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The Lady Is a Spy

Page 14

by Don Mitchell


  Binney, Marcus. The Women Who Lived for Danger: Behind Enemy Lines During World War II. New York: Perennial, 2004.

  Buckmaster, Maurice. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOE’s Agents in Wartime France. London: Biteback Publishing Ltd, 2014.

  Churchill, Peter. Duel of Wits: One of the World’s Most Famous Secret Agents Tells the Story of His Amazing Adventures in Enemy Territory. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1955.

  Cobb, Matthew. The Resistance: The French Fight Against the Nazis. London: Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2009.

  Colby, William, and Peter Forbath. Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978.

  De Vomécourt, Philippe. An Army of Amateurs. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1961.

  Dear, Ian. Sabotage and Subversion: The SOE and OSS at War. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks, 1996.

  Défourneaux, René J., Major US Army (Ret.) The Winking Fox: Twenty-Two Years in Military Intelligence. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Creative Arts, 1997.

  Escott, Beryl E. The Heroines of SOE: Britain’s Secret Women in France F Section. Stroud, UK: The History Press, 2014.

  Foot, M. R. D. SOE: An Outline History of the Special Operations Executive, 1940–1946. With an introduction by David Stafford. London: Pimlico, 1999.

  ______. SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944. New York: Frank Cass Publishers, 2004.

  Gildea, Robert. Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015.

  Gordon, Bertram M., ed. Historical Dictionary of World War II France: The Occupation, Vichy, and the Resistance, 1938–1946. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998.

  Guéhenno, Jean. Diary of the Dark Years, 1940–1944: Collaboration, Resistance, and Daily Life in Occupied Paris. Translated and annotated by David Ball. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

  Haines, Gerald K. “Virginia Hall Goillot: Career Intelligence Officer.” Prologue: Quarterly Journal of the National Archives (Winter 1994): 248–260.

  Helm, Sarah. A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. New York: Anchor Books, 2005.

  Helms, Richard with William Hood. A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency. New York: Random House, 2003.

  Irwin, Will, Lt. Col. US Army (Ret.) The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944. New York: PublicAffairs, 2005.

  Jacobs, Peter. Setting France Ablaze: The SOE in France During WWII. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Military, 2015.

  King, Stella. ‘Jacqueline’: Pioneer Heroine of the Resistance. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1989.

  Kitson, Simon. The Hunt for Nazi Spies: Fighting Espionage in Vichy France. Translated by Catherine Tihanyi. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008.

  Kramer, Rita. Flames in the Field: The Story of Four SOE Agents in Occupied France. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.

  Le Chêne, Evelyn. Watch for Me By Moonlight: A British Agent with the French Resistance. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1973.

  Leutze, James, ed. The London Journal of General Raymond E. Lee: 1940–1941. With a foreword by Dean Acheson. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1971.

  McIntosh, Elizabeth P. Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS. New York: Dell Publishing, 1998.

  Morgan, Ted. An Uncertain Hour: The French, the Germans, the Jews, the Klaus Barbie Trial, and the City of Lyon, 1940–1945. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1990.

  Nouzille, Vincent. L’espionne: Virginia Hall une Américaine dans la guerre. France: Fayard, 2007.

  O’Donnell, Patrick K. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of World War II’s OSS. New York: Free Press, 2004.

  Pearson, Judith L. The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spy. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2008.

  Powers, Thomas. The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA. New York: Knopf, 1979.

  Prados, John. Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2006.

  Richards, Brook. Secret Flotillas Volume I: Clandestine Sea Operations to Brittany 1940–44. With a foreword by M. R. D. Foot. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2012.

  Rossiter, Margaret L. Women in the Resistance. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1986.

  Ruby, Marcel. F Section, SOE: The Buckmaster Networks. London: Leo Cooper, 1988.

  Thomas, Gordon, and Greg Lewis. Shadow Warriors: Daring Missions of World War II by Women of the OSS and SOE. Gloucestershire, UK: Amberley Publishing, 2016.

