The Lady Is a Spy

by Don Mitchell

  The next day, the official reported to SOE colleagues that Virginia had talked of “wanting to go for about a month to France” via Lisbon, Portugal, or Barcelona, Spain. She also raised the possibility of working to assist refugees by “joining hands with the Quaker organization” in order to return to the mainland. Intrigued, the British intelligence official was careful not to push the issue with her. But the official was struck that this Baltimore native might be used in a mission for the British. Perhaps the SOE might wish to facilitate her trip to Lisbon and back, and pay her way “in exchange for what service she could render us.”

  In the parlance of spy recruitment, Virginia had been spotted, and now she was to be assessed. She was seen as an excellent candidate for recruitment to British intelligence. Nevertheless, there was a realization that they needed to get more details about her. The official pledged to “put her through the cards, at the same time continuing approaches with the same end in view.”

  After an initial assessment, British authorities scrutinized Virginia more closely to determine if she was suitable to become an intelligence officer. One month later, on February 14, 1941, it was recommended that Virginia be used “as a Class A Liaison in France—Unoccupied territory—with journalistic cover.”

  That same day, an “Enquiry for Information” regarding Miss Virginia Hall of 4 Queen Street, W1, London, was made to MI5—Great Britain’s domestic counterintelligence and security agency charged with protecting the nation’s secrets—to assess her suitability to be employed as a Class A Liaison in unoccupied France. British authorities were “running the traps” to make sure that Virginia was representing herself accurately and was not an agent of the Nazis or any other hostile nation. Just three days later, MI5 responded, “Nothing recorded against.”

  While the British were vetting Virginia, they also needed to develop a cover identity for her intelligence-gathering mission in Vichy France. A London correspondent for the daily newspaper PM, published in New York City, was approached to see if they would be willing to provide cover for Virginia as a correspondent for the newspaper in France. It was noted that Ralph Ingersoll, the owner and director of the paper, would ultimately have to give permission. The directive to British authorities was as follows:

  Will you cause Ingersoll to be approached tactfully and find out whether he has any objection. Please make it clear that we are paying all expenses and that Miss Hall need only be paid space rates by him for any material used. She has journalistic experience.

  The directive concluded with a clear and straightforward description of what British intelligence was expecting of Virginia in Vichy France: “Also please make it clear that we are not asking Miss Hall to do anything more than keep her eyes and ears open.”

  As the British committed themselves to working with Virginia, she formalized her own commitment to working with them. On May 14, 1941, Virginia Hall—a US citizen—signed the United Kingdom’s Official Secrets Acts, promising to keep her work for the British secret and acknowledging the serious legal penalties for failing to do so.

  The arrangement to have Virginia provided a cover story by PM apparently fell through, and Virginia would find another American sponsor for her espionage on behalf of the British. On May 21, 1941, an SOE official met with George Backer, the publisher of the New York Post, at Claridge’s, an exclusive hotel in London. Backer handed the official an attestation that Virginia Hall was a fully accredited correspondent for the Post. The official noted that Backer, “without saying anything, was obviously aware of an ulterior motive” and supportive of helping provide a cover story for Virginia’s activities in Vichy France. That same day, Virginia went to the American Embassy in London to obtain an extension of her US passport, along with authorization for travel through Portugal, Spain, and France.

  On May 27, 1941, an SOE official saw Virginia, and she told him that the US Embassy and Consulate in England were quite willing to send a telegram pressing her application for a French visa from the Vichy government in France, but they had to obtain Washington’s consent. But Washington refused, arguing that no special assistance should be given in the matter. Despite such administrative problems, Virginia was still being vetted. Before long, the SOE considered her a desirable recruit.

  Virginia’s preparation for her new assignment was relatively minimal. She recalled, “I was not trained by SOE before going to France except for a political briefing.” Nor did Virginia receive any sabotage training from the British.

  Virginia with skis next to her car.

