Noor Inayat Khan sacrificed her life to serve the country which had sheltered her family. She remained true to her beliefs even when viciously tortured by the Nazis, never lying and never informing on others. Radio operators were not expected to survive more than a few weeks, yet she not only carried on for four months, but did the work of about six operators at a time when the Germans were actively pursuing her.
We do not know who betrayed Noor. Some believe that it may have been Renée Garry, Henri Garry’s sister, who was jealous of Noor and of her friendship with Antelme, but Renée was found not guilty in a trial held after the war. Noor may have been betrayed by another agent, either a double agent working both for the SOE and the Nazis, or even a fellow agent who revealed her identity under torture.
Of the agents mentioned in this account, only Marguerite Garry, Viennot, Gieules, Germaine Aigrain, Professor Balachowsky and John Starr survived the war. The rest were all killed by the Nazis, most of them, like Noor, in concentration camps. Himmler, Hitler’s right-hand man, ordered that all secret agents should be executed, but only after they had been tortured into revealing every scrap of information that would enable the Germans to arrest other agents.
After Noor’s death, in recognition of her courage, her loyalty and her determination, the British awarded her the George Cross. The French, too, conferred on her the highest civilian award: the Croix de Guerre with Gold Star. In Gordon Square, London, close to the house where she lived in 1914, a statue of Noor has been erected in memory of her life and her contribution to Britain.