Noor Inayat Khan was in the midst of a  desperate escape. She had been imprisoned for her activities as an Allied spy, but with the help of a screwdriver and  two other prisoners, she was back under the Parisian stars. As she began to run, her thoughts leapt to the whirlwind  of events that had brought her here… Born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian  Muslim father and an American mother, Noor was raised in a profoundly  peaceful home. Her parents were Sufi pacifists, who put their faith in the power of  music and compassion. They moved to Paris, where Noor studied child psychology  and published children’s books. But all this changed with the advent  of the Second World War. In May 1940, with the German army  ready to occupy Paris, Noor and her brother were faced  with a difficult choice. As pacifists, they believed that all  disputes should be settled non-violently. But witnessing the devastation  across Europe, they decided that standing on the  sidelines was not an option. Traveling to England, Noor volunteered for the Women’s  Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a radio operator. She immersed herself in wireless  operations and Morse code– unaware that she was being monitored  by a secret organization. The British Special Operations Executive  was established to sabotage the Germans  in Nazi-occupied countries. As a trained radio operator who knew  Paris well and spoke fluent French, Noor was an attractive recruit. In her interview, she was warned that  wireless operation was some of the most dangerous work  in the intelligence field. Operators had to lug a conspicuous  transmitter through enemy territory, and the clandestine agency couldn’t  protect her if she was caught. Noor accepted her assignment immediately. While she was determined to take her  pacifist principles as far as possible, Noor had to learn the art of espionage. She learned how to contact intelligence  networks, pick a lock, resist interrogation and fire a gun. In June 1943 she landed  in Angers, south of Paris, and made her way to the city armed  with a false passport, a pistol and a few French francs. But her network was compromised. Within a week of her deployment, all her fellow agents were arrested,  and Noor was called home. She convinced her supervisors  to let her stay– which meant doing the work of six radio  operators singlehandedly. Over the following months, she tracked and transported supplies  to the French resistance, sent reports of Nazi activity back  to London and arranged safe passage  for allied soldiers. This work was essential to building the  French resistance and Allied intelligence networks– and, ultimately, ending the war. Protected only by her quick  thinking and charisma, she frequently talked her way  out of questioning. When the Gestapo searched  her on the train, she gave them a casual tour  of her “film projector.” When an officer spotted  her hanging her aerial, she chatted about her passion for  listening to music on the radio– and charmed him into helping  her set up the cable. In her entire four month tenure, her sharp wits and stealth  never failed her. But her charm had inspired  lethal jealousy. In October 1943, the sister  of a colleague, in love with an agent that loved Noor, sold her address to the Gestapo. Noor refused to give away any information, focusing instead on her escape. Secreting a screwdriver away  from the guards, they were able to loosen a skylight  and slip out into the night. But just as the prisoners began  to run for their lives, an air raid siren alerted her captors. Noor was caught once again  and sent to a German prison. Then, on to Dachau concentration camp. Despite being tortured,  deprived and isolated, Noor gave nothing away. In the moments before her execution she is thought to have shouted “Liberté!” Since her heroic sacrifice, Noor has been honoured as a hero who  waged secret battles behind enemy lines– paving the way for freedom  without ever taking a life.