We Were There

Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944)

Noor Inayat Khan was born to an Indian father and an American mother in Kremlin, Russia but spent her childhood mainly in Paris. In 1940 Noor volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). In November 1942 she was recruited as a secret agent by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) because she had lived in France and was fluent in French. In June 1943 Noor arrived in France under the codename ‘Madeleine’ and was constantly on the run from the Gestapo. She was betrayed by an informer and captured by the Gestapo who interrogated her. She refused to talk and made frequent unsuccessful attempts to escape from prison. She was seen as a dangerous threat and in November was sent to a prison in Germany where she was tortured and beaten. In September 1944, Noor was taken to Dachau Concentration Camp where she was shot. In 1949, she was posthumously awarded the George Cross.