Tribute to an Indian princess who died for our freedom:
Sculpture unveiled of spy tortured and executed
by Nazis after refusing to betray Britain
• Noor Inayat Khan was one of Churchill's elite band of women spies
• She was the first radio operator to aid the French Resistence
• Despite being tortured and interrogated by Gestapo she never gave up her loyalty to Britain
• Shot by firing squad in 1944, Noor's last word was 'Liberte'
A beautiful Indian princess, she sacrificed her life for Britain as a wartime secret agent.
With astonishing courage, Noor Inayat Khan evaded the Gestapo before being betrayed,
tortured and, after refusing to reveal any information, executed at Dachau concentration camp.
Her last word as the firing squad raised their weapons on September 13, 1944, was 'liberté'.
Noor Inayat Khan wartime heroine who had a statue to her unveiled by the Princess Royal in
London today Yesterday, seven decades after her death aged 30, a statue to the forgotten heroine
was unveiled in London by the Princess Royal. The bronze bust commemorating Britain’s only
female Muslim war heroine is the first stand-alone memorial to an Asian woman in the UK.
It stands in Gordon Square near the house where Noor lived and from where she left on her last mission,
unable to tell her mother she might never return. Princess Anne said stories such as Noor’s are
‘remarkable in their own right’ but have a real connection to make with the modern age through their
‘multi-cultural aspect’. She hoped the statue will 'remind people to ask: Who was she? Why is she here?
And what can we achieve in her memory?'
The statue of Noor Inayat Khan was made by London artist Karen Newman
Noor was part of an elite band of women in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the
first woman radio operator to be flown into occupied France to aid the Resistance.
Born in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother, Noor was a descendant of
Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore. The family lived in London, moving to Paris
when Noor was six. She studied the harp, gained a degree in child psychology and wrote children’s
stories. When Paris fell to the Nazis in 1940, she returned to London and volunteered for
the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Recruited by the SOE in 1942, she was sent to Paris in
June 1943 with the codename Madeleine. Many members of the network were soon arrested, but
Noor chose to remain in France, trying to send messages back to London while avoiding capture.
The Princess Royal unveiled the statue today at Gordons Square in London
Princess Anne said stories such as Noor's are 'remarkable in their own right' but have a real
connection to make with the modern age through their 'multi-cultural aspect'
Herione: Noor was executed in Dachau for refusing to give up state secrets
That October she was betrayed by a Frenchwoman and arrested by the Gestapo. She was kept
in chains and in solitary confinement. Her captors kicked and interrogated her but she revealed nothing.
When posthumously awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian decoration, for her gallantry
in 1949, the citation read: 'She refused to abandon what had become the principal and most dangerous
post in France, although given the opportunity to return to England, because she did not wish to leave her
French comrades without communications.'
Noor was one of only three women in the SOE to be awarded the medal. The other two – Violette Szabo
and Odette Hallowes – have been more widely known and celebrated until now.
Campaigners spent years raising £60,000 for Noor’s statue, by London-based artist Karen Newman,
from public donations and enlisted the support of politicians including David Cameron, who said
it was ‘impossible not to be moved’ by her bravery. Shrabani Basu who wrote a biography of
Noor in 2006 called 'Spy Princess' and spearheaded the campaign to get her formally recognised,
said: 'I realised how much Noor's story had touched ordinary people, especially the young.
'I felt it was all the more important to remember Noor's message, her ideals and her
courage in the troubled times we live in.' Noor's brother Hidayat Inayat Khan, 95, was
unable to travel from his home in The Hague, Netherlands, to attend the ceremony due to
old age but said in a message read by his grandson Omar:
Her cousin Mahmood Khan Youskine, 84, who spent holidays with her in France as a child,
did make it and said: 'I remember her as a very refined girl who believed in freedom as
a spiritual condition. 'Later I think she decided freedom had to be a political and social experience too.
'Sometimes it can take time to gain clarity on the past, but I appreciate it enormously that she is
now being given recognition in the heart of London.' Veterans of both the SOE and WAAF
including Irene Warner, 91, who trained with Noor, were among the 300 throng. She remembered
her as 'quiet and shy but very nice' and said she 'certainly deserves recognition'.
General Sir David Richards, the Chief of Defence Staff, said in a message in the programme:
'We owe our freedom to women like Noor Inayat Khan.' After the unveiling, a bugler
played the Last Post before a minute's silence was observed. Noor was also posthumously
awarded France's Croix se Guerre after the war.
A film of her life is planned for release next year on the centenary of her birth.
