88-584: Peter Morland Churchill , DSO Croix de Guerre (1909 – 1972) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer in France during the Second World War . His wartime operations, which resulted in his capture and imprisonment in German concentration camps and his subsequent marriage to fellow SOE officer Odette Sansom , received considerable attention after the war, including a 1950 film . He
176-568: A Roman Catholic priest and Abwehr agent named Robert Alesch , and the Abwehr captured its leadership. Alesch also made contact with Hall in August, claiming to be an agent of Gloria and offering intelligence of apparently high value. She had doubts about Alesch, especially when she learned that Gloria had been destroyed, but was persuaded of his bona fides, as was the London headquarters of SOE. Alesch
264-643: A "friend" who might be able to help her find employment in England . That friend was Nicolas Bodington , who worked for the newly created Special Operations Executive (SOE). Hall joined the SOE in April 1941 and after training arrived in Vichy France , unoccupied by Germany and nominally independent at that time, on August 23, 1941. She was the second female agent to be sent to France by SOE's F (France) Section, and
352-593: A brother of Walter Churchill DSO DFC, a Royal Air Force pilot during the war, and Oliver Churchill DSO MC , also an SOE officer. He was educated at Malvern School from 1923–27, then spent 18 months at Chillon Castle , then went on to Geneva University . From 1929–32, he read Modern Languages at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge . In addition to his native English, he was bilingual in French and fluent in Spanish and Italian. He also excelled in sports – he had
440-616: A case of 'a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross '. In either case, being ' Mentioned in Dispatches ' was a pre-condition for the award of a DSO. A requirement that the order could be given only to someone mentioned in despatches was removed in 1943. Since 1993, reflecting the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of operational awards,
528-408: A desk-bound job as an intelligence analyst, to gather information about Soviet penetration of European countries. She resigned in 1948, and then was rehired in 1950 for another desk job. In the 1950s, she again headed ultra secret paramilitary operations in France as a model for setting up resistance groups in several European countries in case of a Soviet attack. She became a "sacred" presence and
616-476: A forged French identification card in the name of Marcelle Montagne. Her codename was Diane. The OSS teams' objective was to arm and train the resistance groups, called Maquis , so they could conduct sabotage and guerrilla activities to support the Allied invasion of Normandy , which would take place on June 6, 1944. Hall was disguised as an older woman, with gray hair and her teeth filed down to resemble that of
704-550: A high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross . Whilst normally given for service under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy, a number of awards made between 1914 and 1916 were under circumstances not under fire, often to staff officers , causing resentment among front-line officers. After 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire. From 1916, ribbon bars could be authorised for subsequent awards of
792-779: A last-ditch attempt her leg was amputated below the knee and replaced with a wooden appendage which she named "Cuthbert". She then worked again as a consular clerk in Venice and in Tallinn , Estonia. Hall made several attempts to become a diplomat with the United States Foreign Service , but women were rarely hired. In 1937, she was turned down by the Department of State because of an obscure rule against hiring people with disabilities as diplomats. An appeal for her to be hired to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
880-506: A meeting of SOE agents in Marseille which the French police raided, capturing a dozen agents. After that debacle, Hall was one of the few SOE agents still at large in France and the only one with a means of transmitting information to London. George Whittinghill, an American diplomat in Lyon, allowed her to smuggle reports and letters to London in the diplomatic pouch. The winter of 1941–42
968-658: A new curiosity" which persisted into the 21st century. In 1988 her name was added to the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame. The French and British ambassadors in Washington honored her in 2006, on the 100th anniversary of her birth. In 2016, a CIA field agent training facility was named the Virginia Hall Expeditionary Center. The CIA Museum gives five operatives individual sections in its catalog. One
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#17327872033571056-573: A peasant woman. She disguised her limp with the shuffle of an old woman. Landing with her was Henri Lassot, 62 years old. Lassot was the organiser and leader of the new Saint network, it being too radical a thought that a woman could lead an SOE or OSS network of agents. She was Lassot's wireless operator. They were the fourth and fifth OSS agents to arrive in France. Lassot carried with him one million francs, equivalent to 5,000 British pounds; Hall had 500,000 francs with her. Hall quickly separated herself from Lassot, whom she characterized as too talkative and
