May 11, 1905: On this date future Special Operations Executive agent Lise de Baissac was born in Mauritius. One of the 1st female SOE agents to be parachuted into occupied France in 1942, she served as courier & liaison officer for the SCIENTIST circuit operating using code names Odile & Marguerite. She armed & organized French resistance forces. She survived the war & her exploits were later recalled in the 2008 French film 'Les Femmes de l’ombre.'
#WW2 #SOE #FSection
#FSection
Georges Begue (AKA Bombproof) was the first Special Operations Executive agent parachuted into Nazi occupied France. On this date (May 6, 1941), he sent the 1st radio message to London.
Hat Tip: @claremulley
More information on on Cecily Lefort may be found at this weblink (2/2):
https://ourwomenheroes.blogspot.com/2011/06/cecily-margot-lefort.html
April 30, 1899: Cecily Lefort was born on April 30, 1899 in Westbourne, London. She was a courier for the JOCKEY circuit in Nazi occupied France during WW2 operating under the codename of Alice. She was arrested September, 1943, imprisoned at Ravensbrück concentration camp, and executed on May 1, 1945. (1/2)
April 28, 1912: On this date, Odette Sansom (AKA Odette Hallowes) was born. A Special Operations Executive agent, she became a courier in the SPINDLE circuit in France. She was awarded the George Cross in 1946. She was the first woman ever to receive the award, and the only woman who has been awarded it while still alive.
April 19, 1920: On this date Marguerite “Peggy” Knight was born in Paris, France. Using the code name Nicole, she was a courier for the DONKEYMAN circuit. After D Day, she crossed the front several times to deliver intelligence and messages; she engaged in an attack on a German military convoy; and she fought her way out of a German encirclement. She survived the war and was awarded the MBE, Croix de Guerre, & Medal of Freedom. She died in 2004.
April 8, 1921: On this date Phyllis “Pippa” Latour was born in Durban South Africa. She joined the WAAF to be an airframe mechanic, but was recruited to the Special Operations Executive because she was fluent in French. She parachuted into Orne, Normandy on May 1, 1944 to join the SCIENTIST circuit as a wireless operator. Her codename was Genevieve. She was the last surviving female SOE agent. She died Oct 7, 2023.
April 7, 1915: On this date, Gilbert Norman was born. He was a British Army officer who served in the F Section of the Special Operations Executive. Nov 1942, he was sent into France to join the newly formed PROSPER circuit.
He was arrested June 1943 and was executed at the Mauthausen concentration camp on Sep 6, 1944.
Virginia Hall subsequently joined the OSS, returned to France, and helped train three battalions of resistance forces to wage guerrilla warfare behind German lines. She survived the war and continued to work in intelligence in the post war period. In 1957 she married a fellow OSS operative, Paul Goillot. She died at the age of 76 on July 8, 1982. Much, much more could be said of her career. (2/2)
#WW2 #SOE #OSS #FSection #France
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/wanted-the-limping-lady-146541513/
April 6, 1906: Virginia Hall was born on this date. Hall was considered the most dangerous of all Allied spies by the Gestapo. She worked for both the British Special Operations Executive & later with the American Office of Strategic Services. She had only one foot & used a prosthesis, giving her a limp, leading to her nickname as "the Limping Lady." Despite this, she organized the French Underground in occupied France. (1/2)
April 5, 1944: On this date, Special Operations Executive agent Lilian Rolfe dropped near the city of Orléans in occupied France, where she was deployed to work with the HISTORIAN circuit run by George Wilkinson.
April 5, 1944: On this date, Special Operations Executive agents Violette Szabo (courier) & Philippe Liewer (organizer) of the SALESMAN circuit were flown by Westland Lysander into German-occupied France in the Loire Valley.
On Jan 13, 1944, the Gestapo arrested Gustave Biéler and wireless operator Yolande Beekman in the Café Moulin Brulé in Saint-Quentin. He was executed by firing squad at the Flossenburg concentration camp on September 5, 1944. He was 40 years old. (3/3)
Mar 26, 1904: On this date, Gustave Biéler was born in Beurlay, France. He was a Canadian national who served in the Special Operations Executive F section. He was considered by SOE commander, Col Maurice Buckmaster, as the best student SOE ever had. (1/3)
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For more on Robert Benoist, see military historian Alan Malcher’s post here: (4/4)
https://alanmalcher.com/2021/01/30/robert-benoist-soe-special-operations-executive/
Benoist was arrested 3 days later. In transit to Gestapo headquarters, he lept from the moving vehicle & escaped. He successfully exfiltrated to the UK & returned to France for TWO further missions. He was arrested June 18, 1944, shipped to Buchenwald, & executed on Sept 13. (3/4)
Mar 20, 1895: On this date Robert Benoist was born. French Grand Prix motor racing driver & WW2 war hero. He & fellow race car drivers Jean-Pierre Wimille & William Grover-Williams, fled to Britain after France was invaded. All 3 joined the Special Operations Executive. (1/4)
Yvonne Baseden was captured by the Gestapo on June 26, 1944 & ultimately imprisoned at Ravensbrück concentration camp. She survived Ravensbrück and the war. She was awarded the MBE by Britain; the Legion of Honour; the Resistance Medal and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme by France. She died Oct 28, 2017 at the age of 95. (2/2)
#WW2 #SOE #FSection #France #WomensHistoryMonth #Shero
Mar 18/19, 1944: Overnight on this date in 1944, Special Operations Executive agent and wireless operator Yvonne Baseden (Field name Odette) is one of the youngest SOE women to parachute into occupied Europe. She worked in the WHEELWRIGHT and SCHOLAR circuits under the cover name Yvonne Bernier and posed as a shorthand typist & secretary. (1/2)
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