germany!Unfortunately, because of the nature of the presentation, it will not be suitable for publication. Sorry, but thank you for your support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virginia.c Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 How about putting it on YouTube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Just out of interest did they ever discover who turned Noor Inayat Khan in. I seem to remember there were two suspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Sorry, but we estimate the talk to be over 1 hour long - can't be done [and in any case, wouldn't have a clue how to do it] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 The person's name is not disclosed, but she was female, very close to Noor, knew where she kept her radio, knew where she kept her codes, and knew where she was to be found amidst the 4/5 different places she used when transmitting. Yes, one wonders....... especially whether this female could live with her conscience afterwards. But then people were starving and would [and did] do anything for 50,000 francs.An Indian author has recently written another biography of Noor. Perhaps more details are explained in her book. My research comes from the book by Jean Overton Fuller [for which I had to pay A$20 plus postage, as the out-of-print edition is apparently very sought-after].PS if anyone has any additional information which I could use in my talk, please feel free to post it here. TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I thought it was either Renée Garry (I belief she was taken to court after the war over this but found not guilty) or alternatively Henri Dericourt who was thought to be a double agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Personally, from what I have read, it doesn't seem like to be Renée Garry, although her husband "Phono" = Lieutenant Garry had just been arrested at this time. It was definitely a woman though who betrayed Noor Inayat Khan. However, it was subsequently established that Henri Dericourt was a double-agent who was responsible for the capture of many of the SOE operatives, not the least Madeleine Damarment who parachuted straight into a waiting German reception committee. Very, very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 I guess by now you have read 'A Life in Secrets' which I found fascinating, and your research has gone further and deeper. If you have notes for your talk why not write them up and use them to publish a blog, (You might ask Wooly to help) or even submit them to France magzine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Found the following link which may be interesting. Don't know how correct it is. I am sure there is something on the BBC history website as well.http://home.earthlink.net/~mrstephenson_umsl/noor/mission.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evianers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thank you for this, Quillan.... quite interesting, although some of the facts vary slightly from what Jean Overton Fuller originally wrote regarding Noor-un-Nisa and her treatment. Whether or not "Renée" is in fact Renée Garry is open to conjecture - it could be so but in those days people were very careful about not revealing their proper Christian names, so it may well be a pseudonym for someone else. It seems likely that we shall now never know for certain.And yes Russethouse - A Life in Secrets makes fascinating reading.The book which aroused my curiosity in the first place was "Death Be Not Proud" by Elisabeth Nicholas, which I managed to track down to a second-hand bookstore in Sydney, presumably because no-one there wanted it, or knew what it was about. Diana Rowden was one of the eight women [with Noor] who were transported to concentration camps in Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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