See the December issue of Britain at War for Lord Ashcroft’s new bravery article

  • 1 December, 2020
  • Bravery
  • Britain at War
  • Medals

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The December issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan, who was awarded the George Cross (GC) for bravery during the Second World War.

Khan, known to so many simply by her codename “Madeleine”, was the first woman secret agent to be infiltrated into Nazi-occupied France. Born in Moscow and from a truly international family, she was recruited to join the secretive Special Operations Executive (SOE).

She was dropped by aircraft into enemy territory in June 1943, when aged 29 and a novice “spy”. After four months of vital undercover work, during which time she worked with the French Resistance, she was arrested in October that year.

After being brutally interrogated by the Gestapo and spending months in solitary confinement, during which time she refused to reveal any worthwhile information, she was executed in September 1944, aged 30. Her GC was eventually announced in April 1949.

Lord Ashcroft’s articles for Britain at War over the past seven years have been largely based on excerpts from his six books on gallantry: Victoria Cross Heroes, Special Forces Heroes, George Cross Heroes, Heroes of the Skies, Special Ops Heroes and Victoria Cross Heroes Volume II.

Lord Ashcroft is a military historian who has lectured extensively on courage and his various medal collections.

  • Lord Ashcroft’s latest article appears in the December issue of Britain at War which is on sale now.
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