The George Cross: Britain's Bravest Women

The Highest Civilian Award

The George Cross, instituted by King George VI in 1940, is the highest award for gallantry not in the face of the enemy — though many recipients earned it in the most extreme combat circumstances. Three women of the Special Operations Executive received this supreme decoration, each for enduring torture and death rather than betray their comrades.

Odette Hallowes GC

Odette Hallowes, a French-born SOE courier, was captured by the Gestapo in 1943. She endured having her toenails pulled out and being branded on her back, but never revealed any information. She survived Ravensbrück concentration camp and was the first woman to receive the George Cross while alive.

Violette Szabo GC

Violette Szabo was captured after a fierce firefight in which she held off a German patrol to allow her companions to escape. Tortured and sent to Ravensbrück, she was executed in February 1945, aged 23. Her George Cross was posthumous.

Noor Inayat Khan GC

Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian princess and children's author, served as the last SOE radio operator in Paris. Captured, she was held in chains for 10 months before being executed at Dachau. Her last word was "Liberté."