  Waller, Douglas. Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan: Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, William Casey. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2015.

  ______. Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage. New York: Free Press, 2011.

  Weitz, Margaret Collins. Sisters in the Resistance: How Women Fought to Free France, 1940–1945. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995.

  “A remarkable woman …”: The Women Who Lived for Danger: Behind Enemy Lines. During World War II, p. 11

  Prologue: Virginia Hall’s War

  “I felt very much …”: Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, February 2, 1978, Women in the Resistance papers, University of Michigan Library (Special Collections Library)

  “From my point …”: Denis Rake, Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent, cited by Jacques Chirac, president of the French Republic, December 2006 letter, Lorna Catling collection

  As the boat … : Activity report by Henry L. Laussucq (Aramis), September 13, 1944, US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) OSS Archives, College Park, Maryland

  Fortunately, the sea was … : Ibid.

  Part One: A Spy in Training

  “I must have liberty …”: Roland Park Country School yearbook, Quid Nunc 1924, p. 12

  Chapter 1: The Fighting Blade

  Her grandfather, John W. Hall … : Associated Press article (untitled), dateline Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, [193-]

  He would go on … : “Maryland Woman Is Driving Ambulance for French Army: Miss Virginia Hall Joined Allies Last February without Telling Family of Intentions,” The Baltimore Sun, June 12, 1940, p. 28

  John’s son, Edwin … : Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS, pp. 115–116

  Virginia’s only sibling … : Lorna Catling interview, October 13, 2015

  The Halls had … : The Wolves at the Door, pp. 16–17; Lorna Catling interview

  There were hills … : The Wolves at the Door, p. 16

  Virginia once reminded … : Lorna Catling interview

  “The ‘Donna Juanita’ …”: Quid Nunc 1924, p. 12

  Virginia went to school … : Lorna Catling interview

  the school’s ninth graders … : Roland Park Country School alumnae magazine Connections, Spring 2007; “The Lady Who Limps,” by Nancy Mugele, p. 4

  Chapter 2: Student of Europe

  But Virginia was impatient … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, February 2, 1978, Women in the Resistance papers

  she spent a year … : Virginia Hall’s personnel qualification questionnaire, signed by Virginia Hall, December 9, 1952, C01346294, NARA

  Virginia also took … : CIA biographical profile of Virginia Hall Goillot, date reviewed April 23, 1964, C01346375, NARA

  additional courses in French … : CIA periodic supplement personal history statement, signed by Virginia H. Goillot on April 2, 1958, C01346345, NARA; Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS, p. 116

  made her fluent in French … : Virginia Hall’s personnel qualification questionnaire, signed by Virginia Hall, December 9, 1952, C01346294, NARA

  But she would … : Lorna Catling interview

  Chapter 3: State Department Years

  Virginia once said … : Lorna Catling interview
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  Specifically, Virginia wanted to live abroad … : Ibid.

  Virginia began her career … : Virginia Hall’s personnel qualification questionnaire, signed by Virginia Hall, December 9, 1952, C01346294, NARA

  Virginia fell in love … : Lorna Catling interview

  Virginia was involved … : Ibid.

  Virginia and several friends … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers

  septicemia, or blood poisoning … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, February 2, 1978, Women in the Resistance papers

  An American surgeon … : Associated Press article (untitled), dateline Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, [193-]

  One night at the hospital … : Lorna Catling interview

  Virginia never allowed … : Ibid.

  “a thorough gentlewoman …”: Letter from F. Egerton Webb to Colonel Edward M. House, January 25, 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, New York

  “if anything can be done …”: Letter from Colonel Edward M. House to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 31, 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

  “Why, Oh, Why …”: Memo for the secretary of state, February 9, 1938; Ibid

  “It seems to me …”: Ibid.

  “I feel deeply …”: Ibid.

  “seriously interfere with …”: Letter from Cordell Hull to Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 23, 1938; Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

  “… I have considered …”: Ibid.

