Virginia Hall
American spy with the British Special Operations Executive (1906-1982)
Virginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, MBE (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in France during World War II. The objective of SOE and OSS was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE and OSS agents in France allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. After World War II, Hall worked for the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Quotes
edit- I received my ration card for the month of September today. As I understand it Iam allowed ten ounces of bread per day. Beyond that, my allotments for the month area as follows: 2 ounces of cheese, 25 ounces of fats, 20 ounces of sugar, 10 ounces of meat, and 6 ounces of coffee. And by coffee they mean 2 ounces of real coffee and 4 ounces of some kind of substitute material. No rice, noodles, or chocolate are available during the month of September as these are reserved for colder months. France would be a paradise for a vegetarian if there was milk, cheese, and butter; but I haven’t seen any butter, and there is no milk.
- Nancy Polette (2012) (in en). The spy with the wooden leg: the story of Virginia Hall. p. 59. Wikidata Q119154030. ISBN 978-1-934617-16-8. OCLC 1285859639.
- Her first article as a correspondent for the New York Post in August 1941 after she had arrived in Vichy, France as a Spy with her cover being an America journalist.
- I lost many of my friends because they talked to much
- Hall's response when questioned about her wartime work Bonham-Carter (31 May 2023). Virginia Hall’s Great Escape. BBC.
- As recalled by her great-nephew, Brad Catling, recorded after three minutes into Bonham-Carter's BBC Soundcast.
