And one of the sad things is that she was - and she was absolutely up-front about this - she said to me the saddest day of my life was the day the war ended.ĪSHLEY HALL: And for her commitment to the cause. PETER FITZSIMONS: She had a volcano inside her. PETER FITZSIMONS: The line was that they called her la souris blancs, the white mouse, because every time they had her cornered, they'd say you know we've got her in the corner and then she was gone again.ĪSHLEY HALL: Peter FitzSimons told ABC News 24 she was also renowned for her prickly nature. But they used to sleep in my husband's factory.ĪSHLEY HALL: Her efforts earned her the top spot on the Gestapo's most wanted list and they nicknamed her the "White Mouse". It was not a good thing to have too many people sleep in our place. NANCY WAKE (archival): Although I had a, I was French by marriage we had to be careful because everybody knew that I was British by birth. Nancy Wake explained why in this interview with the ABC's Margaret Throsby more than 25 years ago. And the line was this guy, this 19 year old boy who was in the resistance with her said, Madame Andree is braver than Jacque and Jacque is the bravest of us all.ĪSHLEY HALL: Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia Nancy Wake was working in France when the Nazis invaded.Īlong with her French husband she planned escape routes for thousands of Allied troops and led 7,000 resistance fighters as they sabotaged the German war effort in preparation for D-Day. PETER FITZSIMONS: Her nom de guerre was Madame Andree. PETER FITZSIMONS: She was this force of nature that she had this strength inside her.ĪSHLEY HALL: The journalist Peter FitzSimons wrote a biography of the wartime heroine in 2001. She's also being remembered as a woman with a temper who fiercely resented the fact that Australia refused to honour her contribution until quite recently.ĪSHLEY HALL: When people talk about Australia's most decorated World War Two servicewoman they speak of bravery, courage and inspiration. Her work with the French Resistance during the Second World War required exceptional courage and resourcefulness. Nancy Wake's greatness was not less for being so little known and recognised in this country for much of her life. It does not store any personal data.MARK COLVIN: A great Australian died in a London nursing home overnight at the age of 98. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
Her autobiography recounts her extraordinary wartime experiences in her own words.
Nancy became a leading figure in the Maquis of the Auvergne district, in charge of finance and obtaining arms, and helped to forge the Maquis into a superb fighting force.ĭuring her lifetime, Nancy Wake was hailed as a legend. In London she trained with the Special Operations Executive as a secret agent and saboteur before parachuting back into France. Eventually Nancy had to escape from France herself to avoid capture by the Gestapo. Her life shattered, Nancy joined the French resistance and, later, began work with an escape-route network for allied soldiers. Her idyllic new life was ended by World War II and the invasion of France. As the Gestapo's most wanted person, and one of the most highly decorated servicewomen of the war, it's a story worth telling.Īfter living and working in Paris in the 1930's, Nancy married a wealthy Frenchman and settled in Marseilles. Nancy Wake, nicknamed 'the white mouse' for her ability to evade capture, tells her own story.
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