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When asked to provide a book review, I knew immediately that book would be " The Last Secret Agent" - The untold story of New Zealander Pippa Latour and her life as a spy operating behind enemy lines during the later part of World War 11. Her story is told to Jude Dobson, 'NZ Order of Merit'.
In June 1940, Winston Churchill established the Special Operation Executive ( S.O.E. ) to wage a secret war in occupied Europe. His aim was to "Set Europe Ablaze".
Pippa was born on a Belgian ship berthed at the Port of Durban, South Africa. Her father was French, her mother English. Pippa had a lot of tragedy in her young life, but said she enjoyed a happy childhood. Later she lived in the Belgian Congo, Kenya, Paris, England and after World War II, New Zealand.
In 1943, aged 21, Pippa was a Section Officer in the Royal Air Force, training to be a Flight Mechanic at St Athan in South Wales. Her next posting in November 1943 was to London. After several unusual interviews, she was recruited by Colonel Maurice Buckmaster and would later train as a Radio Operator in ' F ' section of the S.O.E.
Under Vera Atkins, she found training exhausting, which included commando courses, rope climbing, how to use grenades and explosives, daggers and Sten guns. Pippa found some of the training unusual. For example, don't take your beret off inside - don't look right when crossing the road; always look left first and don't put milk in before tea. It did not take her long to realise she was being trained as a secret agent to be dropped behind enemy lines in France.
On May 1st 1944, Pippa left RAF Temsford and was parachuted into the Mayenne - Calvados area in France, and her real story begins.
Pippa was well into her 80s when she told her children that she had been a World War 11 secret agent. She was 101 when she decided that it was time to tell her story about her time in Nazi occupied France during World War 11.
Appendix 111 lists the names of the 39 brave women who served as S.O.E. operatives. Sadly, 13 were executed by the Gestapo. A memorial at Valencay, France, remembers their sacrifice.
An amazing story, extremely well-told, which pays tribute to outstanding female bravery.
Kevin Watson - Guide
Omaka Heritage Aviation Museum.
