The George Cross medal awarded to British Indian spy and descendant of Tipu Sultan, Noor Inayat Khan, for her “most conspicuous braveness” will go on show on the Royal Air Power (RAF) Museum at Colindale in north-west London from subsequent month.
Khan, who went undercover in Paris in the course of the Second World Struggle with Britain’s Particular Operations Govt (SOE) and finally gave her life for the Allied Forces’ trigger, was awarded the UK’s highest civilian honour posthumously for her bravery whereas working undercover in German-occupied France. She endured intense interrogation earlier than being executed by the Nazis at Dachau Focus Camp in September 1944.
“I’m delighted that Noor’s George Cross has discovered a house on the RAF Museum, the place will probably be seen by tons of of 1000’s of holiday makers yearly,” mentioned Shrabani Basu, the London-based writer of the biography ‘Spy Princess: The Lifetime of Noor Inayat Khan’.
“Noor beloved her Ladies’s Auxiliary Air Power (WAAF) uniform and was all the time proud to put on it. She was the primary girl radio operator to be flown into occupied France and did some of the harmful jobs within the discipline. The George Cross recognised Noor’s bravery in her combat towards the Nazis and is the best civilian honour awarded by Britain. That is the right option to bear in mind her legacy and encourage the subsequent era,” she mentioned.
The medal has been loaned to the RAF Museum by Noor Inayat Khan’s household and might be displayed together with the logbook of the pilot who flew the undercover wi-fi operator to France on her mission. As ambassador for the RAF Museum, Basu might be in dialog with Noor’s cousin Shaikh Mahmood on the launch of the show on December 2.
“We’re privileged and humbled to share Noor’s George Cross with our guests. Her story of bravery and dedication sings to us throughout the a long time, and we all know will encourage individuals of all ages and from all backgrounds,” mentioned Maggie Appleton, CEO of the RAF Museum.
“The beneficiant mortgage of the medal by her household, alongside the logbook that data her flight into occupied France and our Particular Duties Lysander are a robust illustration of her service and sacrifice,” she mentioned.
Born to an Indian Sufi father and an American mom, Noor was dwelling in Paris when Germany invaded France in 1940. She escaped to Britain the place she joined the WAAF and educated as a wi-fi operator. Regardless of being a Sufi and subsequently a pacifist, Noor believed that it was her obligation to assist the combat towards Nazism.
Noor’s technical abilities and fluency in French led to her recruitment by the SOE and her deployment to Paris as a particular agent in 1943. As per her biography, after Noor’s SOE colleagues have been recognized and arrested, she was given the choice to return from enemy territory, however she selected to stay at her put up till she was betrayed and arrested. Her dying phrases within the face of Nazi torture have been “liberte”.
Noor Inayat Khan went on to turn into one in every of solely three ladies to be awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest honour bestowed on civilian or army personnel who’ve carried out an act of bravery whereas not beneath enemy fireplace.
The quotation for Noor’s George Cross reads: “Assistant Part Officer Inayat Khan displayed essentially the most conspicuous braveness, each ethical and bodily over a interval of greater than 12 months.” The brand new show on the RAF Museum, which opens in early December, is built-in throughout the museum’s exhibition entitled ‘Strike Arduous, Strike Certain: Bomber Command, 1939-1945′.
The exhibition explores the story of the unimaginable bravery of these in Bomber Command in the course of the Second World Struggle, sharing the tales of the individuals, plane and expertise that enabled Allied victory.
The brand new museum show follows a portrait of Noor Inayat Khan leaving on her mission to France being unveiled by Queen Camilla in August final 12 months, which now hangs on the RAF Membership in London.
