Welcome to the WWII Forums! Log in or Sign up to interact with the community.

Wartime spy finally accepts she is a French heroine

Discussion in 'Codes, Cyphers & Spies' started by TD-Tommy776, Jun 15, 2015.

  1. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2011
    Messages:
    7,217
    Likes Received:
    1,270
    Location:
    The Land of 10,000 Loons
    "For decades she has remained in the shadows; a reluctant heroine with an astonishing past. But on Tuesday, Phyllis Latour Doyle, a 93-year-old former British spy, will step into the limelight.


    Seventy years after being parachuted behind enemy lines in occupied Normandy, Mrs Doyle – or Pippa to her friends – will be awarded the Legion of Honour, France’s highest decoration, in recognition of her courage in helping to liberate the country from the Nazis.


    Motivated in part by revenge for the murder by the Germans of a close family friend, Mrs Doyle engaged in a mission to gather information on German positions ahead of the D-Day landings. In all, she relayed 135 secret messages to Britain before France’s eventual liberation in August 1944.


    She was awarded the MBE for her bravery by the British government but her actions have remained largely unheralded. Mrs Doyle didn’t even tell her children about her exploits until 15 years ago.



    That anonymity will change when the French ambassador to New Zealand, where Mrs Doyle, a mother of four, now lives, bestows upon her the Legion of Honour on Tuesday November 25."
    Continue reading: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11248032/Wartime-spy-finally-accepts-she-is-a-French-heroine.html
     
    greglewis and lwd like this.
  2. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2009
    Messages:
    14,288
    Likes Received:
    2,605
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Nice story, Tommy. It's more evidence that those involved in WW2 just did their duty without talking about their exploits. I'm glad she got some recognition for her role.
     
  3. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2003
    Messages:
    20,815
    Likes Received:
    3,042
    Location:
    Stirling, Scotland
    What a self-effacing heroine.
     
  4. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2006
    Messages:
    24,984
    Likes Received:
    2,386
    Hats off :poppy:
     
  5. bronk7

    bronk7 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2013
    Messages:
    4,753
    Likes Received:
    328
    Location:
    MIDWEST
    just the arrival in 'occupied' territory, usually at night, had to be ''scary''.....then everyday, knowing you are not safe....something we can't ever feel....salute to her
     
  6. WW2HistoryGal

    WW2HistoryGal Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2015
    Messages:
    140
    Likes Received:
    20
    Location:
    Nebraska
    I honestly don't know if I would have had the courage to do what these women did. Their bravery is amazing.
     
  7. greglewis

    greglewis Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    129
    Likes Received:
    14
    I have just been writing about her and I had no idea she was still alive. Thanks for posting this.
    She did some remarkable work in partnership with brother and sister SOE agents Claude and Lise de Baissac.
     

Share This Page