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World War II secret agent Nancy Wake passes away

World War II secret agent Nancy Wake passes away

NANCY WAKE, who was a secret agent during the Second World War, has passed away. She was 98.

Born in New Zealand, she was brought up in Australia and went on to become the country’s most decorated servicewoman and one of the most decorated Allied servicewomen.

In the 1930s she had been working as a journalist in Europe. One of her assignments was to interview Adolf Hitler in Vienna in 1933.

She lived in Paris after marrying Frenchman Henri Fiocca.

When France fell in 1940, Nancy Wake joined the Resistance movement. She set-up escape routes which helped hundreds of Allied personnel return to Britain and to continue the fight against the Germans.

She was also involved in sabotaging German installations and with delivering weapons to French Resistance fighters.

At one point she was the Gastapo’s most wanted person. They had named her ‘The White Mouse’ because she was so elusive.

The Gastapo arrested and tortured Henri Fiocca, but he refused to give-up his wife and died in custody — a fact that Ms. Wake did not discovery until after France was liberated.

She never regretted the course she had followed during the War, declaring: “Freedom is the only thing worth living for. While I was doing that work I used to think it didn’t matter if I died because without freedom there was no point in living.”

Among her many decorations were The George Medal, the U.S. Medal of Freedom, and The Legion D’Honneur.

In 2004 she was made Companion of the Order of Australia.

After the War she had returned to Australia, but had returned to Britain in 1957. 

The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, led tributes to the former agent.

She said: “Nancy Wake was a truly remarkable individual whose selfless valour and tenacity will never be forgotten.

“She was a woman of exceptional courage and resourcefulness whose daring exploits saved the lives of hundreds of Allied personnel and helped bring the Nazi occupation of France to an end.”

To view an interview with Nancy Wake click here.

 

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