When France collapsed, the United States was still not involved in the war. Great Britain had only the English Channel standing between it and continental Europe, which was largely under the control of Nazi Germany. Since the British Army had been pushed out of continental Europe, the island nation had to determine how it could best fight Hitler. They ultimately decided on a three-part strategy: strategic aerial bombing, a naval blockade, and undermining German rule in occupied nations through sabotage and subversion.

On July 19, 1940, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech in Berlin boasting of his government’s military victories and predicting Great Britain’s defeat. That same day, in a memorandum to his war cabinet, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced the creation of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The new organization was to “co-ordinate all actions by way of subversion and sabotage against the enemy overseas.” Efforts at subversion were intended to foster popular discontent, if not revolt against the occupiers.

The organization sought to destroy or damage trains, bridges, factories, and other facilities that were important to the enemy, as well as to collect information on the enemy’s intentions and capabilities. This covert activity was led or supported by SOE agents in occupied countries such as France, Albania, Belgium, and Greece. The SOE also had a branch focused on Asia. Its agents were dropped behind enemy lines by parachute, or brought ashore by submarines or small boats. Churchill’s directive to the secretive new organization was simple and straightforward: “And now set Europe ablaze.” The organization was divided into different sections, focusing on different countries.

French Resistance fighters sabotaging a railway in Saône-et-Loire.

The component of the SOE dealing with France, or F Section as it was known, would ultimately build up almost a hundred circuits—networks of subversive agents—in France. They would arm thousands of French members of the Resistance. The SOE’s circuits had code names such as Spindle, Tinker, Wheelwright, Stockbroker, Author, and Marksman. Over 100 of the approximately 450 agents the SOE sent to France did not survive the war.

The core of the SOE’s circuits were three-person teams, each of which played a distinct role. The team leader was an organizer who was responsible for planning and recruiting individuals to the Resistance. The courier traveled among the other members of the team and members of the Resistance, transporting messages, funds, equipment, and weaponry. Because many men were absent from the home front, women were less conspicuous traveling throughout the country and often served as couriers.

The third member of the team was the wireless telegraph, or W/T, operator who would send coded messages to London related to agents, supply drops, and other important information regarding the operational environment on the ground. Keeping in contact with London was essential for the circuits to accomplish their missions. The W/T operator was burdened with one or two suitcases of heavy equipment and the threat of being detected by German forces on the lookout for Resistance communications. German listening stations would pick up a signal and then vans or German forces on foot would arrive at the source of the transmission.

These wireless telegraph operators took tremendous risks and were under enormous pressure to keep their messages short to avoid detection. By the middle of 1943, the average wireless telegraph operator in France was arrested after only six weeks of doing their job.

Recruiting the right individuals to perform these dangerous and important roles for the SOE was a high priority. The most sought after qualities for prospective agents were “a level head and steady nerves.”

On Tuesday evening, January 14, 1941, Virginia had one of the more important encounters of her life. She was at a social gathering in London, and during the course of the evening, an SOE official developed more than a social interest in the thirty-four-year-old American who was working at the US Embassy. A priority was gauging Virginia’s willingness to return to continental Europe.

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.