1144-657: A pioneering agent for the SOE, arriving in Vichy France on 23 August 1941, the first female agent to take up residence in France. She created the Heckler network in Lyon . Over the next 15 months, she "became an expert at support operations – organizing resistance movements; supplying agents with money, weapons, and supplies; helping downed airmen to escape; offering safe houses and medical assistance to wounded agents and pilots." She fled France in November 1942 to avoid capture by
1232-435: A prisoner swap with Rudolf Hess . On 13 February 1944, he was transferred to Berlin for questioning, and on 2 May sent to Sonderlager “A” Sachsenhausen , where he was held in solitary confinement for 10½ months. On 1 April 1945, he was moved by train to Flossenbürg , 50 miles south-east of Bayreuth , where he was held for 3–4 days before being taken by truck on a 30-hour trip to Dachau where, rather than being taken to
1320-664: A safe house and informed that all passengers on an earlier train from Périgueux had been met by the Gestapo and questioned, and that his flat in Cannes has been raided and people arrested. He decided it was too dangerous to remain in Cannes and relocated the SPINDLE network to Saint-Jorioz on Lake Annecy in Haute-Savoie , and changed his cover name. A further attempt was made to land a Lysander at Tournus north of Lyon , but
1408-499: A security risk, instructing her contacts not to tell him where she was. Aware that her accent would reveal that she was not French, she engaged a French woman, Madame Rabut, to accompany and speak for her. From March to July 1944, Hall roamed around France south of Paris, posing sometimes as an elderly milkmaid (and on one occasion selling cheese she had made to a group of German soldiers). She found and organized drop zones, established several safe houses, and made and renewed contacts in
1496-652: Is Virginia Hall; the other four are men who went on to head the CIA. She was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2019. Her story has been told in several books, including: Roger Wolcott Hall (no relation) also mentioned her in passing in his book You're Stepping On My Cloak And Dagger . New York: W.W. Norton. 1957. OCLC 1084750854 . (Reprinted: ISBN 978-1-61251-371-3 ) IFC Films released A Call to Spy in October 2020,
1584-668: Is a level 2A decoration (order) in the British system of military decorations . Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a royal warrant published in The London Gazette on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. The order was established to reward individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It was a military order, until recently for officers only and typically awarded to officers ranked major (or equivalent) or higher, with awards to ranks below this usually for
1672-591: Is strongly recommended that he is appointed a Companion in the Distinguished Service Order. Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom married in 1947. In the 1950 film Odette , which recounted their wartime exploits, Anna Neagle played the title role and Churchill was played by Trevor Howard . He wrote three books about his exploits in SOE, and a further fictitious book about the French resistance movement in Haute Savoie . Some years after
1760-781: The Commonwealth . The following received the DSO and three bars ( i.e., were awarded the DSO four times): Virginia Hall Virginia Hall Goillot DSC , Croix de Guerre , MBE (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom 's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in France during World War II . The objective of SOE and OSS
1848-532: The Maquis des Glières , who operated near Lake Annecy in Haute-Savoie . Several attempts were made to fly him back to the UK to report on his activities. The first attempt was for a Hudson bomber to land at Vinon near Aix-en-Provence to collect Churchill, Giraud and five French generals, however the terrain had not been surveyed properly by the French resistance and the runway proved inadequate, so Churchill aborted
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#17327872033571936-1161: The SPRUCE network in Lyon , and 300,000 francs for Ted Coppin «Olivier» of the DONKEYMAN network in Marseille . The other million francs was destined for Colonel Deprez in Marseille to facilitate the release of 10 French patriots from Fort St Nicholas prison in Marseille. On 1 January 1942, submarine P36 took him 2 miles offshore Miramar (Théoule-sur-Mer) from where he rowed to the shore by canoe at night. The next morning he walked 25 km to Antibes where he met his first contact, Dr Élie Lévy «Louis», who introduced him to Baron d'Astier de la Vigerie «Bernard», head of Lyon resistance group known as ‘The Last Column’. Using false identity papers of an Argentinian journalist, he then travelled by train with «Bernard» to Lyon to meet Virginia Hall «Germaine», an American agent, who put him in contact with Duboudin. He then went by train to Marseille where Hall introduced him to Ted Coppin and Colonel Deprez. Having completed his mission, Churchill returned to
