Noor Transcript

In the heart of lies the leafy and peaceful oasis of Gordon Square, today a magnet for workers who come to escape the roaring metropolis.

But it was here that a delicate and dreamy little girl would once come to play with her brother and disappear into a world of imagination where fairies would spring from behind trees, and where she felt safe and happy.

Two decades later that same young girl, a newly trained secret agent, would be dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied France on a dangerous mission she knew may end her life.

Today we celebrate an exceptional woman whose faith and belief in the human spirit enabled her to display unimaginable courage. We remember Noor Inayat Khan.

As New Year dawned on a freezing and snow covered in 1914, baby Noor was born. Her mother Ora Ray was American and her Indian father Hazrat Inayat Khan was a Sufi preacher and talented musician.

He had been raised in Western India to a family descended from the legendary “Tiger of Mysore” , one of India's greatest warrior princes. Inayat Khan had left his homeland in 1910 with instructions to take Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism, to the west.

In America he toured the country with the Royal Musicians of Hindustan and in San Francisco met Ora Ray who was entranced by Inayat Khan. Neither family however approved and he set sail for Europe without her.

In Paris the group were engaged by the exotic dancer Mata Hari, who would later faced the firing squad, accused of spying for the Germans in WWI. But having been finally joined by Ora Ray, the two were married in London and soon moved with the group to Moscow, where Noor was born.

Inayat Khan loved the culture of Moscow, but it was a city simmering with political discontent and the family had to suddenly leave. As they did so, riots broke out and barricades blocked their path.

As crowds surged around their sledge Inayat Kahn swathed in golden robes and with his flowing beard, held baby Noor aloft and he made such an impression, that the hoard fell silent and let the family through.

They made their way to Paris, but with the outbreak of WWI in August the family moved the relative safety of London.

1 The war years were tough and the family faced poverty and hardship. Despite India backing the war effort, the British government were suspicious of Inayat Khan and kept a close eye on him.

Noor’s baby brother Vilayat was born at this time. She adored him and the two would be close throughout her life. Soon another brother and sister were born and the family moved to Gordon Square in Bloomsbury before, moving back to Paris after the war and settling in the hilly district of Suresnes.

Their home they named Fazal Manzi meaning the House of Blessing. Noor would love to sit on the garden steps gazing out at the Eiffel Tower and Paris lit up below.

The atmosphere at home was very much Indian and the children would love to dress in brightly coloured saris and turbans to perform short plays together.

With their father working away from home, Noor would pass the time playing imaginative games and writing poems. English was the family’s first language and she became fluent in French. Noor’s heroine was Joan of Arc and she loved to tell stories about self sacrifice and chivalry.

She was a talented musician, playing the piano and later the harp and she would make hand- painted cards for the family with poems inside. She was happy and thoughtful and from an early age conscious of those less privileged than her.

In 1925 Inayat Khan became seriously ill. He decided to go back to the land of this birth and the family knew that he would not return. On 5 February 1927, Noor’s father died in Delhi.

On hearing the news her mother was overwhelmed with grief, becoming frail and confining herself to her room. At the age of only 13, Noor took on the care of the family and running of the house.

Desperately sad for her grieving mother, she would write poems to try and show her how much their father still loved her.

At 17 having got her Baccalaureate and left school, for the next 6 years she was to study music in Paris. All 4 children were musical and they would play together in a quartet. Noor also studied child psychology.

Her uncles were now in charge of the house and life became more conservative and male dominated. Music was encouraged, but not academic or intellectual pursuits and the ambitions of the girls were seen as unimportant.

2 Noor fell in love and became engaged to a fellow music student named Goldberg. Poor, Turkish and Jewish, her family disapproved. The relationship was to last for 6 years, but it was not straightforward and would make Noor ill at times.

In her twenties she travelled to Europe. Then back in Paris she was becoming established as a successful children’s writer.

However, on 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland and 2 days later war broke out.

The Nazi ideology was abhorrent to Noor and opposed to all she believed in. On 4 June 1940 as the German’s were on the point of invading France, Noor and her brother Vilayat sat down at home to discuss their future. Though pacifists, they felt they were compelled to do something.

