www.voicesofwar.co.uk
Nancy had a fearsome reputation. She could apparently swear in the
coarsest of French and gained the trust of the Maquis by showing
them she could drink as well as any man. She would irt to get
through checkpoints, even getting guards to escort her through. She
would cycle for miles in order to collect codes or pass on messages
and during these trips she had to deceive the numerous patrols and
checkpoints she passed through which took nerves of steel, and
possibly a drink and touch of lipstick. Henri Tardivat described her
as: “the most feminine woman I know, until the ghting starts. Then,
she is like ve men.”
She was not afraid of any aspect of her role, including killing when
necessary. In her own words: “I have only one thing to say: I killed a
lot of Germans, and I am only sorry I didn’t kill more.”
5
5 BBC obituary 8th August 2011. Accessed 3rd February 2024.