2024-481: The 1990s most, including Canada , Australia and New Zealand , were establishing their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours. Recipients of the order are officially known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, and are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSO". All awards are announced in The London Gazette . From 1918 to 2017, the Distinguished Service Order
2112-876: The British Empire (MBE). On her return to London, SOE leaders declined to send Hall back to France as an agent, despite her requests that they do so. She was compromised, they said, and too much at risk. However, she took a wireless course and contacted the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) about a job. She was hired by the Special Operations Branch at the low rank and pay of a second lieutenant, and she returned to France on March 21, 1944, arriving by motor gunboat at Beg-an-Fry east of Roscoff in Brittany . Her artificial leg prevented her from parachuting . OSS provided her with
2200-465: The CIA admitted that her fellow officers "felt she had been sidelined--shunted into backwater accounts because she had so much experience that she overshadowed her male colleagues, who felt threatened by her," and that "her experience and abilities were never properly utilized." While in Haute-Loire, Hall had met and fallen in love with an OSS lieutenant, Paul Goillot, who worked with her. In 1957,
2288-588: The Continent and studied in France, Germany, and Austria, eventually landing an appointment as a Consular Service clerk at the Embassy of the United States, Warsaw , Poland in 1931. A few months later she transferred to Smyrna ( İzmir ), Turkey. In 1933, she tripped on a fence and accidentally shot herself in the left foot while hunting birds. After being diagnosed with gangrene , on the brink of death, as
2376-568: The DSO has been open to all ranks, with the award criteria redefined as "highly successful command and leadership during active operations". At the same time, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was introduced as the second-highest award for gallantry. Despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DSO has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank. The DSO had also been awarded by Commonwealth countries but by
2464-592: The DSO, worn on the ribbon of the original award. In 1942, the award was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry whilst under enemy attack. Prior to 1943, the DSO could be awarded to only commissioned officers of the Lieutenant-Colonel rank and above, for 'meritorious or distinguished service in wartime' under conditions of actual combat. If awarded to an officer ranking below Lieutenant-Colonel, it had to be
2552-755: The French Riviera. In April 1942, Churchill travelled from Gibraltar in HM Submarine P 42 "Unbroken" with three radio operators, Isidore Newman «Julien» for the URCHIN network and Edward Zeff «Matthieu» for the SPRUCE network , Marcel Clech «Bastien» for the AUTOGIRO network , and Victor Gerson «René», an SOE agent on a special mission to organise the VIC Escape Line On the night of 21 April, Churchill led Newman and Zeff by canoe to
2640-538: The Germans and sent to concentration camps, but they survived. She arranged 80,000 francs (400 British pounds) compensation from the United Kingdom for Guérin, but most of her other helpers received nothing. Many of the people she knew had not survived, including the three men she had called "nephews," who had been executed at Buchenwald . Robert Alesch , the German agent and priest who had betrayed her network in Lyon,
2728-511: The Germans put "the limping lady" on their most wanted list. Hall learned that the 12 agents arrested by the French police in October 1941 were incarcerated at Mauzac prison near Bergerac . Wireless operator Georges Bégué smuggled out letters to Hall from the prison and she recruited Gaby Bloch, wife of the prisoner Jean-Pierre Bloch , as an ally to plan an escape. Bloch visited the prison frequently to bring food and other items to her husband, including tins of sardines . The sardine tins and
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2816-684: The Germans. She returned to France as a wireless operator for the OSS in March 1944 as a member of the Saint network. Working in territory still occupied by the German army and mostly without the assistance of other OSS agents, she supplied arms, training, and direction to French resistance groups, called Maquisards , especially in Haute-Loire where the Maquis cleared the department of German soldiers prior to
2904-521: The Gestapo and Abwehr would become even more severe and she fled Lyon without telling anyone, including her closest contacts. She escaped by train from Lyon to Perpignan , then, with a guide, walked over a 7,500 foot pass in the Pyrenees to Spain, covering up to 50 miles over two days in considerable discomfort. Hall had named her artificial foot "Cuthbert", and she signaled to SOE before her escape that she hoped that "Cuthbert" would not trouble her on