They decided they must go to England and join the war effort. Vilayat would join up and Noor would find a way to help however she could.

The following day the family left Paris with two thirds of the population, refugees fleeing the advancing German army. Low-flying planes dropped bombs indiscriminately overhead, killing innocent civilians as they fled, which only served to strengthen Noor’s resolve.

After a dramatic trip to the family boarded the last ship for British subjects bound for England. As the family looked back to France, Noor was determined to return.

In England Noor met Jean Overton Fuller who would later become her biographer. She describes Noor as of small build with brown hair, hazel eyes and a gentle voice, high pitched and faint. Her accent was a curious mixture of Indian, English, French and American and she spoke little.

By now the Battle of Britain was raging in the skies above. Fighting could be seen from below as British spitfires took on the German Luftwaffe and in September the Blitz began, with bombs raining over London.

It was a time of blackouts, air-raid sirens, and ration cards. Posters urged women to serve their country in one of the auxiliary forces.

Noor volunteered to join the Woman’s Auxiliary Airforce and was chosen to be trained as a wireless operator in Harrogate.

Having made good progress she then spent 6 months in Edinburgh where she worked hard memorising morse code and building up her speed. She excelled and was remembered later for her gentle personality and sportsmanship.

3 Further signal training followed in Abingdon, near Oxford where hours were long and the work was technical. Noor was an accomplished operator, proving herself better than many of the men and aways ready to help.

One day, whilst cycling in the countryside with her friend Joan, she spoke of her dreams after the war of resuming her writing career, playing music, marriage and lots of children.

Over the next few months Noor continued to excel and was promoted. Little did she know that she was being watched and on the 10 November 1942 Noor was called for a secret interview, supposedly with the War Office.

The brief said “ Has interesting linguistic qualifications which might make her of value for operational purposes”. She was about to be recruited as a secret agent.

The Secret Operations Executive or SOE was a secret service set up by Churchill to sabotage the German war effort and support resistance movements in occupied countries

Language was crucial to recruitment and there was a strict vetting process. It was vital that an applicant have no trace of a British accent and must speak French like a native.

Psychologists were involved in the interview process as the agents would often be working alone in a foreign country, under considerable strain. There was no uniform and no protection. If caught it would mean almost certain death.

The decision to use women was made as they would find it easier to move around under cover of shopping and daily chores and would be less likely to be questioned than men.

Unusually Noor was recruited after just one interview. She was careful, tidy, painstaking and patient, perfect for the job. It was made clear that if caught she would face interrogation and be shot. She accepted without hesitation.

She was enrolled in the First Aid and Nursing Yeomanry which was the usual cover for women agents.

On a February day 1943 Noor simply disappeared. No explanation was given and all that was left were her blankets neatly folded on her bed. Her colleagues would not hear of her again until she was awarded the George Cross after the war.

Recruits spoke French at all times. They learnt unarmed combat, how to handle explosives, map reading, physical training and sabotage. Noor, with her pacifist background, was uncomfortable handling weapons, but she was determined not to fail.

Selected as wireless operator, this was one of the most dangerous roles in the field. The SOE were desperate and it was decided that Noor should be the first woman operator to be sent to France.

4 Final training in the New Forest was classic “spy school”, where she learnt to recognise the enemy and survive in the field. Her cover story was tested and she was subjected to terrifying -style interrogations.

Her tight knit family knew she would be out of contact, but had no idea where she was heading.

At the last minute her suitability was questioned. A final report reads “Not overburdened with brains…she has an unstable personality…doubtful whether she is really suited to work in the field”. She was being seriously underestimated. Given the chance to opt out at the last minute, Noor made it clear that she had no doubts.

Noor had specifically asked to work in Paris, knowing it was the most dangerous place to operate as the city was crawling with Gestapo. As well as a cover name, her code name was Madeleine.

She was given 4 pills which included a suicide pill containing cyanide in case she was captured and wanted to escape interrogation.

A friend who saw her a few days before she left and said she looked beautiful “with a shine in her eyes…and an extraordinary degree of excitement”.

