Marguerite Diana Frances Knight (later Smith)

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(born Paris, 19 April 1920 – died, 2004) was a member of the Women's Transport Service and in 1944 served with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. With the code name Nicole, she worked as a courier with the Donkeyman network (or circuit) in France. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe and Asia against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.

Biography

Early years

Marguerite Knight, best known by her nickname "Peggy," was born 19 April 1920 in Paris, France, the daughter of Capt. Alfred Rex Knight and his wife, the former Charlotte Beatrice Mary Ditkowski. She worked as a shorthand typist for the Asea Electric Company of

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, a district northeast of London, England.

Special Operations Executive

Owing to her mixed British-French parentage and upbringing in France, Knight was a nearly perfect speaker of the French language – so much so that one day early in the spring of 1944 leaders of the British intelligence organisation Special Operations Executive (SOE) overheard her speaking French in a café and immediately moved to recruit her into the organisation.John Prados, ''Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2003; pg. 15. On 11 April 1944, Knight began attendance at the Students' Assessment Board of the SOE at Wanborough. She was rushed through a cursory two-week training course at Thame Park, Saltmarsh, during which she did only one practice

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

jump from a static balloon, rather than the customary three, before being sent behind enemy lines in Vichy France to establish herself as a secret British courier. Under the code name "Nicole," Knight worked as a courier for the SOE's Donkeyman network. Following the

Allied invasion of France Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

at Normandy of June and July 1944, Knight crossed back and forth between battle lines several times, carrying intelligence messages and information. Knight also participated directly in an attack by the French resistance upon a German military convoy, firing her Sten

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

during the course of the operation. Knight narrowly escaped capture and execution later in 1944 when she and a group of resistance fighters were betrayed by one of their number to the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. Knight was one of about 30 fighters who managed to fight through a German encirclement. The man responsible for the betrayal, Roger Bardet, was later arrested, tried, and sentenced to death as a collaborator after the war. This sentence was commuted, however, and Bardet was ultimately released from prison in 1955. Knight left the employment of the SOE in November 1944.

Awards

For her wartime activity Peggy Knight was later awarded high British, French, and American honours, including appointment as a member of

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

,Cameron Ramos
"From the Typewriter to Blazing Sten Gun,"
''Harrow Times'', 20 March 2005. and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

Footnotes

External links

* Cameron Ramos
"From the Typewriter to Blazing Sten Gun,"
''Harrow Times,'' 20 March 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Marguerite 1920 births 2004 deaths Female wartime spies British Special Operations Executive personnel Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) British people of Polish descent