2992-457: The Maquis groups and the self-proclaimed colonels heading them. She complained to OSS headquarters, "you send people out ostensibly to work with me and for me, but you do not give me the necessary authority." She told the Maquis leaders that she would finance them and give them arms on condition that they would be advised by her, but the prickly Maquis leaders continued to be a problem. The three planeloads of supplies she received in late July and
3080-525: The Nazis were using to direct their U-boat campaign , and was so powerful that the U-boats could pick up its messages without having to surface. He was to be accompanied by 'The Twins' (SOE agents Alfred and Henry Newton) but, just as they were about to undertake the mission, a failed attempt by a French agent resulted in significantly increased security and Churchill’s mission was called off. His third mission
3168-581: The Resistance, notably with Philippe de Vomecourt. She organized and supplied with arms several resistance groups of a hundred men each in the Cher and Cosne . She unsuccessfully attempted to organize a jailbreak to gain freedom for three men she called her nephews, captives of the Germans in Paris. Her resistance groups undertook many successful small-scale attacks on infrastructure and German soldiers. Hall
3256-489: The SOE networks. The Germans focused on Lyon, the center of the resistance. Hall had counted on contacts she had with the French police to protect her, but, under pressure from the Germans, her police contacts were no longer reliable. In May 1942, Hall had agreed to have messages from the Gloria Network , a French-run resistance movement based in Paris, transmitted to SOE in London. Gloria was infiltrated in August by
3344-451: The UK. Travelling as a couple to reduce suspicion, Hall accompanied him on a train to Perpignan , and with a guide he crossed the Pyrenees overnight on foot and walked about 80 km to Bañolas near Figueras . He was then driven to Gibraltar , crossing the Spanish border hidden in the car’s boot, and on 14 February 1943 was flown back to London for debriefing. Operation DELAY II was a brief mission to deliver four SOE agents by submarine to
3432-638: The aircraft did not arrive. On 22/23 March 1943, a Lysander piloted by Hugh Verity landed at Estrées-Saint-Denis near Compiègne exfiltrated Churchill and Frager, while bringing Francis Cammaerts «Roger» to take over the SPINDLE network in his absence. On 14/15 April 1943, he returned by parachute onto the mountains above Saint-Jorioz where he was met by Sansom, and they stayed in the Hotel de la Poste in Saint-Jorioz . Later that morning Bleicher arrested Churchill and Sansom in their hotel. He claimed he
3520-759: The arrival of the American army in September 1944. The Germans gave her the nickname Artemis , and the Gestapo reportedly considered her "the most dangerous of all Allied spies." Having lost part of her left leg after a hunting accident, Hall used a prosthesis she named "Cuthbert." She was also known as "The Limping Lady" by the Germans and as "Marie of Lyon" by many of the SOE agents she assisted. Virginia Hall left no memoir, granted no interviews, and spoke little about her overseas life--even with relatives. She...received our country's Distinguished Service Cross ,
3608-412: The collapse of the Nazis, Hall and Golliot returned to Paris in April 1945. She wrote reports, and identified people who had helped her and were deserving of commendations, then resigned from the OSS. After the war, Hall visited Lyon to learn the fate of the people who had worked for her there. Her closest associates, brothel-owner Germaine Guérin and gynecologist Jean Rousset, had both been captured by
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3696-481: The confusion over the CARTE question and have a definite ruling on the matter from HQ. The Germans had obstructed the planned landing strip to prevent a landing and these obstacles had to be cleared quickly. The Hudson bomber collected 10 men, but it turned out that some of De Gaulle’s agents had planned this landing at the same time, and Churchill and Frager were not collected. Churchill and Sansom returned to Cannes for
3784-568: The couple married after living together off-and-on for years. They retired to a farm in Barnesville, Maryland , where she lived until her death on July 8, 1982. Her husband survived her by five years. She is buried in the Druid Ridge Cemetery , Pikesville , Maryland . General William Joseph Donovan personally awarded Virginia Hall a Distinguished Service Cross in September 1945 in recognition of her efforts in France. This
3872-476: The end of 1941 and the spring of 1943. He was first landed by submarine in the south of France in December 1941 with the mission of contacting the principal organisers in the unoccupied zone, to bring them directives, remedy their various difficulties, improve communications and arrange help for arrested members of the organisation. This involved much travel and dangerous liaisons activity, but CHURCHILL carried out
