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The Missions of SOE Agent Violette Szabó GC
SOE agent Violette Szabó was one of the most incredible women who operated behind enemy lines during the Second World War. The daughter of an English father and French mother, and widow of a French army officer, she was daring and courageous, conducting sabotage missions, being embroiled in gun battles and battling betrayal. On her second mission she was captured by the Nazis, interrogated and tortured, then deported to Germany where she was eventually executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp.
Violette was one of the first women ever to be awarded the George Cross, and her fascinating life has been immortalised in film and on the page. Written by her daughter, Violette (formerly Young, Brave and Beautiful) reveals the woman and mother behind this extraordinary hero.
18th July, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, Military, Women in History
Mata Hari was a Dutch fantasist, an exotic dancer and a grand courtesan. She was shot on 15 October 1917 as a German spy but what was the basis of the case against her? She had once stated, ‘I loved men: a strongly built male brought me to a state of ecstasy.’ And that was the tr…
13th March, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, Military, Women in History
Born in Amiens as Odette Marie Celine Brailly she assumed a variety of names during the course of her war service. Yet she was universally known to both the British and French public in the post-war years simply as Odette. At a time when it was rare for a woman to step out of the…
23rd January, 2017 in Military
Each night the Luftwaffe’s incessant bombs fell on London, from the East End to the junction of Caxton Street and Broadway, only yards from St Ermin’s Hotel. Staff of the various intelligence agencies who occupied the hotel would have been working night shifts to maintain SOE’s p…
10th November, 2016 in Military
The world of espionage is shrouded in mystery, secrecy and lies. Author Tania Szabó breaks down the truth behind espionage and how things have changed in the industry over the years. What is espionage? Espionage (from the French word ‘espion’ meaning ‘spy’) can be defined as…
9th November, 2016 in Military, Women in History
Forget the abundant spy fiction, espionage is not just a boys’ game. In occupied Belgium and northern France 1914-18 there were several thousand women actively working against the Kaiser’s troops. In the Second World War, women of many nations fought the Nazis, risking the firing…
16th September, 2016 in Biography & Memoir, Military, Women in History
Peter Hore is the author of Lindell’s List, which tells the moving story of Mary Lindell’s heroic leadership and the endurance of a group of women who defied the Nazis in the Second World War. We asked him about the inspiration behind the book, conducting research and w…
8th March, 2016 in Women in History
To mark Women’s History Month, staff at The History Press nominated eighteen inspirational females from throughout the ages. Here are our picks: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 918 AD) 2018 marked 1,100 years since the death of Aethelflaed, the most powerful woman of…
15th December, 2015 in Biography & Memoir, Military, Women in History
Why, after more than 70 years, are we still so fascinated by the wartime women agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE)? Probably because they were so exceptional. By convention women were never used in combat roles. Even the doughty ATS women working on anti-aircraft gun…
