Sir Winston S. Churchill helped to create the SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE on June 6,
1940-a significant date-with a letter to General Hastings Ismay, authorizing: "A proper system of
espionage and intelligence along the whole coasts, to harass the
enemy from behind the lines".
Just before the fall of France, Noor came to England with her
brother, Vilayat. She enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air
Force as 424598 Aircraftwoman 2nd class Norah Baker, and was
trained as a wireless operator. Then, while awaiting a posting,
she saw orders inviting personnel who could speak French and
work wireless to volunteer for "special duties". This she did,
and found herself in a dingy room at the War Office being
interviewed by SOE for what was called "secret work".
She was
accepted for training and was enrolled as a "nurse' in the First
Aid Nursing Yeomanry-the customary form of cover for female
agents sent by SOE to the field. This was thought to induce the
Germans to behave more tolerably toward them if they were caught.
She was also given a temporary commission as a flying officer in
the WAAF- again, to improve her chances if she was caught.
It
was now that one of the first mysteries that surrounded Princess
Noor began to emerge: why was she accepted by SOE at all? For she
was, one of her training officers reported: "A splendid, vague,
dreamy creature, far too conspicuous-twice seen, never forgotten.
" Her appearance, her accent, her bearing, all were such as to
attract attention, which an SOE agent was not supposed to do!
Shy, of slight build, with dark eyes set in a thin olive face surrounded by long dark hair, Noor was a gentle,graceful and
charming young woman. But although in character she was said
to be as "strong and flexible as a rapier-blade," her head tutor
in clandestinity, Colonel F. V. Spooner, reported adversely
on her because he considered her "too emotional and impulsive
to be suitable for employment as a secret agent."
Spooner said
later that he had "really stuck his neck out and gone to
considerable lengths in his endeavours to prevent (Noor) from
being sent to France as an agent. Not only was she
too sensitive and easily hurt, but her inexperience.... rendered
her too vulnerable from a security point of view." In spite of
these and other unfavorable comments, Noor was deemed acceptable
for service.
VISIT LINKS PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT PRINCESS NOOR
Links to Princess Noor Sites
INSIDE CAMP X
A Book by Lynn-Philip Hodgson
Much has been written about the Second World War and of the various intelligence organizations.
Inside - Camp X will primarily concentrate on the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS - British),
Special Operations Executive (SOE - British), British Security Co-Ordination
(BSC - British/North American) [note: BSC badge pictured above], Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI - United States),
Office of Strategic Services (OSS - United States), Office of War Information
(OWI - United States), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP - Canadian).
Early on in the war, Winston Churchill recognized the importance of a solid intelligence
network and the role that it would play in the defeat of the Axis countries.
It is with this knowledge that he would call upon the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)
and then upon a branch of the SIS, the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
With this in mind, and recognizing that the Nazi regime had sights on North and South America,
he created the British Security Co-Ordination which was charged with protecting the Americas.
It was at this point where William Stephenson was introduced to the intelligence community
and appointed "Head of the British Security Co-Ordination. (BSC) The BSC and the SOE had a
special liaison that worked well and quickly enabled them to link up with the United States,
Office of Strategic Services. (OSS)
General (Sir) Colin Gubbins, the chief of the SOE, charged with the challenge to
"set Europe ablaze", said after the war, "Per capita, the secret war was
bloodier than the Somme. The only difference was that the cries were muffled and,
in many instances, the corpses were never found."
Order This Fascinating Book Online
PRINCESS NOOR APPRECIATION SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
Between the Wars, the emphasis in training shifted from Nursing to motorised transport and the Corps became known as The Women’s Transport Service (FANY) in response to the Army Council’s recognition of it as a "voluntary reserve transport unit .... for service in any national emergency". It was this specialisation which enabled the Corps to provide the 3000 or so drivermechanics who formed the nucleus of the newly formed Motor Driver Companies of the ATS.
However, the FANY spirit of independence burned on, and it was this spirit of independence which led many members of the Corps down another path that of SOE, Special Operations Executive. FANYs were not forbidden to carry or use small arms, as were the ATS and the other women’s services. Most of the female agents sent by the SOE to France were FANYs. Thirteen of them died in concentration camps. Three of these women agents won the George Cross, two of which were awarded posthumously. Some 2000 other FANYs provided the backbone of SOE, working in cyphers and signals, as agent-conducting officers, administering the Special Training Schools and, amongst others, with the Jedburgh teams and, latterly with Massingham and Force 136 and 139. One section of the Corps was attached to the Polish Army for the duration of the War. Yet another, a small unit formed in Kenya in 1935, became the Women’s Territorial Service (East Africa), a military unit of the African Colonial Forces.
Click HERE to read an article entitled: FANY CELEBRATES CENTENARY ON JUNE 28TH, 2007
The following Link features
Ron McKeon's Tribute to the Unsung Heroes
of 624 R.A.F (Special Duties Squadron).
These are the gallant men who flew SOE Operatives,
like Princess Noor, into action.
A very informative site.
624 R.A.F (Special Duties Squadron)
In order to appreciate the dangers
inherent in
flying missions over enemy territory,
here is a 60 second WAV file recording
of an RAF Bomber Command Air Crew
encountering flak [anti-aircraft fire]
over Essen, Germany
Conversations aboard a wartime British Bomber
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