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Hero is brought to book by pupils

17/ 1/2008

THE tragic story of a ‘forgotten’ British war heroine has been turned into a book by school pupils.

Children at Chorlton CofE Primary school relived the exploits of Noor Inayat Khan, a British spy of Indian descent who parachuted into occupied France to report on information about Nazi activity.

Year 6 pupils at the Vicars Road school teamed up with a Manchester-based learning trust to create the illustrated book, Liberte: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan. It will be distributed to other schools and will be officially launched at Salford’s Imperial War Museum.

Born in Russia to Indian parents, Noor’s enjoyed a privileged upbringing in Europe but her family fled to London at the start of the war.

Despite being described as ‘too shy’ for frontline service by military intelligence, her excellent operational skills and fluent French meant she was chosen for the dangerous mission with the Special Operations Executive.

Noor was at one point the only link between Britain and the French resistance and her job was described as ‘the most important and dangerous in France‘.

But she was betrayed by a traitor within the resistance and captured by the Gestapo. She was executed in 1944 and, despite being interrogated she never revealed any secrets.

Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.

Teacher Jackie Ould, who works for the Manchester-based Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust, said it was important to highlight the achievements of black and Asian role models.

She said: "The book fills a yawning gap in our knowledge of black British heroes. Noor was particularly brave because she knew there was a double agent in the resistance and she was being warned to leave the country but she stayed on because she was the only wireless operator left.

"The children have really added to our appreciation of Noor by creating diary entries, letters and dialogue as if they were written by her."