On 16 June 1943 Noor was driven to the airstrip in Sussex and armed with a pistol in case of ambush on landing. The full moon was high in the sky. 300 miles away preparations were made to greet the first woman radio operator to be flown into occupied France.

Operators had to carry their wireless equipment with them and their chances of capture were high. As the most dangerous job in the field, average survival time was estimated to be 6 weeks, but their work was essential. 4 agents were flown out that night, 3 of them women. None of them would return.

They were landed in the Loire Valley. Noor made her way by bike and train to Le Mans where she was to work for the 'Prosper' Resistance Network, a successful operation at its peak. The report arrived in London that Madeleine had arrived safely and was happy.

She started to transmit, but German intelligence was ruthlessly efficient and you had to be fast to avoid detection - a maximum of 10 - 15 minutes transmission time. She was on constant alert.

On one occasion she helped make tea for other agents and made the crucial mistake of putting milk in before the tea which, it was pointed out to her, was a very English trait.

She was also admonished for leaving her portfolio with her security codes lying in the entrance hall. She had a lot to learn. The Gestapo were everywhere and she had to be alert.

5 France was a very different country to the one she had left. German soldiers on the streets, swastikas, curfews and a city that had been emptied of its Jewish population. The atmosphere of fear and distrust came as a shock to Noor.

What she and the others were unaware of was that the Gestapo had infiltrated the network. Within days of her arrival key players were arrested and the network had fallen apart.

She lay low at a safe house, but eventually made her way to a college in Grignon, west of Paris, where she believed she could transmit to London. On arrival she realised the building had been occupied. She quickly abandoned her bicycle and had to escape, taking a bus back to Paris.

During the following week, hundreds of French agents were arrested and up to 1500 Resistance workers. The Gestapo knew of the existence of “Madeleine”. They had a physical description and knew she was a radio operator. They were after her.

Soon after Noor’s arrival, her own transmitter had been parachuted in and it had been returned to her safe house. It was now the only transmitter left in Paris.

It was suggested she return to England as the dangers were too great. Noor refused. She felt it was her duty to remain. As the last wireless operator in Paris though, she knew she would be easily tracked and she agreed not to transmit for a while. She must have felt almost completely alone.

She rented a flat in a modern block, but found she herself in the midst of SS officers. Despite advice to the contrary Noor cautiously started to transmit, single-handedly doing the work of 6 radio operators.

She had to carry her wireless transmitter with her most of the time in a conspicuous and bulky suitcase. On one occasion she had a lucky escape when she was shadowed by the Gestapo. Luckily she was a fast runner and managed to get away.

To evade detection she had to find different houses from which to transmit. She died her hair red and then blonde to try and disguise herself.

Despite enormous risks Noor transmitted throughout August. One night she had a lucky escape. On finding she needed to contact London urgently, she hung the aerial from a tree on the pavement outside her flat.

As she was struggling to hook it up, a German officer came up and asked her if she would like any help. Having coolly replied that she would, he went away presumably believing her story that she was hoping to listen to music on the radio!

6 On a trip to her childhood home in Suresnes where she believed her old friends would help her, she found that their home Fanzil Manzi had been occupied by the Germans and soldiers were everywhere. She was however able to transmit from a friend’s house nearby.

Danger was everywhere for Noor, but she carried on regardless. In London they were astonished by her survival and the regularity of her flawless transmissions. She was at this point the only link between Paris and London.

Her work was crucial; she facilitated the escape of 30 allied airmen shot down in France, ensured arms and money were delivered to the , pinpointed positions for parachute drops of arms and arranged for other agents to escape back to England.

In September however, the net began to close around Noor and the strain was showing. She was like a hunted animal and was living on borrowed time.

Noor refused to leave Paris. Only when she was assured by London that a replacement had been found did she agree to return.

She had outwitted the Germans for 3 months, but just before her departure Noor was to be betrayed by a Frenchwoman, a colleague, in return for money.

On 13 October Noor returned to her flat to find a French officer who was working for the Gestapo waiting inside. A violent struggle ensued. She attacked him ferociously, savagely biting his wrists as she struggled to free herself. He managed to draw his gun on her and call for assistance.

