Noor Inayat Khan aka Nora Baker

[redqueen]

Born into an Indian royal family, this gentle soul spoke perfect French, and this talent made her an excellent choice to join the resistance in France during WWII.

She is being honored today in London.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20240693

Noor Inayat Khan: The Indian princess who spied for Britain

The Princess Royal is set to unveil a sculpture of Noor Inayat Khan, dubbed the "Spy Princess" by her biographer Shrabani Basu in London's Gordon Square Gardens.

Raised in Britain and France and a descendant of Indian royalty, bilingual Noor Inayat Khan was recruited by the elite Special Operations Executive (SOE) in 1942 to work in Paris as a radio operator.

Records from the national archives show she was the first female wireless operator sent to Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

After evading capture for three months, the spy was imprisoned, tortured and eventually shot by the German Gestapo at Dachau concentration camp in 1944.

...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Europe/Britain-honours-Noor-Inayat-Khan-Indian-war-heroine/Article1-956759.aspx

Britain honours Noor Inayat Khan, Indian war heroine

A bust of Noor Inayat Khan, the British secret agent of Indian origin who was executed by the Nazis, is to be unveiled on Thursday in a quiet public garden in central London by Princess Anne.

Over 400 distinguished guests are expected to fill leafy Gordon Square to pay tribute to the World War II heroine, who was shot in Germany's Dachau concentration camp in 1944 at the age of 30. The guests will include MPs, peers, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, war veterans, former agents who served alongside Noor as members of the top secret Special Operations Executive (SOE) and even the RAF pilots who flew them on their deadly missions.

"Today, in the presence of Her Royal Highness, we will remember a heroine of the war, a young woman of Indian origin, who unhesitatingly gave her life for Britain in the fight against Fascism," said Shrabani Basu, Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and author of the book Spy Princess, The Life of Noor Inayat Khan.

...

[struggle4progress]

1. .

[ismnotwasm]

2. Incredibly brave woman

It's hard to comprehend to horror of war if you haven't been in one, but when I do I wonder, could I do that? Do I have the courage?

My answer to myself is always the battle part yes, the danger, the noise, the filth, the weapons, the losses, the destruction--- I'm a bit aggressive. I COULD do it.


But to spy? Knowing at any moment who you really are could be revealed? I don't think I could. This isn't an argument over relative courage, just what I'm personally capable of.