Nur-un-nisa Inayat Khan. GC. (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944) The British Spy.

Nur un nisa Inayat Khan (aka Nora Inayat-Khan , Nora Baker) GC. (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944) First British Woman Wireless Operator

It is an irony that Tippu Sultan, who fought against his arch enemies, the British, had someone in his blood/descendants, who fought for the British against the Germans, in Second World War. She wanted to fight for India after the Second World War. Nur Inayat Khan was the great-great-great granddaughter of Tipu Sultan.

Inayat Khan ( 05 July 1882- 05 February 1927), an Indian Muslim , born to a lady who was a descendant of the uncle of Tippu Sultan, of the 18^th Century Mysore Kingdom. Inayat Khan met at California, and married an American, who later changed her earlier ( Ora Ray Baker) name to Pirani Ameena Begum of New Mexico, when he had travelled to USA.

To this couple, were born four children, the eldest being Nurunnisa. She was born on 01 January 1914 (as per British records) when the couple were living and performing in Moscow. Her siblings were Vilayat Khan (1916-2004), Hidayat Khan (1917–2016), and Khair Un nisa (1919–2011).

Inayat Khan was a Sufism Preacher and a Musician. The family later moved to France, where children were educated,

Nurunnisa was good at playing Veena and learnt Harp at the Paris Conservatory after studying in 1930 in France. then at the onset of Second World War, the family moved to England and settled in Cornwall. ( Nur's address : 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury) . Her father was a nationalist who told her she had the blood of Tipu Sultan in her veins. . She felt strongly that it was important to win this war, and offered her full support to Britain and France. After the war, she said she would return to backing Indian Independence. Her fight was against the occupation of France and against fascism. She also felt that if Indians helped the war effort and acted with gallantry, it may make Britain grant them their independence.

In November 1940, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and, as an Aircraftwoman 2nd Class, was sent to be trained as a wireless operator.Upon assignment to a bomber training school in June 1941, she applied for a commission in an effort to relieve herself of the boring work there. She was a small stature, got poor reports in athletics and weapons training. Khan was training as a wiress telegraph (W/T) operator, and in that field she was getting quite adequate reports. Her "fist", or style of tapping the key, was somewhat heavy, apparently owing to her fingers being swollen by chilblains, but her speed was improving every day, as she was a musician. Vera Atkins, the Training Officer, saw Khan, although her final training in field security and encoding had to be cut short, she judged her ready to go to France.

Khan was promoted to Assistant Section Officer (the WAAF equivalent of RAF pilot officer), and served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). As an SOE agent she became the first female wireless operator to be sent from the UK into occupied France to aid the French underground resistance. She was flown to landing ground B/20A ,France on 16/17 June 1943 to join others in the group. She took her name as a children’s nurse “ Jean Marie Renier” using fake papers. To her SOE colleagues, she was “Madeleine”. She kept working as directed. , Noor dodged from safe house to safe house in Paris, outwitting the Gestapo and transmitting messages with immense speed and accuracy in hostile conditions. "Single-handedly," , She did the work of six radio operators. She was using a SOE supplied B MkII transceiver set (for wireless telegraphy only), with possibly crystal controlled operation with headset and a key. Code-master Leo Marks, in London, noted that her transmissions were flawless, with all their security checks intact..

Inayat Khan was betrayed to the Germans, by one Garry, who was a double agent, for 100,000 Francs. On/ around 13 October 1943, Khan was arrested and interrogated at Avenue Foch, in Paris. Withinminutes of being taken to the Gestapo HQ at 84 avenue Foch, she had climbed onto a bathroom window ledge in an escape attempt. In that period, she attempted escape twice. Hans Kieffer, the former head of the SD in Paris, testified after the war that she did not give the Gestapo a single piece of information, but lied consistently. Now viewed as incorrigibly dangerous and uncooperative, Noor was sent in November 1943 to Pforzheim prison in Germany, where - bound by three chains, in solitary confinement - she endured 10 months of medieval abuse. She ranked as a Nacht und Nebel ("Night and Fog") inmate, earmarked only for oblivion and death. Shackled, starved, beaten, she never talked. Then, in September 1944, came the transfer to Dachau along with three other female agents, viz

Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment and Eliane Plewman, At dawn of 13 September, the four women were executed. . Émile Henri Garry was later arrested and executed at Buchenwald in September 1944.

In the 1930s, Noor studied music (especially the harp) at the Paris conservatory, and child psychology at the Sorbonne. She also became a talented writer and broadcaster of children's stories. On Amazon you can find Noor's Twenty Jataka Tales (1939): charming Buddhist fables in which, eerily, animals overcome their fragility to perform feats of bravery and sacrifice.

Honours: French Honour: Croix de Guerre

British Award: The George Cross (GC) is the second highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry not "in the presence of the enemy" to both members of the British armed forces and to British civilians

"No. 38578". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 April 1949. page. 1703.

Ribbons explained:

Top : George Cross

Middle: 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star,War Medal with Mention in Despatches; Croix de Guerre (avec etoile de vermeil).

The German Cocentration camp has a tablet in her name.

Noor Inayat Khan	Assistant Section Officer, WAAF; Ensign, FANY	Special Operations Executive	GC

Full citation on Cover page 1703 of the London Gazette dated 05 April 1949 reads:

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the GEORGE CROSS to:— Assistant Section Officer Nora INAYAT-KHAN (9901), Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Assistant Section Officer Nora INAYAT-KHAN was the first woman operator to be infiltrated into enemy occupied France, and was landed by Lysander aircraft on 16th June, 1943. During the weeks immediately following her arrival, the Gestapo made mass arrests in the Paris Resistance groups to which she had been detailed. She refused however to abandon what had become the principal and most dangerous post in France, although given the opportunity to return to England, because she did not wish to leave her French comrades without communications and she hoped also to rebuild her group. She remained at her post therefore and did the excellent work which earned her a posthumous Mention in Despatches.
The Gestapo had a full description of her, but knew only her code name "Madeleine". They deployed considerable forces in their effort to catch her and so break the last remaining link with London. After 3 months, she was betrayed to the Gestapo and taken to their H.Q. in the Avenue Foch. The Gestapo had found her codes and messages and were now in a position to work back to London. They asked her to co-operate, but she refused and gave them no information of any kind. She was imprisoned in one of the cells on the 5th floor of the Gestapo H.Q. and remained there for several weeks during which time she made two unsuccessful attempts at escape. She was asked to sign a declaration that she would make no further attempts, but she refused and the Chief of the Gestapo obtained permission from Berlin to send her to Germany for "safe custody". She was the first agent to be sent to Germany.
Assistant Section Officer INAYAT-KHAN was sent to Karlsruhe in November 1943, and then to Pforzheim where her cell was apart from the main prison. She was considered to be a particularly dangerous and unco-operative prisoner. The Director of the prison has also been interrogated and has confirmed that Assistant Section Officer INAYAT-KHAN, when interrogated by the Karlsruhe Gestapo, refused to give any information whatsoever, either as to her work or her colleagues.
She was taken with three others to Dachau Camp on the 12 September 1944. On arrival, she was taken to the crematorium and shot.
Assistant Section Officer INAYAT-KHAN displayed the most conspicuous courage, both moral and physical over a period of more than 12 months.