When back up arrived Noor was sitting upright on the couch clawing at the air in fury. The officer’s wrists were bleeding heavily. She sank back. Just a day before her escape, the Gestapo had finally defeated her.

Furious she was taken to the Gestapo headquarters in Paris, number . Her radio set had been seized along with her notebook. Unfortunately, it contained codes and messages which she had kept due to a misunderstanding.

On questioning Noor remained silent. When in due course she requested a bath, she was able to climb out of the window in a bid to escape. However, she was quickly apprehended, admonishing herself for not jumping, as she was hauled back in.

Despite persistent interrogation, Noor remained silent and revealed nothing. Later her interrogators swore that no arrests were made as a result of Noor’s capture and spoke of their admiration of her courage and kindness.

One day, Noor tapped out a message in morse on her wall to a French agent imprisoned next door and suggested they try to escape. When another agent made contact, the 3 made a bold

7 plan which, had it succeeded, would have gone down as one of the most daring escapes of the war.

On a freezing cold November night, the three, who had managed to remove the iron bars from their windows, managed to hoist themselves out of their cells and make their way precariously along the rooftop. On reaching the next house, they frantically started to tear blankets into a rope to jump, but luck was not on their side.

The air raid siren sounded and almost immediately the escape was discovered. On reaching street level the Gestapo were waiting. They were seized, kicked, beaten and marched back to No. 84.

Noor was now transferred and became the first British woman agent to be moved to Germany. It would appear that she may have attempted another escape at this point, though she was clearly recaptured.

She was the first political prisoner to be held in a civilian prison, north of the Black Forest. The gentle dreamer was now classified as “highly dangerous”, conditions were harsh.

Kept on lowest rations of potato peel and cabbage soup, she was in solitary confinement where she was chained hand and foot, unable to feed or clean herself. There was no window and no-one to talk to.

Completely isolated, Noor had no idea of time. Her cell door was opened only when the warden visited. Despite this she refused to let them break her spirit. She would walk slowly round the cells in her shackles and tried to keep her mind active. When lights were switched off at 7pm, she was in the dark.

Back home the SOE had no idea she had been taken prisoner as the Germans were transmitting on Noor’s radio. Despite having received warning signals, the British were being deceived and were being used to lure agents to their death.

At this point some female french prisoners managed to make contact with Noor, by scratching messages on their food bowls and learnt of her horrific conditions. They were her only contact with the outside world, though eventually she was allowed out for exercise.

Singled out for beatings in the basement, Noor became weaker and the other women said she looked frail and sad. She bore her torture and abuse with tremendous courage and revealed nothing.

It can only be imagined how much she missed her family and they knew nothing at this point. It would appear that she drew strength from her father’s sufi philosophy.

8 In the middle of the girls received a message from Noor. “I am leaving”. It was to be her last.

Orders were to be given that Noor and 3 other female agents should be taken to Dachau Concentration Camp. On the train she was able to relax, enjoy the views and exchange news with the others. None of them knew this would be their final journey.

They arrived at midnight and were locked in separate cells. In the early hours of the morning the other 3 women were dragged out and shot dead near the crematorium.

Noor, considered highly dangerous was to be given the “full treatment”. She was stripped, kicked, raped and tortured all night by her German captors and left lying bloodied and bruised on the floor. She was told to kneel and a pistol put to her head. Defiant to the end, her last word before she died was “Liberte”. She was 30 years old.

In April 1945, seven months after her execution, Dachau was liberated.

Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the with Gold Star. She is commemorated with a blue plaque in Bloomsbury and every year on Bastille Day a military band plays outside Noor’s childhood home in Suresnes, Paris to honour her.

Noor Inayat Khan was a fragile and peace loving dreamer, who as an agent in the field displayed resilience, guile, resourcefulness and indescribable bravery. She paid the ultimate price and we must never forget her.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

Spy Princess, the life of Noor Inayat Khan:

Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan: Madeleine: George Cross MBE, Croix de Guerre with Gold Star: Jean Overton Fuller

Noor Inayat Khan (My Story): Sufiya Ahmed

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