3960-482: The escape "one of the war's most useful operations of its kind." Several of the escapees returned later to France and became leaders of SOE networks. The Germans were furious about the escape from Mauzac prison and the laxity of the French police in allowing the escape. The Gestapo flooded Vichy France with 500 agents, and the Abwehr also stepped up operations to infiltrate and destroy the fledgling French Resistance and
4048-532: The field opposite while overseeing the factory’s move. Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom , as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth , awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typically in actual combat. Since 1993 it has been awarded specifically for "highly successful command and leadership during active operations", with all ranks being eligible. It
4136-720: The first feature film about Virginia Hall. It had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2019, commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day . Hall is portrayed by Sarah Megan Thomas , and the film is directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher . The film went on to win the Audience Choice Award in Canada. A Call to Spy had its U.S. festival premiere at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival , where it
4224-592: The first to remain there for a lengthy period of time. (SOE F section would send 41 female agents to France during World War II, of whom 26 would survive the war.) Hall's cover was as a reporter for the New York Post which gave her license to interview people, gather information and file stories filled with details useful to military planners. She based herself in Lyon . She turned away from her "chic Parisian wardrobe" to become inconspicuous and often quickly changed her appearance through make-up and disguise. Hall
4312-540: The first woman operations officer in the entire covert action arm of the CIA, and a valued member of the Special Activities Division supporting undercover activities to prevent the spread of communism in Europe. She received a poor performance report from a superior who had never overseen her work. In 1966, she retired, at the mandatory retirement age of 60. In the secret CIA report of her career,
4400-404: The landing. Returning to Cannes, Churchill was informed that two police inspectors had called at his accommodation searching for him, and he had to change lodgings immediately. On 8 November 1942 Hitler ordered the occupation of Vichy France and as a result of increased security activities in Cannes, Giraud moved his CARTE operations to Arles. In November 1942, a CARTE courier, André Marsac ,
4488-496: The last time, and he arranged a further attempt for a Lysander to land near Périgueux . This entailed a journey of over 800 kilometres through German occupied France, changing trains at Marseille and Toulouse . The landing had to be aborted when it was realised that the Germans were lying in wait, and Churchill, Frager, Sansom and the others escaped on foot, narrowly missing capture. Churchill and Sampson left Périgueux by train for Toulouse where they were provided accommodation in
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#17327872033574576-472: The mission with complete success and return to England in early February 1942. His second mission was to organise the infiltration of a number of agents by sea into the South of France. Although this involved a short stay in France, it was nevertheless a delicate and hazardous task. It was mainly due to CHURCHILL's courage and resourcefulness that the operation was successfully carried out. In April 1942, he
4664-596: The money she distributed for expenses gained their grudging acquiescence. The three battalions of Maquisards (about 1,500 men) in her area undertook a number of successful sabotage operations. Now part of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI), they forced the German occupiers to withdraw from Le Puy-en-Velay and head north with the rest of the retreating German forces. Belatedly, a Jedburgh team of three men, called Jeremy, parachuted in on August 25 to undertake
4752-437: The notorious concentration camp , he was lodged in a former brothel along with 30 other officers. As an officer he was given better treatment than most of the 22,000 inmates of Flossenbürg, who were forcibly evacuated on the 200 km death march to Dachau concentration camp , during which one third died. The next day, as the Americans were approaching Dachau, he and 30 other officers were taken by bus to Innsbruck , where he
4840-571: The only civilian woman in the Second World war to do so. But she refused all but a private ceremony with OSS chief Donovan--even a presentation by President Truman . Craig R. Gralley She was a thirty-five-year-old journalist from Baltimore, conspicuous by reddish hair, a strong American accent, an artificial foot, and an imperturbable temper; she took risks often but intelligently. M. R. D. Foot I would give anything to get my hands on that limping Canadian [ sic ] bitch. reportedly Klaus Barbie , Gestapo chief, Lyon. Virginia Hall
