Join historian Dr Kate Vigurs as she discusses the story of the female SOE agents sent undercover in France during the Second World War.

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was formed in 1940 to coordinate resistance work overseas. The organisation’s F section sent more than 400 agents into France, 39 of whom were women. While some are well known - Violette Szabo, Odette Sansom, Noor Inayat Khan - others have had their stories largely overlooked.

Tracing their careers from recruitment and training to operations in the field, Dr Vigurs will discuss the extent to which their missions varied. Some lasted for years, others a few hours. Some agents survived, others were killed.

By placing these women in the context of their work with the SOE, this talk will reveal the true extent of the differences in their abilities and attitudes. Yet, in the context of the wider war, it will also underline their shared goal and, ultimately, how they all deserve recognition.

This event marks the launch of Dr Vigurs’s new book, Mission France: The True History of the Women of SOE.

Dr Kate Vigurs is a professional freelance historian, academic advisor and researcher. Her postdoctoral research was used for the BBC’s World War One at Home series. Kate makes regular appearances on television and radio.