  German and Vichy authorities considered women less likely to be intelligence agents, and therefore, the SOE was more inclined to use women in this role. Women were prominent in France during the occupation, traveling, shopping, and working in the place of absent husbands and other male family members. And as the United States had not yet entered the war at this stage, Virginia was allowed generally free movement around France.

  Virginia responded to questions from British intelligence about her parents, education background, and language skills. She stated that she was five feet, eight inches tall in her stocking feet, and weighed 138 pounds. She had made out her will. Her hair and eyes were brown. Her complexion was fair. Virginia also indicated that she could ride a horse, drive a car, swim, mountaineer, sail a boat, ski, shoot a firearm, and bicycle. She also stated that she could not run, fly an airplane, box, sketch, read or transmit Morse code, and had no knowledge of wireless radios. She described her religion as Episcopalian and considered herself best suited to working in the field of journalism. What political views did Virginia have? “None,” she replied.

  Virginia left for the field for her SOE mission in France on August 23, 1941. She flew from England to Lisbon, Portugal, and then took a flight from Lisbon to Barcelona, Spain, via Lufthansa, a German airline—an irony that delighted Virginia. The final leg of her journey, from Barcelona to Vichy, was taken by train. At last, Virginia was in France and ready to fight against tyranny.

  When Virginia arrived in Vichy France, she established herself in the capital of unoccupied France and was the SOE’s first female agent in the country. Once there, Virginia registered with the local gendarmerie, or military police, and established reliable contacts within the organization. She introduced herself as a new correspondent for the New York Post, while also living her clandestine life as an intelligence operative for the British. Virginia’s mission was to collect information on the situation in France, while aiding the French Resistance. She was also supposed to look for ways to assist SOE agents, as well as British pilots and others, in escaping German and Vichy authorities—what was known as escape and evasion (E&E) activity.

  Virginia’s journalist ID card.

  Soon after arriving, Virginia moved to Lyon, where she set about organizing the SOE’s Heckler circuit and operating out of her apartment at 3 Place Ollier. She took on a wide variety of activities, including advising SOE agents about crossing into German-occupied France and distributing radio transmitters to agents who passed along her reports to SOE headquarters in London, and she traveled extensively, meeting with other SOE agents.

  Virginia was modest about the important and dangerous role she played as an intelligence operative in wartime France. “I was no heroine—I was there to help and back up the men who did the work; false papers, get them out, take care of trouble—my French friends did it all for me.” Virginia took tremendous risks in this work, but as she noted, she also depended heavily on her “French friends” to get the job done. Several of these French patriots were particularly notable.

  One of Virginia’s most valuable and reliable colleagues, Dr. Jean Rousset of Lyon, a prominent gynecologist, came to work for her in November 1941. Virginia referred to him by a code name, Pepin. Initially, he served Virginia by providing a letter box for information coming from Paris. Later, relying on his own contacts in the Lyon area, he provided economic information to Virginia, such as the nature and extent of metals and minerals being exported to
Germany from the Lyon area.

  As a physician, Dr. Rousset tended to the health of agents who had become sick during their stay in the area. He offered nurses, doctors, and ambulances, and would place agents at his clinic when they desperately needed medical care. Virginia informed London that “he is most devoted to this good cause and quite willing to do anything for us.”

  For some of his medical cases, he provided medical certifications so they would not be conscripted into forced labor in Germany. Dr. Rousset also made arrangements with a small mental health clinic to place Virginia’s sick agents there under false names so they could be cared for in security. Virginia said of him: “Dr. Rousset was and is always an ardent collaborator of [ours] and gave his help and time to the utmost and eventually his liberty.”

  Another important Resistance colleague of Virginia’s, and one of the first to be willing to work with her, was Eugene Labourier. Virginia met him in December 1941 on a visit to Le Puy. At the time, Labourier was serving as Ingenieur des Ponts et Chaussées—engineer of bridges and roads—for the Haute-Loire Department of France. He promised to do what he could to help Virginia.