4928-512: The owner of a prominent brothel in Lyon. Guérin made several safehouses available to Hall and passed along tidbits of information she and her female employees heard from German officers visiting the brothel. The official historian of the SOE, M. R. D. Foot , said that the motto of every successful secret agent was " dubito, ergo sum " ("I doubt, therefore I am."). Hall's lengthy tenure in France without being captured illustrates her caution. In October 1941, she sensed danger and declined to attend
5016-492: The reputation of being one of the finest ice-hockey blues the university had produced. Churchill was Captain of the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club in 1932 and won 15 international caps. He was proficient at exhibition diving, a first-class skier, and played golf off a six handicap. He moved into the British diplomatic service and served as British Vice-Consul in the Netherlands from 1934–5, and Pro-Consul in Oran , Algeria from 1935–6. From September 1939 to August 1940, he
5104-466: The shore at Antibes with their radios and took them to the house of Dr Élie Lévy , who asked him to take «Bernard» back with him to the UK. Churchill returned to the submarine with «Bernard», after which Clech and Gerson were dropped off by canoe at the Pointe d’Agay and Churchill returned to the UK. On his return Col Buckmaster gave Churchill his next mission which was to blow up a powerful radio transmitter at Sainte-Assise near Fontainebleau which
5192-574: The tools she smuggled in enabled Bégué to make a key to the door of the barracks where the prisoners were kept. Hall, too well known to visit the prison, assembled safe houses, vehicles, and helpers. A priest smuggled a radio in to Bégué, and he began transmitting to London from within the prison. The prisoners escaped on July 15, 1942 and, after hiding in the woods while an intense manhunt took place, all met up with Hall in Lyon by August 11. From there, they were smuggled to Spain and thence back to England. The official historian of SOE, M. R. D. Foot, called
5280-416: The training and supply of the battalions. Hall commented wryly, "this was after the Germans had been liquidated in the department of the Haute Loire and Le Puy liberated." Hall and several of the British and American military officers working for her left the Haute Loire and arrived in Paris on September 22. Later, she and her OSS agent Paul Golliot journeyed to Austria to foment anti-Nazi resistance. With
5368-494: The war Peter and Odette Churchill met up with Hugo Bleicher, after inviting him to the UK. Peter and Odette divorced in 1956, and the following year he married Australian Irene Hoyle, a former model, in Nice. He continued to live in France after the war, settling in Le Rouret near Cannes, where he worked in real estate, and lived there until his death on 1 May 1972. Peter's brother, Walter, relocated his engineering business, JJ Churchill, from Coventry to Market Bosworth during
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#17327872033575456-492: The war. After the Market Bosworth Historical Society became aware of the wartime gallantry of not just Walter, but also of his brothers Peter and Oliver, it decided to fund a Memorial Cairn . The granite Cairn is located in front of the JJ Churchill factory, and was unveiled in autumn 2015. Three of the four sides commemorate each of the Churchill brothers, while the fourth side commemorates the factory’s relocation from Coventry to Market Bosworth and Walter landing his Hurricane in
5544-406: The way. The SOE did not understand the reference and replied, "If Cuthbert troublesome, eliminate him." After arriving in Spain, she was arrested by the Spanish authorities for illegally crossing the border, but the American Embassy eventually secured her release. She worked for SOE for a time in Madrid, then returned to London in July 1943 where she was quietly made an honorary Member of the Order of
5632-554: Was Under Secretary to Sir Norman Birkett in the Home Office Advisory Committee, and later became President of the Committee. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps and also underwent commando training. In April 1941, joined the Special Operations Executive as one of its early recruits and assigned to the French Section in June 1941. He was infiltrated into France four times, twice by submarine and twice by aircraft, and spent 225 days behind enemy lines. In Operation WILLOW, his mission
5720-424: Was a pioneer as a World War II secret agent and had to learn on her own the "exacting tasks of being available, arranging contacts, recommending who to bribe and where to hide, soothing the jagged nerves of agents on the run and supervising the distribution of wireless sets." The network (or circuit) of SOE agents she founded was named Heckler . Among her recruits were gynecologist Jean Rousset and Germaine Guérin ,
