More information on on Cecily Lefort may be found at this weblink (2/2):
https://ourwomenheroes.blogspot.com/2011/06/cecily-margot-lefort.html
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.
W Stanley Moss was a journalist, broadcaster, & best selling author following WW2. He died Aug 9, 1965. Would be interested if anyone has info on what became of the Greek members of the team. (6/6)
On the evening of this date in 1944, Kreipe's car was ambushed. The general was tied up & forced into the back seat while Leigh Fermor and Moss impersonated him and his driver respectively. They were able to drive through multiple roadblocks because of Kreipe's notorious impatience with delays. (3/6)
The team was lead by SOE operatives Major Patrick Leigh Fermor & Captain William Stanley Moss and members of the Cretan resistance, among them, George Tirakis, Manoli Paterakis, & Antonios Papaleonidas. (2/6)
April 26, 1944: On this date, Special Operations Executive commandos kidnapped the Nazi General & Governor of Crete, Heinrich Kreipe. (1/6)
April 25, 1900: On this date Gladwyn Jebb was born. He was Chief Executive Officer of the Special Operations Executive until February 1942.
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.
#Earthquake (#gempa) M2.6 strikes 23 km NW of #Soe (#Indonesia) 6 min ago. More info: https://m.emsc.eu/?id=1795506
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.
Clandestine daggers & knives used by the Office of Strategic Services and the Special Operations Executive during WW2:
https://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/thumb-daggers-etc.html