The following is an incomplete list of female agents who served in the field for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. SOE's objectives were to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements. Most of the SOE's operations were carried out in France.
In 1981, the official historian of the SOE, Michael R. D. Foot, said that the staff of SOE consisted of about 10,000 men and 3,000 women. Of that number, "A few highly accomplished and gallant [women] were agents operating in France or Yugoslavia." Foot cautioned that "On these few there is a large popular literature, almost all of it worthless and much of it about the wrong people."[1] The declassification of documents of the SOE beginning in the 1990s will permit more accurate assessments of agents and their accomplishments.
| Name | SOE Section | Nationality | Born-Died | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorraine Adie | French | British | 1916-2013 | Married American OSS agent Miles Copeland, Jr. Served in Middle East. | |
| Francine Agazarian | French | British | 1913–1999 | MiD | Wife of Jack Agazarian |
| Juliane Aisner | French | French | 1899-1947 | ||
| Lise de Baissac | French | Mauritian | 1905–2004 | Sister of SOE Agent Claude de Baissac | |
| Madeleine Barclay | French | French | 1911–1943 | KIA aboard HMS Fidelity | |
| Yvonne Baseden | French | British | 1922-2017 | MBE, LdH, CdeG | |
| Yolande Beekman | French | Swiss | 1911–1944 | MiD | KIA at Dachau concentration camp |
| Helen Thormann-Bierer | French | 1885-? | |||
| Denise Bloch | French | 1916–1945 | KCBC, LdH, CdeG | KIA at Ravensbrück concentration camp | |
| Andrée Borrel | French | French | 1919–1944 | CdeG | KIA at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp |
| Sonya Butt | French | British | 1924-2014 | MBE, MiD | Married fellow SOE agent Guy d'Artois |
| Muriel Byck | French | British | 1918–1944 | MiD | Died in service of meningitis at Romorantin Hospital |
| Blanche Charlet | French | British | 1898-1985 | MBE | |
| Marie-Thérèse Le Chêne | French | French | 1890- | MBE, CdG | |
| Yvonne Cormeau | French | British | 1909–1997 | MBE, LdH, CdeG | |
| Madeleine Damerment | French | French | 1917–1944 | KIA at Dachau concentration camp | |
| Elizabeth Devereux-Rochester | French | British | 1917-1983? | LdH, CdeG | |
| Alix D'Unienville | French | Mauritian | 1919-2015 | MBE, LdeH, CdeG | |
| Yvonne Fontaine | French | French | 1913–1996 | MdlRF | |
| Virginia Hall | French | American | 1906–1982 | MBE, DSC (USA) | Post war worked for the CIA |
| Mary Katherine Herbert | French | British/Irish | 1903–1983 | First WAAF Officer to join the SOE | |
| Ginette Julliane | French | French | |||
| Noor Inyat Khan | French | Indian/American | 1914–1944 | GC, MBE, CdeG, MiD | KIA at Dachau concentration camp |
| Marguerite Knight | French | British | 1920- | MBE, CdeG | Known as Peggy |
| Phyllis Latour | French | British | 1921- | MBE, CdeG | |
| Madeleine Lavigne | French | French | 1912-1945 | Code name Isabelle. Died in Paris of an embolism. | |
| Cecily Lefort | French | British | 1900–1945 | CdeG, MiD | KIA at Ravensbrück concentration camp |
| Vera Leigh | French | British | 1903–1944 | KCBC | KIA at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp |
| Audrey Mary Murrell | Danish ? | English | 1919 - | KCXLM | No evidence of her being in Denmark from Danish Resistance Museum. May have been in Sweden ? |
| Eileen Nearne | French | British | 1921–2010 | CdeG, MBE | Known as "Didi". Sister of SOE agents Jacqueline & Francis Nearne |
| Jacqueline Nearne | French | British | 1916–1982 | MBE | Sister of SOE agents Eileen & Francis Nearne |
| Sonia Olschanezky | French | Russian/French | 1923–1944 | KIA at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp | |
| Patricia O'Sullivan | French | British/Irish | 1918–1994 | CdeG, MBE | WAAF |
| Eliane Plewman | French | British | 1917–1944 | KCBC, CdeG | KIA at Dachau concentration camp |
| Anne Robertson | 1920- | ||||
| Lilian Rolfe | French | British | 1914–1945 | MBE, CdeG, MiD | KIA at Ravensbrück concentration camp |
| Diana Rowden | French | British | 1915–1944 | MBE, CdeG, MiD | KIA at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp |
| Yvonne Rudelatt | French | French | 1897–1945 | Died in service of typhus at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp | |
| Odette Sansom | French | British | 1912–1995 | GC, MBE, LdH | Also known by the surnames "Hallowes" and "Churchill", the most highly decorated servicewoman in World War II. |
| Krystyna Skarbek | French | Polish | 1915–1952 | GM, OBE, CdeG | Better known by her nom de guerre Christine Granville |
| Violette Szabo | French | British | 1921–1945 | GC, CdeG | KIA at Ravensbrück concentration camp |
| Hannah Szenes | Yugoslavia | Hungarian | 1921–1944 | KIA in Budapest | |
| Nancy Wake | French | New Zealand | 1912-2011 | GM, LdH, CdeG | Known by her code name "White Mouse"; the most decorated servicewoman in World War II. |
| Anne-Marie Walters | French | British | 1923–1998 | MBE, CdeG | |
| Odette Wilen | French | British | 1919-2015 | Codename "Waitress"; Field name "Sophie"; married Santiago Strugo Garay, head of the Spanish escape network. | |
| Pearl Witherington | French | British | 1914–2008 | MBE, CBE, CdeG |
| Note | Description | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| ATS | Auxiliary Territorial Service | SOE Agents who were ATS officers are highlighted in italics |
| CBE | Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | Commander of the British order of chivalry. |
| CdeG | Croix de guerre 1939–1945 | French military decoration created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II |
| DSC | Distinguished Service Cross (USA) | US gallantry medal awarded for active operations against the enemy |
| FANY | First Aid Nursing Yeomanry | British independent all-female unit active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars. SOE Agents who were FANY officers are highlighted in khaki. |
| GC | George Cross | The highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom. It is highest gallantry award for civilians as well as for military personnel in actions which are not in the face of the enemy or for which purely military honours would not normally be granted. |
| GM | George Medal | The second highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom It awards civilian gallantry in the face of enemy action and brave deeds more generally. |
| KCBC | King's Commendation for Brave Conduct | British commendation to acknowledged brave acts by civilians and members of the military in non-warlike circumstances during a time of war or in peacetime where the action would not otherwise be recognised by an existing award |
| KCXLM | King Christian X Liberty Medal | Issued by King Christian X for special services to Denmark during WW2 |
| KIA | Killed in Action | A casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. |
| LdH | Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur | French order that is the highest decoration in France. |
| MBE | Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | Member of the British order of chivalry. |
| MiD | Mentioned in Despatches | An official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the person's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy. |
| WAAF | Women's Auxiliary Air Force | SOE Agents who were WAAF officers are highlighted in light blue. |
| WRNS | Women's Royal Naval Service | SOE Agents who were WRNS officers are highlighted in silver. |
