This is the first biography of an intrepid young French woman, Lily
Sergueiew, who led an adventurous life and became famous as one of
the five D-Day spies. In 1939, her bicycle ride from Paris to
Saigon was interrupted by the outbreak of war. Disgusted by the
Fall of France in 1940, she took the courageous decision to
personally help the Allies drive the Nazis out of France: she would
get the Abwehr to train her as a spy and have herself sent to
England. Once there, she would betray the Nazis and place herself
at the disposal of the Allies. It took three emotionally exhausting
years to achieve this. She arrived in England just in time to
become TREASURE, one of the five spies who misled the Nazis into
believing that the Allies would land in the Pas de Calais. This
disinformation operation saved countless lives. But Lily found the
English cold and ungenerous towards her. They knew that she had a
fatal medical condition. She had also risked her life - and her
parents' lives - every day she worked for the Nazis, yet the
English would not let her bring the dog who was such a comfort to
her. They told her that her work was vital to their cause, but for
Lily their behaviour meant that it was not worth a dog. So she hid
from them that the Nazis had given her a control code to prove that
her radio messages were genuine: it gave her a sense of power to
know that she could destroy her work - and the whole D-Day
deception - with a single keystroke. She did not intend to use it,
but once she had revealed it, she was dismissed straight after
D-Day. This meant that she could join the Free French Forces and be
sent to France to care for Displaced Persons left in the wake of
the retreating Nazis. Working with liberated prisoners from
Buchenwald, she married the American Major in charge of the region
who had fallen in love with her. He took her to America where he
hoped that her condition could be cured. It could not, and she died
(largely forgotten) with her husband at her side in 1950.
General
Imprint: |
Pen & Sword Military
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
June 2023 |
Authors: |
G.Peter Winnington
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
224 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-399-04527-8 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-399-04527-X |
Barcode: |
9781399045278 |
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