5808-411: Was able to penetrate Hall's network of contacts, including the capture of wireless operators and the sending of false messages to London in her name. On November 7, 1942, the American Consulate in Lyon told Hall that an Allied invasion of North Africa was imminent. In response to the invasion, on November 8, the Germans moved to occupy Vichy France . Hall anticipated correctly that the suppression by
5896-439: Was arrested in Paris by Abwehr intelligence officer Hugo Bleicher and his interrogation in Fresnes prison led to the arrest of another CARTE member, Roger Bardet . Bardet was interrogated in Fresnes, became a double agent, and released. From information provided by Marsac and Bardet, Bleicher came to know all about the SPINDLE network, including the names of Churchill and Sansom, and believed Marsac’s false claim that Churchill
5984-432: Was arrested. By that time, he had decentralised the organisation to such an extent that his work could be continued by others. He was released by Allied troops in Germany in May 1945. Capt. Churchill worked tirelessly and unselfishly over a long period in very trying conditions, showing outstanding courage, leadership and organising ability, which earned him the respect and admiration of all who came in contact with him. It
6072-415: Was awarded approximately 16,935 times, in addition to 1,910 bars. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below, the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette : In addition, approximately 90 DSOs were awarded between 1980 and 2017, including awards for the Falklands and the wars in the Gulf , Iraq and Afghanistan , in addition to three bars. The above figures include awards to
6160-401: Was born in Amsterdam on 14 January 1909, the son of William Algernon Churchill (1865–1947), a British Consul who served in Mozambique, Amsterdam, Pará in Brazil, Stockholm, Milan, Palermo, and Algiers. His father was also an art connoisseur, and author of what is still the standard reference work on early European paper and papermaking, Watermarks in Paper , and Violet (née Myers). He was
6248-440: Was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 6, 1906, to Barbara Virginia Hammel and Edwin Lee Hall. She attended Roland Park Country School and then Radcliffe College of Harvard University and Barnard College of Columbia University , where she studied French, Italian, and German. She also attended George Washington University , where she studied French and Economics. She wanted to finish her studies in Europe, so she traveled
6336-474: Was called off, apparently at Basin’s request. Among his couriers was Odette Sansom «Lise», with whom he was to develop a close relationship and subsequently marry after the war. Adolphe Rabinovitch «Arnaud» was his wireless operator. Churchill arranged an arms drop for General de Lattre de Tassigny , Commander of one of the sole French Divisions still in existence, based in Montpellier, and another for
6424-485: Was captured after the war and executed in Paris. Hall joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, one of the first women hired by the new agency. As a woman, she was discriminated against, as the CIA later acknowledged. She was passed over for promotions, honors, and work for which she was qualified, despite the support and efforts from her superiors who knew her work directly. She was given
6512-688: Was held in the Straflager . They were joined by over 100 other Prominenten (notable prisoners), including former heads of state and high-ranking military personnel. On 24 April, Churchill was taken from Dachau over the Brenner Pass to Villabassa ( Niederdorf in the Tyrol ), together with many other prominent concentration camp inmates from different countries , where the SS left the prisoners behind as American forces were approaching. On 27 April, he
6600-532: Was helping British airmen who'd been shot down or crashed over Europe to escape and return to England. Downed airmen who found their way to Lyon were told to go to the American Consulate and say they were a "friend of Olivier." "Olivier" was Hall and she, with the help of brothel-owner Guérin and other friends, hid, fed, and helped dozens of airmen escape France to neutral Spain and hence back to England. The French nicknamed her "la dame qui boite" and
6688-529: Was initially taken under Italian custody to the barracks in Annecy, where he was badly beaten after an unsuccessful escape attempt during which he assaulted an Italian guard. He was then transferred to German custody and moved to Fresnes Prison near Paris where he was questioned by Bleicher, who believed Marsac’s false claim that Churchill was a nephew of the British Prime Minister and discussed
6776-431: Was lax in security and grandiose in his ambitions. In August 1942, SOE agent Richard Heslop met with her and described her as a "girl" (she was 36) who lived in a gloomy apartment, but he relied on her to facilitate communications with other agents. When a suspicious Heslop demanded to know who "Cuthbert" was she showed him by banging her wooden foot against a table leg producing a hollow sound. Another task Hall took on