Sculpture unveiled of spy tortured and executed
by Nazis after refusing to betray Britain
• Noor Inayat Khan was one of Churchill's elite band of women spies
• She was the first radio operator to aid the French Resistence
• Despite being tortured and interrogated by Gestapo she never gave up her loyalty to Britain
• Shot by firing squad in 1944, Noor's last word was 'Liberte'
A beautiful Indian princess, she sacrificed her life for Britain as a wartime secret agent.
With astonishing courage, Noor Inayat Khan evaded the Gestapo before being betrayed,
tortured and, after refusing to reveal any information, executed at Dachau concentration camp.
Her last word as the firing squad raised their weapons on September 13, 1944, was 'liberté'.
Noor Inayat Khan wartime heroine who had a statue to her unveiled by the Princess Royal in
London today Yesterday, seven decades after her death aged 30, a statue to the forgotten heroine
was unveiled in London by the Princess Royal. The bronze bust commemorating Britain’s only
female Muslim war heroine is the first stand-alone memorial to an Asian woman in the UK.
It stands in Gordon Square near the house where Noor lived and from where she left on her last mission,
unable to tell her mother she might never return. Princess Anne said stories such as Noor’s are
‘remarkable in their own right’ but have a real connection to make with the modern age through their
‘multi-cultural aspect’. She hoped the statue will 'remind people to ask: Who was she? Why is she here?
And what can we achieve in her memory?'
The statue of Noor Inayat Khan was made by London artist Karen Newman
Noor was part of an elite band of women in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the
first woman radio operator to be flown into occupied France to aid the Resistance.
Born in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother, Noor was a descendant of
Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore. The family lived in London, moving to Paris
when Noor was six. She studied the harp, gained a degree in child psychology and wrote children’s
stories. When Paris fell to the Nazis in 1940, she returned to London and volunteered for
the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Recruited by the SOE in 1942, she was sent to Paris in
June 1943 with the codename Madeleine. Many members of the network were soon arrested, but
Noor chose to remain in France, trying to send messages back to London while avoiding capture.
The Princess Royal unveiled the statue today at Gordons Square in London
Princess Anne said stories such as Noor's are 'remarkable in their own right' but have a real
connection to make with the modern age through their 'multi-cultural aspect'
Herione: Noor was executed in Dachau for refusing to give up state secrets
That October she was betrayed by a Frenchwoman and arrested by the Gestapo. She was kept
in chains and in solitary confinement. Her captors kicked and interrogated her but she revealed nothing.
When posthumously awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian decoration, for her gallantry
in 1949, the citation read: 'She refused to abandon what had become the principal and most dangerous
post in France, although given the opportunity to return to England, because she did not wish to leave her
French comrades without communications.'
Noor was one of only three women in the SOE to be awarded the medal. The other two – Violette Szabo
and Odette Hallowes – have been more widely known and celebrated until now.
Campaigners spent years raising £60,000 for Noor’s statue, by London-based artist Karen Newman,
from public donations and enlisted the support of politicians including David Cameron, who said
it was ‘impossible not to be moved’ by her bravery. Shrabani Basu who wrote a biography of
Noor in 2006 called 'Spy Princess' and spearheaded the campaign to get her formally recognised,
said: 'I realised how much Noor's story had touched ordinary people, especially the young.
'I felt it was all the more important to remember Noor's message, her ideals and her
courage in the troubled times we live in.' Noor's brother Hidayat Inayat Khan, 95, was
unable to travel from his home in The Hague, Netherlands, to attend the ceremony due to
old age but said in a message read by his grandson Omar:
Her cousin Mahmood Khan Youskine, 84, who spent holidays with her in France as a child,
did make it and said: 'I remember her as a very refined girl who believed in freedom as
a spiritual condition. 'Later I think she decided freedom had to be a political and social experience too.
'Sometimes it can take time to gain clarity on the past, but I appreciate it enormously that she is
now being given recognition in the heart of London.' Veterans of both the SOE and WAAF
including Irene Warner, 91, who trained with Noor, were among the 300 throng. She remembered
her as 'quiet and shy but very nice' and said she 'certainly deserves recognition'.
General Sir David Richards, the Chief of Defence Staff, said in a message in the programme:
'We owe our freedom to women like Noor Inayat Khan.' After the unveiling, a bugler
played the Last Post before a minute's silence was observed. Noor was also posthumously
awarded France's Croix se Guerre after the war.
A film of her life is planned for release next year on the centenary of her birth.