  Virginia transferred from Venice in 1938 … : Virginia Hall’s personnel qualification questionnaire, signed by Virginia Hall, December 9, 1952, C01346294, NARA

  the State Department offered … : Lorna Catling interview

  Virginia left Tallinn … : “Miss Virginia Hall,” “To: F. From: FB,” February 14, 1941, the United Kingdom’s National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. (All material cited from these archives is from Virginia Hall’s file, Ref. HS/9/647/4 CG79739. Henceforth, all such sources will be cited as from the UK National Archives.)

  Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm

  “On May 6, 1940 …”: “Maryland Woman Is Driving Ambulance for French Army: Miss Virginia Hall Joined Allies Last February without Telling Family of Intentions,” The Baltimore Sun, June 12, 1940, p. 28

  Virginia moved up to … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers

  Virginia sent a letter … : “Maryland Woman Is Driving Ambulance for French Army: Miss Virginia Hall Joined Allies Last February without Telling Family of Intentions,” The Baltimore Sun, June 12, 1940, p. 28

  In an interview … : Ibid.

  On June 16, 1940 … : Historical Dictionary of World War II France, p. 280

  Virginia was in Paris … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers; “Miss Virginia Hall,” “To: F. From: FB,” February 14, 1941, UK National Archives

  Approximately 1.8 million … : The Resistance, p. 26

  Their living standards declined … : Ibid., p. 3

  Buildings were covered … : Ibid., p. 36

  French citizens who supported … : Ibid., p. 28

  Many young Frenchmen … : Ibid., p. 161

  The rural guerrilla bands … : Ibid, p. 172; Historical Dictionary of World War II France, p. 233

  “I, General de Gaulle …”: The Resistance, p. 34

  Many French citizens listened … : Ibid., p. 38

  A scholar of the Resistance … : Ibid., pp. 50–51

  If the uniformed military … : Ibid., p. 108

  no more than … : Ibid., p. 3

  the lack of coordination … : Ibid., p. 122

  Chapter 5: Wartime London: Wearing Life Like a Loose Garment

  At a salary of … : Virginia Hall’s personnel qualification questionnaire, signed by Virginia Hall, December 9, 1952, C01346294, NARA

  General Lee, who was … : The London Journal of General Raymond E. Lee: 1940–1941, p. xiii

  Lee was also … : Ibid., pp. 22–23

  A few days after … : Ibid., p. 61

  Part Two: A Yank for King and Country

  Chapter 6: The New Recruit

  They ultimately decided … : The Office of Strategic Services: America’s First Intelligence Agency, by the CIA History Staff, 2007

  Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced the creation of … : F Section, SOE: The Buckmaster Networks, p. 3

  “And now set Europe ablaze.”: SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 13

  The component of the SOE … : They Fought Alone, p. iv

  Over 100 of … : SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 21

  The core of … : The Heroines of SOE: Britain’s Secret Women in France F Section, p. 26

  The third member … : SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 95

  German listening stations … : The Heroines of SOE: Britain’s Secret Women in France F Section, p. 26

  The most sought after … : SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 42

  On Tuesday evening, … : “To: F. From: FB,” January 15, 1941, CG79739, FB/FR/38, UK National Archives

  One month later … : “Miss Virginia Hall,” “To: F. From: FB,” February 14, 1941, UK National Archives

  That same day … : “Enquiry for Information, Miss Virginia Hall,” February 14, 1941, Minute Sheet, S.O.2., UK National Archives

  “Will you cause …”: “To: F. From: FC,” April 1, 1941, UK National Archives

  The directive concluded … : Ibid.

  On May 14, 1941 … : Official Secrets Acts, 1911 and 1920, UK National Archives

  On May 21, 1941 … : “Dorothy Schiff Agrees to Sell Post to Murdoch, Australian Publisher,” by Deirdre Carmody, New York Times, November 20, 1976

  Backer handed the official … : From “MB,” May 21, 1941, UK National Archives

  That same day … : Ibid.

