A new film Female Agents tells the story of the women who were recruited by the Special Operations Executive, an intelligence and sabotage service overseen by Winston Churchill. Thirty-nine female agents were sent to work for the Allies in occupied France – only 26 returned. Tania Szabo talks about the heroic actions of her mother Violette who served as a female agent in 1944. Dr Juliette Pattinson, Lecturer in Modern History at Strathclyde University and Dr Roderick Bailey a historian attached to the Imperial War Museum discuss with Jenni what motivated these ordinary women to leave their families behind and take on such a dangerous and selfless role.
Female Agents opens in cinemas on 27th June
Behind Enemy Lines: Gender, Passing and the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War by Juliette Pattinson is published by Manchester University Press ISBN-13: 978-0719075698
Forgotten Voices of the Secret War : An Inside History of Special Operations in the Second World War by Roderick Bailey is published by Ebury Press ISBN-13 978-0091918507
