The Legacy of Noor Inayat Khan

Noor Inayat Khan was a secret agent in the Second World War. She volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and was trained as a radio operator, later joining the SOE. In the summer of 1943 she became the first woman radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France and worked undercover in Paris. She was betrayed, tortured and executed in Dachau Concentration Camp. Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian honour. Join us live as Noor's biographer, Shrabani Basu, takes us through the life and achievements of this extraordinary South Asian, feminist icon with contributing presentations from the commemoration team at the Royal British Legion and Secret WW2. Shrabani Basu Shrabani is a journalist and Sunday Times best-selling author. Her books include the critically acclaimed The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the Foreigner in the English Village, For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 1914-18, Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant (now a major Oscar-nominated motion picture starring Dame Judi Dench and Ali Fazal), Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, and Curry: The Story of the Nation’s Favourite Dish. She is the founder and chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust which campaigned for a memorial for the World War II heroine in London. It was unveiled by Princess Anne in 2012. Shrabani is a frequent commentator on radio and television on Indian history and Empire. Joseph Miller- Royal British Legion Joseph studied Politics at Portsmouth University and War Studies at Kings College London. He worked for the Labour Party for nearly 11 years in a range of teams leaving as Events Manager in 2017. Joseph joined The Royal British Legion at the end of 2017 as a National Events Coordinator. In 2018 he moved to the Remembrance team to work on the Thank You campaign as Thank You Manager. In 2019 he was made Remembrance Manager where he works alongside the Head of Remembrance to deliver The Royal British Legion’s Remembrance objectives. Paul McCue- Secret WW2 After more than 30 years of public service, Paul McCue moved to the private and charitable sector before retiring as Managing Director of a London-based leisure and culture company. His work included acting as Armed Forces Advisor for a London Borough and in retirement he devotes most of his time to being a very active Trustee of The Secret WW2 Learning Network. He is the author of five books to date and now specialises in SOE - Britain's wartime Special Operations Executive (SOE), lecturing and giving presentations to a wide range of military and civilian organisations, both in this country and overseas.