www.voicesofwar.co.uk
On one occasion, as her group were about to attack a German gun
factory, they came across a security guard who saw them and was
about to raise alarm, Nancy reputedly killed the man with her bare
hands. On another occasion they had captured a female German spy.
Nancy had noticed three girls were being held by the Marquis, possibly
as prostitutes so she engineered their release, getting them washed
and properly clothed. Nancy set two of the girls free, but she suspected
that a third was a German spy. After interrogating and exposing her,
Nancy gave orders to shoot the informer. Initially the men refused, but
when Nancy said she would do it herself, they capitulated. Nancy later
recounted that the accused girl spat and stripped naked in front of her
before facing the ring squad.
Finally, her own account of her return to France in April 1944 sums up
her spirit and determination:
“Over civilian clothes, silk-stockinged and high-heeled, I wore
overalls, carried revolvers in the pockets, and topped the lot with a
bulky camel-haired coat, webbing harness, parachute and tin hat.
Even more incongruous was the matronly handbag, full of cash and
secret instructions for D-day. My ankles were bandaged for support
when I hit the ground.
But I’d spent years in France working as an escape courier. I’d
walked out across the Pyrenees and joined the Special Operations
Executive in England, and I was desperate to return to France and
continue working against Hitler. Neither airsickness nor looking like
a clumsily wrapped parcel was going to deter me…”