Nancy Wake
| Nancy Grace Augusta Wake | |
|---|---|
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Nancy Wake circa 1945
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Hélène (SOE) Andrée (French Resistance/SOE Identity) White Mouse (Gestapo in France) Witch (Operation:) |
| Born |
30 August 1912 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Died | 7 August 2011 (aged 98) London, England |
| Allegiance |
 France United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
Special Operations Executive First Aid Nursing Yeomanry |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 (SOE) |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Freelance |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of Australia George Medal Officier de la Légion d'Honneur Croix de guerre (France) Medal of Freedom (United States) RSA Badge in Gold (New Zealand) |
Nancy Grace Augusta Wake AC, GM (30 August 1912 – 7 August 2011) served as a British Special Operations Executive agent during the later part of World War II. She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance and was one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen of the war. After the fall of France in 1940, she became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow. By 1943, Wake was the Gestapo's most wanted person, with a 5 million-franc price on her head.
After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive. On the night of 29/30 April 1944, Wake was parachuted into occupied France Auvergne, becoming a liaison between London and the local maquis group headed by Captain Henri Tardivat in the Forest of Tronçais. From April 1944 until the liberation of France, her 7,000+ maquisards fought 22,000 German soldiers, causing 1,400 casualties, while suffering only 100 themselves.
Born in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand, on 30 August 1912, Wake was the youngest of six children. In 1914, her family moved to Australia and settled at North Sydney. Shortly thereafter, her father, Charles Augustus Wake, returned to New Zealand, leaving her mother Ella Wake (née Rosieur; 1874–1968) to raise the children.
In Sydney, she attended the North Sydney Household Arts (Home Science) School (see North Sydney Technical High School). At the age of 16, she ran away from home and worked as a nurse. With £200 that she had inherited from an aunt, she journeyed to New York City, then London where she trained herself as a journalist. In the 1930s, she worked in Paris and later for Hearst newspapers as a European correspondent. She witnessed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement and "saw roving Nazi gangs randomly beating Jewish men and women in the streets" of Vienna.
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