A Pilgrimage for Noor Inayat Khan

In 2021 Fiona Smith was awarded a Flying Scholarship from the British Women Pilots’ Association (BWPA) who were inviting an aviation enthusiast to carry out a ‘special mission’. With the sponsor as 624squadron.com – a website remembering 624 (Special Duties) Squadron – she immediately sought to link her scholarship flight to the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Fiona immediately thought of Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan. She had first encountered Noor’s story while working at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The Runnymede Air Forces Memorial, her favourite CWGC site, held particular significance for Smith, a former Royal Air Force member. The modernist white stone cloisters provided a tranquil and contemplative setting.

Upon learning about the memorial while working for the CWGC, she felt a deep sense of wonder that she hadn’t known about it earlier. It was there that she first discovered Noor’s name, a name etched in stone with pride. Noor’s own special mission had taken her to a field in France, codenamed Indigestion, near the city of Angers. As the first female wireless operator dispatched to France by the SOE, Noor played a vital role in transmitting intelligence back to Britain.

Driven by her qualifications as a pilot, Fiona embarked on a mission to honour Noor’s final courageous flight. Her goal was to lay a wreath in memory of the fallen Noor, who had been flown into France in a Lysander aircraft from RAF Tempsford to a field near Angers in June 1943. To commemorate Noor’s journey, Smith, accompanied by a fellow pilot friend, took off from Rougham, a now-closed USAF airfield, in a PA-28 aircraft. They crossed the English Channel, landing at Le Toque to clear customs before continuing their flight to Angers. Bathed in the warm glow of the evening sun, Fiona laid a wreath at the town war memorial located at Place du Général Leclerc. She then recited a Sufi prayer for peace, uttering the words: “Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother, that we Thy children on Earth may all unite in one family.”

Fiona’s actions embodied the concept of Remembrance as an active endeavour. By retracing Noor’s steps on this personal pilgrimage, Smith helped keep Noor’s memory alive. The opportunity to undertake this ambitious flight, surpassing her previous experiences, filled Smith with a sense of privilege. The poignancy of returning home, a feat Noor couldn’t achieve, resonated deeply. In October 1943, while undercover in Paris, Noor was betrayed and captured by the Gestapo. Despite enduring torture, she refused to divulge any information. Noor, along with four other female agents, was executed in September 1944 at Dachau Concentration Camp. Her final defiant word before execution was “Liberté” (Liberty). Though Noor has no known grave, her name lives on in memorials and continues to inspire those who learn about her bravery.