  For example, in the spring of 1942, Virginia needed to transport political prisoners from a spot near Vichy to Châteauroux. Labourier provided trucks, one of which he drove. Later, he and several Resistance colleagues would go out at night to drop points in the Haute-Loire to gather supplies dropped by plane and use wheelbarrows to bring the material to hiding places. Labourier organized most of the men in this circuit, including nearly all the gendarmes in the district.

  Madame Andre Michel, who was known as Maggy, was recruited in the spring of 1942 to serve as both a courier and a housekeeper for Monsieur Moran, known as Eugene. He was a radio operator for Virginia’s circuit of agents operating in Lyon, passing along messages to and from London. Maggy left her apartment in Avignon to come to Lyon and take care of Eugene and served as a courier to him and Virginia. For security reasons, in August 1942 she and Eugene moved their operations to Avignon. Maggy continued her courier work, traveling between Lyon and Avignon every three or four days.

  Maggy had a sister in Marseille who had a factory for making fine leather goods as well as a shop. It was suggested that an effective password for contacting her would be to inquire about “the flat out in the Armenian quarter of Marseille”—meaning her apartment that Virginia would be using.

  Another friend and collaborator was Monsieur J. Joulian, who had worked with Virginia since December 1941. Joulian and his wife offered their home as a safe house, taking care of a number of agents and even allowing several wireless telegraph operators to work from their house—at considerable risk to themselves. Because he was exposed to poison gas during World War I, Monsieur Joulian was not in good health. Nevertheless, he continually took risks to help Virginia and the Resistance, serving as treasurer and recorder for the Resistance group operating in the Haute-Loire, and purchasing and storing food in case it was needed in an emergency.

  One of Virginia’s closest collaborators in Lyon was Germaine Guerin, whom she met in the winter of 1942. Germaine began to provide assistance to Virginia almost immediately, without even knowing the true nature of Virginia’s work. Maurice Buckmaster, head of the SOE’s F Section, characterized Germaine as “a woman of considerable attainments who incidentally works the Black Market, and is part owner of a brothel.” Nevertheless, Germaine was totally committed to “working hard for what she calls ‘the revolution against the German occupiers.’ ”

  Virginia received information from many sources, and the prostitutes employed by Germaine had interesting and valuable insights from their intimate encounters with German soldiers and officials. In a letter to a friend, Virginia noted, “I’ve made some tart friends. They tell me their Jerry [a disparaging nickname for Germans] bed companions are not so bright as once was. In fact many are downright pessimistic. Excuse my acquaintances—but they know a hell of a lot!”

  Germaine Guerin was responsible for keeping up a steady supply of food for the Resistance and those they were trying to help. Through her wide circle of contacts, she supplied the safe houses with both cooking and heating stoves and supplied coal to keep the flats warm during cold weather—a remarkable achievement in wartime France, where fuel and food were strictly rationed.

  Germaine also provided clothing for escaped pilots and food for other Resistance members who were hiding in Lyon. In the summer of 1942, Virginia gave Germaine a somewhat better sense of her work supporting the Resistance, and asked Germaine for more consistent support. Germaine allowed Virginia to use three apartments as safe houses for agents visiting Lyon. During that summer, Virginia was often busy taking care of agents, or pilots on their way home.

  On August 19, 1942, the Allies launched Operation Jubilee, the largest Allied raid on occupied Europe up until that time. Over six thousand troops, primarily Canadian, made an assault on Dieppe, a small port city on France’s Normandy coast. However, in the face of superior German forces, the Dieppe raid proved a disaster for the Allies and made it clear that an Allied invasion of Europe would take substantially more time and preparation to be a success. Virginia helped arrange for the escape of three French Canadians from the raid who had been brought to her by a policeman. Germaine helped to take care of the men.

