Wartime special agent. Britain’s first and longest-serving female WW2 secret agent.
Born Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek in Warsaw. When Germany invaded Poland her family moved to London and she joined the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service), and later the SOE (Special Operations Executive). Her career showed her to be fearless and resourceful, and took her to Egypt, Hungary, Poland and Turkey. She was later awarded the George Medal and an OBE.
After the war she returned to London and did several jobs before becoming a steward on an ocean liner. Here she was befriended by a fellow steward, who was probably also her lover, but she broke off the relationship when he became obsessive. She struggled on and from 1949 lived at the cheap Shelbourne Hotel, site of the plaque. Here the steward stalked her and stabbed her to death.
Said to have inspired the character of Vesper Lynd in Ian Fleming's novel 'Casino Royale'.
From English Heritage: "Granville served with distinction in three theatres of war – Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Western Europe. Throughout the war, she went by many aliases but early in the conflict she was issued with a British passport in the name of Christine Granville. She later wrote: 'I want to keep the name Granville that I have made for myself, and of which I am rather proud'.
"Granville's successful missions included skiing over the snow-bound Polish border in temperatures of -30°C, smuggling microfilm across Europe which proved Hitler’s plans to invade the Soviet Union, and rescuing French Resistance agents from the Gestapo. ... After her outstanding wartime career, Granville faced what she described as 'the horrors of peace'."
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