Historical records matching Nancy Wake
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About Nancy Wake
Nancy Grace Augusta Wake AC, GM (30 August 1912 – 7 August 2011): Born at Hastings in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, on 30 August 1912, Wake was the youngest of six children. In 1914, her family moved to Australia and settled at North Sydney. Shortly thereafter, her father, Charles Augustus Wake, returned to New Zealand, leaving her mother Ella Wake (née Rosieur) to raise the children.
In Sydney, she attended the North Sydney Household Arts (Home Science) School (see North Sydney Technical High School).[2] At the age of 16, she ran away from home and worked as a nurse. With £200 that she had inherited from an aunt, she journeyed to New York, then London where she trained herself as a journalist. In the 1930s, she worked in Paris and later for Hearst newspapers as a European correspondent.
Nancy served as a British agent during the later part of World War II. She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance and was one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen of the war. After the fall of France in 1940, she became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow. By 1943, Wake was the Gestapo's most wanted person, with a 5 million-franc price on her head.
After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive. On the night of 29/30 April 1944, Wake was parachuted into the Auvergne, becoming a liaison between London and the local maquis group headed by Captain Henri Tardivat in the Forest of Tronçais. From April 1944 until the liberation of France, her 7,000+ maquisards fought 22,000 SS soldiers, causing 1,400 casualties, while suffering only 100 themselves.
Awards
- Companion of the Order of Australia
- George Medal
- Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Croix de guerre (France)
- Médaille de la Résistance (France)
- Medal of Freedom (United States)
- RSA Badge in Gold (New Zealand)
Sources
- Aircrew Remembered: https://aircrewremembered.com/nancy-wake-soe-heroine.html
- ILA Film Productions: Nancy Wake Remembered https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/nancy-wake-remembered-2019
- National Archives UK: https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories...
- New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840-1950: Hastings, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
- New Zealand Edge: http://www.nzedge.com/legends/warriors/nancy-wake
- New Zealand Herald: http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11572231
- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake
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Nancy Wake's Timeline
| 1912 |
August 30, 1912
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Hastings, Hawke's Bay, North Island, New Zealand
Birth Registration Number: (reg. 1912/14933).
New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840-1950
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| 2011 |
August 7, 2011
Age 98
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Kingston Hospital, Galsworthy Road, Kingston upon Thames, South West London, England (United Kingdom)
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August 7, 2011
Age 98
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[cremated, ashes scattered], Montluçon, Allier, Auvergne, France
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