  British and Canadian POWs, escorted at gunpoint by German troops, after the Dieppe assault.

  Virginia also worked with a pair of brothers. Alfred and Henry Newton were born ten years apart and raised primarily in France. They became well known in Europe as cabaret artists—entertainers who gave dancing and singing performances in restaurants or nightclubs. After the outbreak of World War II, the two men formed one of the first underground movements in France’s unoccupied zone, engaging in minor sabotage and passing along information they had received from monitoring BBC radio broadcasts from London on a hidden receiver. At the end of 1941, the brothers found out that their parents, wives, and Alfred’s three children were killed when their ship taking them to safety in England was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Portugal. Devastated by the loss, the two men were determined to extract their revenge on the Germans.

  When the brothers came to work for the SOE, Alfred was code-named Artus and Henry was code-named Auguste. Unofficially, London headquarters referred to them as “the twins.” They were to be deployed in the Lyon area, where they were to instruct Resistance members in sabotage and guerrilla tactics as well as how to handle British weapons.

  To discreetly announce their deployment in France, in late June 1942, an evening BBC broadcast transmitted its list of coded messages to Resistance reception committees throughout France. One of the cryptic broadcast messages was Les durs des durs arrivent, which means “the toughest of the tough are arriving.” The twins were on their way. Shortly thereafter, the two Newton brothers, along with their radio operator, Brian Stonehouse, code-named Célestin, were parachuted into central France.

  Members of the French Resistance listening to radio messages from London.

  After landing in France, the group was treated dismissively by the head of the circuit they were supposed to join. Despite this setback, the two men independently carved out a mission for themselves in the Lyon area, recruiting and training Resistance members, conducting sabotage, scouting suitable drop zones in the countryside, surveilling military facilities, and identifying sabotage targets. They soon formed their own circuit, called Greenheart. They got to know Virginia and provided her with French gendarme uniforms to help Resistance members escape the prison at Castres. For her part, Virginia did what she could to help “the twins,” or as she affectionately referred to them, “the Siamese twins.”

  In the early summer of 1942, Madame Eugenie Catin of Lyon had been recruited to serve as a courier for “the Siamese twins,” further placing herself at risk by providing them with a place to stay in Lyon when the brothers needed it. Virginia noted that she “did excellent work” as a courier and was “indefatigable in the
question of rail travel, which at that time was most difficult and tiring.”

  Along with her numerous SOE and Resistance contacts, Virginia also encountered notable French officials. For instance, Virginia met with Raoul Dautry, a French politician, business leader, and engineer who was a prominent official in the French government prior to the German invasion of France. In a letter to London, Virginia reported that Dautry indicated that he wanted to escape occupied France. He had tried unsuccessfully to leave via Algiers in North Africa on two occasions, and he now wished to go to the United States. However, Dautry needed an invitation from an American university or foundation, as well as a supporting letter from France’s embassy in Washington, DC. If he was successful, he would depart to America via London, giving the SOE an opportunity to consult with the Frenchman. Virginia’s assessment—termed a “pious hope” by one of her SOE colleagues—was that there would be propaganda value in such a prominent individual leaving France. Ultimately, however, Dautry stayed in France for the duration of the war.

  Virginia had other important contacts elsewhere in France. For example, in Marseille, her contacts primarily assisted prisoners of war in escaping. She had several good friends, Madame Landry in particular, who had connections in Paris and was able to assist refugees with fake ration and identity cards. These sources passed along verbal messages for Virginia, helping to keep her informed of Resistance activities throughout the country.

  Virginia dutifully lived her cover story that she was a reporter for the New York Post, writing a variety of articles about life in unoccupied Vichy France. That cover also gave her a valid justification for her travel around the country and allowed her to make firsthand observations about life in France that she could pass along to British intelligence. It also provided an opportunity to make the contacts necessary to accomplish her real work. Virginia’s articles were a valuable insight into life in wartime France, as well as her operational environment as a spy.