6864-943: Was miserable for Hall. In a letter she said that if SOE would send her a piece of soap she would be "both very happy and much cleaner." In the absence of an SOE wireless operator her access to the American diplomatic pouch was the only means the few agents left at large in France had of communicating with London. She continued building contacts in southern France and she assisted in the brief missions of SOE agents Peter Churchill and Benjamin Cowburn and earned high compliments from both. She avoided contact with an SOE agent sent to Lyon named Georges Duboudin and refused to introduce him to her contacts. She regarded him as amateurish and lax in security. When SOE headquarters directed that Duboudin should supervise her, she told SOE to "lay off." She worked as little as possible with Philippe de Vomécourt , who, although an authentic French Resistance leader,
6952-462: Was next given the job of helping the Maquis in southern France harass the Germans in support of the Allied invasion of the south, Operation Dragoon , which would take place on August 15, 1944. In July, Hall was ordered to go to Haute-Loire department, arriving July 14, quitting her disguise, and establishing her headquarters in a barn near Le Chambon-sur-Lignon . As a woman with the rank of second lieutenant she had problems asserting her authority over
7040-606: Was parachuted into France as chief liaison officer to a large resistance group in the south. He worked here for several months organising parachute dropping operations and the reception of agents by sea on the Mediterranean coast. His operations were always well organised and he took great personal risks to ensure the safe disposal of infiltrated agents. In March 1943, Capt. Churchill paid a short visit to England for consultation. Two months after his return to France in May 1943, he
7128-423: Was related to Winston Churchill and that they were a married couple to make themselves seem more valuable prisoners and less likely to be executed as spies. They were sent to Fresnes Prison and then different concentration camps where each was sentenced to death, but both escaped execution, unlike the majority of captured SOE agents. Odette endured terrible torture but revealed nothing to her captors. Churchill
7216-609: Was related to Winston Churchill . A second attempt from Arles in late December 1942 was unsuccessful due to the heavy presence of German soldiers. In January 1943, Girard was dismissed as head of the CARTE Organisation, and Henri Frager «Paul» and André Marsac «End» were made Joint Commanders. The third attempt was on a small abandoned airfield near Tournus between Mâcon and Chalon-sur-Saône in January 1943 to collect Churchill and take Frager to London to clear up
7304-581: Was taken 15 miles to the south to Pragser Wildsee , where on 4 May he was liberated by the Fifth United States Army . He was taken to Naples for debriefing by officers from the Crimes Investigations Departments and testified against his former captors, and on 12 May was flown back to England in the private plane of Air-Marshall Garrow. This officer carried out four clandestine missions into France between
7392-662: Was the only DSC awarded to a civilian woman in World War II. President Truman wanted a public award of the medal, but Hall demurred, stating that she was "still operational and most anxious to get busy." She was made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palme by France. Hall's refusal to talk and write about her World War II experiences resulted in her slipping into obscurity during her lifetime, but her death "triggered
7480-450: Was to conduct espionage , sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers , especially Nazi Germany . SOE and OSS agents in France allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. After World War II, Hall worked for the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Hall was
7568-478: Was to inspect three SOE networks in the south of France, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, assess their needs, and give them instructions. He was also given two million francs (equivalent to approximately £480,000 / €500,000 in 2019) to distribute between the three networks, with 400,000 francs for Francis Basin «Laurent» of the URCHIN network in Antibes , 300,000 francs for Georges Duboudin «Charles» of
7656-580: Was to organise and coordinate the SOE F Section "Spindle" Network in Cannes which directed the delivery of supplies to support the CARTE Organisation run by André Girard . On 27 August 1942, he was parachuted near Montpellier and went to Cannes where he learned that Francis Basin had just been arrested. Churchill planned to rescue him when he was being transferred by train to Lyon but this attempt
7744-522: Was unheeded. She resigned from the Department of State in March 1939, still a consular clerk. Early in World War II in February 1940, Hall became an ambulance driver for the French army. After the defeat of France in June 1940, she made her way to Spain where, by chance, she met a British intelligence officer named George Bellows. Bellows was impressed with her and gave her the telephone number of
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