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Nicola pauline Marie Trahan | |
|---|---|
 Young Nicola Trahan on bike | |
| Born | 1926 France |
| Died | January 1924 United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Unit | Special Operations Executive |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Croix de Guerre (France) Resistance Medal (France) |
Nicola Pauline Marie Trahan, MBE (1926 – 2024 ) was a teenage Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War. She was later awarded an MBE for her work with Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA).
Early life
[edit]
Trahan was born in the Pas de Calais in 1926. Her parents were Jeanne Marie Laure (born Bourzes) and André Jean Emile Trahan. Until 1940 she attended an international school but when the German army invaded France then her family moved to Britain. She joined the SOE when she was sixteen,[1] although it has been said later that the youngest agents were 20.[2] She was a courier for three years making three visits to occupied France.[3]
Comparisons
[edit]Forty-one female Section F SOE agents served in France, some for more than two years, most for only a few months. Twenty-six of them survived World War II. Twelve were executed including Violet Szabo, one was killed when her ship was sunk, two died of disease while imprisoned, and one died of natural causes.[2]
Awards and honours
[edit]The croix de guerre avec étoile de bronze was awarded by the French government in 1949 and the Médaille de la Résistance in 1948. She became a British citizen in 1957.[3]
In 1988 she became an Member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Years Honours list. The MBE was for her work as a health visitor with the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA).[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "World War Two secret agent Nicola Trahan dies aged 97". BBC News. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ a b Foot, M.R.D. (1966), SOE in France, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, pp. 465–469.
- ^ a b "Orcheston woman who carried out missions in Nazi-occupied France dies aged 98". Salisbury Journal. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ The Gazette, 1988, Issue 51578
- Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2012). Unearthing Churchill's Secret Army: The Official List of SOE Casualties and Their Stories. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-78337-664-3. OCLC 854974853.
Category:1926 births Category:2024 deaths Category:People from Pas de Calais Category:Female wartime spies Category:French Special Operations Executive personnel Category:20th-century French women