A British Indian World War II spy, Noor Inayat Khan, has been chosen as the subject of a major new interactive digital exhibition in the UK.
Noor Inayat-Khan: A Woman of Conspicuous Courage will be launched by the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF) at Runnymede Air Forces Memorial in Surrey, south-east England, on Saturday, a day before International Women's Day.
It is planned as a celebration of the life and legacy of the war heroine, who was the daughter of Indian Sufi saint Hazrat Inayat Khan and a descendent of the 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.
I am delighted that the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation is organising this exhibition as a permanent legacy to her bravery, which will ensure that her story continues to inspire the next generation, said Shrabani Basu, the author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan' and Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust (NIKMT).
It is a fitting tribute to a World War II heroine on International Women's Day, she said.
Khan was an agent for Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the war and was captured and killed by the Nazis in 1944 at just 30 years of age.
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She has gone down in history as the first female radio operator to be sent to Nazi-occupied France, armed with a false passport and a pistol.
The new digital exhibition has been developed with the help of young women from the Girlguiding Association in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, who have turned Noor's story into a learning resource for young women.
Noor's story is an inspirational one and we believed it important, as the custodians of the memorial on which her name is inscribed, to help give it greater prominence, said Julian Evans, Director of International and Community Engagement at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
"We hope that the exhibition will encourage more people to visit the Air Forces Memorial to explore the story of Noor and the 20,000 other members of the Commonwealth Air Forces who are commemorated here, he said.
The CWGC commemorates the 1.7 million Commonwealth service men and women who died during the two World Wars alongside an extensive and accessible records archive. It operates in more than 23,000 locations in over 150 countries, with the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation as its charitable arm.
Through the new exhibition on Noor, funded by the AIM Biffa Award History Makers Scheme, the public will be able to put their code-breaking skills to the test and discover the scientific and technical skills of a wireless radio operator needed for the field.
Jasmine Theti, a 15-year-old member of Girlguiding Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, said: We must never forget her and the sacrifice she made. I loved learning the Morse Code; it was good fun.
Although I wouldn't have liked sending messages in a cold Parisian park whilst looking over my shoulder all the time. Noor was an inspiration.
As a young refugee living in London, Noor faced many prejudices throughout her life, even as she was being trained and prepared for her work as a secret agent.
The exhibition uncovers how Noor's SOE assessors initially had little faith in her abilities but she went on to overcome these and break new ground as a Muslim female operative.
Gillian French, Biffa Award Head of Grants, notes: It is extremely important that we continue to support projects like this that remind people of some of the inspiring people who came before us and who played such significant and courageous roles in our history.
Visitors to the CWGC's Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, about 23 miles from London, will be able to self-guide themselves around the iconic memorial in honour of more than 20,000 Air Forces personnel killed in World War II who have no known grave, Khan being one of them.
Historical records show that despite being repeatedly tortured and interrogated, Noor revealed nothing and was executed by a German officer and her last word was recorded as Liberte or freedom. She was later awarded the George Cross, the highest civilian decoration in the UK, in recognition of her bravery.