Churchill’s favourite spy? An inspiration for Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale? Britain’s longest serving WWI Special Agent, male or female, and the first British female agent to serve in the field was a Polish agent called Krystyna Skarbek, aka Christine Granville. Coming to be known for her daring exploits, she was once described as “the bravest of the brave”. In this episode of Heart of Poland, author, historian and biographer of Krystyna Skarbek, Clare Mulley, talks about Skarbek’s remarkable life story and why she should be seen as much more than just a Bond girl.
Dropped into enemy-occupied Europe and with a price on her head, Skarbek once persuaded the Gestapo to release a resistance leader and two fellow agents.
Born in Warsaw in 1912, the life of Kazimierz Leski who went on to head up the counter-espionage activities of the ultra secretive Musketeers resistance group, is still relatively unknown.
Described as Churchill’s favourite spy, Krystyna Skarbek was one of Britain’s longest-serving female agents during WWII. English Heritage, the Polish Embassy and author Clare Mulley have been campaigning for the boutique hotel in London’s Kensington where she was knifed to death by a jealous lover to install a blue plaque in her memory.
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