  On May 27, 1941 … : Ibid.

  “I was not trained …” Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers

  Nor did Virginia receive … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, February 2, 1978, Women in the Resistance papers

  Women were prominent … : The Heroines of SOE: Britain’s Secret Women in France F Section, p. 12 and pp. 34–38

  She also stated … : Bio form filled out by Virginia Hall, February 2, 1943, UK National Archives

  Virginia left for the field … : Card signed “Buckmaster” Virginia Hall, UK National Archives

  She flew from … : ‘Jacqueline’: Pioneer Heroine of the Resistance, p. 75

  The final leg … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers

  Chapter 7: Virginia’s Intelligence Circle

  When Virginia arrived in Vichy France … : SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 154

  Once there, Virginia … : SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944, p. 155

  Virginia moved to Lyon … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers

  She took on a … : Women in the Resistance, p. 191

  “I was no heroine …”: Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter, October 2, 1977, Women in the Resistance papers

  One of Virginia’s … : Report of Virginia Hall by Maurice Buckmaster, January 15, 1943, UK National Archives

  Initially, he served … : Ibid.

  Virginia informed London … : Report to SOE by Marie (Virginia Hall), September 6, 1942, UK National Archives
r />   For some of his medical cases … : Subject: Dr. Jean Rousset, 7 Place Antine[?] Poncet, Lyon, To: Chief, SO Branch Forward, June 11, 1945, From: Virginia Hall, NARA

  Virginia first met him … : Subject: Eugene Labourier, Blvd de la Republique, Le Puy, Haute Loire; report by Virginia Hall, July 10, 1945, NARA

  Madame Andre Michel … : Subject: Madame Andre Michel, 24 Rue Petite Fusterie, Avignon, From: Virginia Hall, June 11, 1945, NARA

  Maggy had a sister … : Report of Virginia Hall by Maurice Buckmaster, January 15, 1943, UK National Archives

  Another friend and collaborator … : Subject: J. Joulian, Fabrique de Lentilles, Rue de La Roderis, Aiguilhe, Le Puy, The Loire, From: Virginia Hall, July 10, 1945, NARA

  One of Virginia’s … : Memo discussing sources in Lyon, “To: F. From: FB,” initialed “MB,” November 7, 1941, UK National Archives

  In a letter … : Typed letter from “V.H.” to Nic, November 25, 1942, UK National Archives

  Germaine Guerin was … : Subject: Madame Germaine Guerin, Chez Monsieur Decley, 29 Jours J. B. Langlet, Reims, To: Chief, SO Branch Forward, From: Virginia Hall, June 1945, NARA

  In the summer of 1942 … : Ibid.

  On August 19, 1942 … : Historical Dictionary of World War II France, p. 106

  Virginia helped arrange … : Letter from Virginia Hall to Margaret Rossiter (as transcribed by Lorna Catling), November 17, 1980, Women in the Resistance papers; Subject: Madame Germaine Guerin, Chez Monsieur Decley, 29 Jours J. B. Langlet, Reims, To: Chief, SO Branch Forward, From: Virginia Hall, June 1945; NARA

  Alfred and Henry Newton were born … : Setting France Ablaze: The SOE in France During WWII, p. 55

  At the end of 1941 … : Ibid., p. 56

  Arthur was code-named … : Ibid., p. 57

  Unofficially, London headquarters … : Ibid., p. 59

  One of the cryptic … : Ibid., p. 59

  After landing in France … : Ibid., p. 62

  They got to know … : Ibid., p. 63

  For her part … : Subject: Madame Eugenie Catin, 21 Bix, Rue Xavier Privas, Lyon, To: Chief, SO Branch Forward, From: Virginia Hall, June 11, 1945, NARA

  In the early summer … : Ibid.

  Virginia met with … : To: AD/A from F., Regarding Raoul Dautry, October 28, 1941, UK National Archives

 

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