Violette Szabo, G.C.

I've just run a search and find Violette doesn't have a thread, time to start one!!



Her story captivates me and this summer my wife & I will visit the site of her last gun battle at Salon-La-Tour. Has anyone any advice on locations?

I've done some research and found this a good site,There is a good link here:

Szabo, Violette - Page Two

And her daughter has written a great book, see here:

Violette Szabo and Etienne Szabo

Certainly, she & her fellow agents had a very rare breed of courage.

 

Also see
http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-general/9625-women-role-world-war-two.html

Violette Szabo

A rich and deep site on Violette Szabo, a British woman with half French heritage who volunteered during World War II. She parachuted into France twice, and, after she lost a gun battle with the Germans, she was sent to Ravensbrück where, in 1945, she was executed.

 

This was in October...

BBC NEWS | UK | Secret agents' memorial unveiled

 

Hi Hilts, any reason why you seem to be particulary attached to this great woman?

 

It's the whole story. Any Tommy or G.I. taken in combat had a very good chance of seeing home again. Being an 'Agent' is a different thing. After all we called ours 'Agents' and theirs 'Spies'. The Germans treated her as a spy, hardly suprising but no 'Due Process' under Nazi rule. A beautiful woman, She made two trips to France. On the first, she ended up in Paris and managed to buy her daughter a dress in a Paris department store. A normal thing in an abnormal world. Her courage under interrogation and her bravery at the end, which even her Nazi executioners commented on. I've visited 'Gibraltar Farm' at Tempsford airbase in England, where the agents left for Europe. You stand on the remains of the runway and you can feel the spirit of the place. The old barn where they had to undergo a final 'Pat Down' for English chocolate wrappers or train tickets & where they were offered their 'L' pill.

It's like when I think of the guys in the B-17s, The Paras at Arnhem & the men that made 'The Great Escape', I ask myself, 'Would I have had that courage?', I doubt I would have done...............

I guess it's 'Hero worship' plain & simple.

 

Can we have the title here corrected to at least spell her name right .

Lt. Szabó's daughter Tania roams the Internet, you never know, she might pop in, but in the meantime her book on her mother's missions has been highly praised:
Violette Szabó, George Cross

~A

 

Thanks for pointing out the typo! I have corrected it!

 

Violette's bust on top of the SOE Memorial outside Lambeth Palace in London.

 

For anyone interested in visiting Tempsford Airbase, check out this link:

The Tempsford Airfield Webpages

 

Etienne and Violette Szabo on their wedding day.

 

Cheers Hilts, I appreciate. this is going to be a great quality thread I think.
What network was she linked with in France ? Was it Comete ? If she was part of the SOE then she would certainly be mentionned on the Valencay Memorial too

 

The lovely Virginnia McKenna, opening Violette's Millenium Museum.



Here's the link:

THE VIOLETTE SZABO GC TRAIL - Is not for the faint hearted but will prove a worth while ramble with a purposeful ending at the VIOLETTE SZABO GC MUSEUM at Wormelow in Herefordshire.

 

I'm not sure about 'Comete'. The attached link for The Jersey War Tunnels site, mentions 'Salesman'. If anyone has any extra info I'd be interested to hear about it.

Jersey War Tunnels - Szabo

 

Her Mural in Stockwell, South London, close to where she lived during the war.





Site Link:

http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Trips/London/20010626/Stockwell05.jpg

 

Violette, Denise Bloch & Lillian Rolfe, bravely met their end together, at Ravensbruck in Feb '45. The spot is marked.



The link has a lot more information.

THE VIOLETTE SZABO GC MUSEUM - Tel. 01981-540477 - "Cartref", Tump Lane, Wormelow, Herefordshire, HR2 8HN. Founded by Rosemary E. Rigby MBE in memory of a brave young lady.

 

Some images of Violette.

 

Very moving, I see you have worked a lot on the story of this brave Lady

 

A new computer game is based on Violette's exploits, I like to think she'd approve!!

 

Violette is on te Valencay Memorial

Valençay SOE Memorial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia







Résultats Google Recherche d'images correspondant à http://img.over-blog.com/300x392/2/45/42/71/philippe-8/file5690.jpg

 

Not meant to rob the thread but I recall another female (from WW1 though ) who made a great job and was executed for it:

Edith Louisa Cavell (4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse and humanitarian. She is celebrated for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was executed. This led to worldwide sympathetic press coverage of her.

She is well-known for her statement that "patriotism is not enough." Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, both German and Allied soldiers. She was quoted as saying, "I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved".

Edith Cavell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am not starting a new thread here but anyone wanting to comment more on her be free to do so.