#SOE

[capsicle107]

baby you should know, i’m the one whos in control

[city-of-ladies]

As a musician and children’s writer, nothing seemed to predestine Noor Inayat Khan (1914–1944) to fight against Nazism. Yet when the time came, she didn’t hesitate to risk her life for freedom.

A cosmopolitan childhood

Noor was born in Moscow in 1914. Her father, Inayat Khan, was a musician and Sufi preacher, descended from Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore. Her mother, Ora Ray Baker, was American. Her full name, Noor-un-nisa, meant “light of womanhood.”

During her early years, the family moved to London and then Paris. Noor had three younger siblings and developed a particularly close bond with her brother Vilayat.

Music was a central part of her childhood—her father often sang to his children at bedtime. In 1927, he fell ill and died. Deeply affected, her mother fell into grief, and it fell to 13-year-old Noor to care for her siblings and manage the household.

Artist and musician

Dreamy, introverted, and profoundly creative, Noor wrote poetry and composed music. In 1931, she began studying harp and piano. She would later study child psychology and Hindi as well.

Noor launched a prolific and successful artistic career. By 1938, she was a regular contributor to the children’s page of Le Figaro. Her endearing stories, filled with magical creatures, were widely appreciated. She also participated in children’s programs on Radio Paris.

She worked on an adaptation of the Jataka Tales—stories about the Buddha’s incarnations—which became a publishing success. She also wrote articles on subjects ranging from Indian and Greek mythology to history and folklore.

But the outbreak of World War II would lead her down a very different path.

Flight to England

The rise of Nazism horrified Noor. She was particularly appalled by the atrocities committed against Jews. She had even once been engaged to a Jewish man, though the engagement was later broken. The devastation caused by the bombings further convinced her to act.

She and her family fled Paris and sought refuge in England. There, Noor resolved to take action—despite the internal conflict it caused with her Sufi philosophy of nonviolence.

She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and trained as a radio operator. Her rapid progress and fluency in several languages caught the attention of the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Training with the SOE

Noor was soon recruited by the SOE for espionage work in occupied France. Informed of the risks, she accepted immediately.

She began training as a wireless operator, learning codes as well as more physical, hands-on skills. Noor struggled with sabotage techniques and was initially frightened by weapons. Still, she showed great determination to improve.

Her training also included unarmed combat and survival techniques. Agents were subjected to mock interrogations designed to simulate capture and test their ability to maintain their cover. During her own interrogation, Noor broke down, nearly losing the ability to speak. This raised doubts about her readiness—but despite reservations, she was sent to France in June 1943.

Codename Madeleine

Noor became the first female radio operator sent to France. Previous female agents had served as couriers. Arriving in Paris under the codename Madeleine, she joined the large and well-organized Prosper resistance network. But a wave of arrests soon left Noor isolated and in danger.

Fully aware of the risks, Noor refused exfiltration and chose to stay—one of the last wireless operators remaining in Paris. She continued transmitting messages to London while evading Nazi detection.

She grew exceptionally skilled at her work, constantly changing locations and carrying her wireless set through the streets of Paris. On one occasion, when arrested briefly, she told the Germans it was a cinematographic apparatus. Unfamiliar with the device, they let her go.

She frequently changed identities and took calculated risks. Her ability to evade capture made her a major concern for the Gestapo. But in October, she was betrayed. A French officer working for the Gestapo was sent to arrest her. Noor resisted—he seized her hands, but she bit his wrist so hard that he bled and was forced to let her go.

When he tried to handcuff her, she fought back so fiercely that he had to draw his gun. As she was taken away, Noor’s eyes blazed with rage and she hurled insults at her captors.

Freedom or death

At first, Noor was interrogated but not tortured. She revealed nothing. She made two escape attempts during her imprisonment, including one through a bathroom window. Her second attempt nearly succeeded.

Labeled a dangerous prisoner, she was sent to Pforzheim prison, where she was kept in solitary confinement and subjected to torture. Still, she gave away no information. Eventually, she was transferred to Dachau concentration camp.

On September 13, 1944, Noor was executed. Her last word was reportedly “Liberté”—“freedom” in French.

In recognition of her bravery, Noor Inayat Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross (UK) and the Croix de Guerre (France).

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Further reading:

Basu Shrabani, Spy princess

Noor Inayat Khan

[systemschemistry]

Hi Pix @severevoiddragon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!🎉🎉

Hihihi

Go look at Callie fearing for their life <3

[sentient-softdrink]

Emilia Smith from @severevoiddragon 's SoE

Surely she's fine, right :)

[obioxide]

Jessica Rose 🤤🤤💥mine wife

[raptor-tooth]

I've been traveling and SUPER busy, but its mermay. 204 could have been a lot of things, but I feel like for a desert rat who has never seen the ocean, a desert crocodile is not the worst choice.

[ddodol]

i locked in and became an academic weapon for about 3 minutes before i got distracted by sohee edits

🪨

me rn,,, i keep saying i'll get this kinktober fic done but i keep getting distracted by food and my dogs

[totallyhussein-blog]

Have you heard the story of Noor Inayat Khan?

Noor Inayat Khan was a British secret agent of Indian descent, who was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France by the Special Operations Executive.

[gludgenbell]

From an advisor to the king, you need to slay.

in which she has absolutely no ulterior motives whatsoever

[seraph-of-mikayuu]

I'm new to the Fandom. Literally just finished reading the manga after binging the anime bc it was gorj and now I'm in tears!! I'm so mad that it had to be Mika. It hurts that it had to be him. But at the same time my mikayuu heart is SCREAMING!!! He told Yuu he loves him!! And not daisuki love but ai love AND THAT SHIT HITS DIFFERENT BRO I'm not ok rn like how am I supposed to go on with life until the next update with a chapter like that??? :((((((

✗ submitted by: anonymous

[tlwebb]

[systemschemistry]

These mysteries are pissing me off

I'm the original Ives-Walker

@severevoiddragon

(Jamie's design is from arc 2)

[hoyeeyoh]

Soe AW25

[obioxide]

jessica rose alt outfits because ouoiygghhhhh ouougggg wife wife………

[rosiethereviewer]

Ep 57 – A Call to Spy – Women of the SOE in Focus

Virginia Hall had a wooden leg named Cuthbert, outwitted the Gestapo, and was so dangerous the Nazis called her “the most dangerous Allied agent.” Noor Inayat Khan wrote children’s stories, hated lying, and still outlasted most wireless operators in Paris. Vera Atkins built the web, sent the women, and hunted down the truth.

Three women. One film. An episode full of espionage, sabotage, betrayal, and…lipstick-covered combat knives. Here's your trailer:

🎧 Listen to Rosie the Reviewer Ep 57 now

📝 Plus: we wrote a companion blogpost — packed with facts about these women, nuance, and a good deal of justified feminist rage.

🕵🏻‍♀️ What would you name your wooden leg? Tell us in the tags 💬 Tell us who deserves the next WWII spy biopic!

[amonisweird]

I played bo3 for the first time a few days ago and I can only play Shadows of evil:( and I only made it to four rounds before I died😭