Post-war
Immediately after the war, Wake was awarded the George Medal,[12] the United States Medal of Freedom, the Médaille de la Résistance and thrice the Croix de Guerre. She learned that the Gestapo had tortured her husband to death in 1943 for refusing to disclose her whereabouts. After the war, she worked for the Intelligence Department at the British Air Ministry attached to embassies of Paris and Prague.
Wake stood as a Liberal candidate[13] in the 1949 Australian federal election for the Sydney seat of Barton, running against Dr. Herbert Evatt, then Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs in the Ben Chifley Labor government. While Chifley lost government to Robert Menzies, Wake recorded a 13 percent swing against Evatt,[14] with Evatt retaining the seat with 53.2 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. Wake ran against Evatt again at the 1951 federal election.
By this time, Evatt was Deputy Leader of the Opposition. The result was extremely close. However, Evatt retained the seat with a margin of fewer than 250 votes.[15] Evatt slightly increased his margin at subsequent elections before relocating to the safer seat of Hunter by 1958.
Wake left Australia just after the 1951 election and moved back to England. She worked as an intelligence officer in the department of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff at the Air Ministry in Whitehall. She resigned in 1957 after marrying an RAF officer, John Forward, in December of that year. They returned to Australia in the early 1960s.[9] Maintaining her interest in politics, Wake was endorsed as a Liberal candidate at the 1966 federal election for the Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith. Despite recording a swing of 6.9 per cent against the sitting Labor member Daniel Curtin, Wake was again unsuccessful.[16] Around 1985, Wake and John Forward left Sydney to retire to Port Macquarie.
In 1985, Wake published her autobiography, The White Mouse. The book became a bestseller and has been reprinted many times.[17]
After 40 years of marriage, her husband John Forward died at Port Macquarie on 19 August 1997; the couple had no children.
In 2001, she left Australia for the last time and emigrated to London.[18] She became a resident at the Stafford Hotel in St James's Place, near Piccadilly, formerly a British and American forces club during the war. She had been introduced to her first "bloody good drink" there by the general manager at the time, Louis Burdet. He had also worked for the Resistance in Marseilles. In the mornings she would usually be found in the hotel bar, sipping her first gin and tonic of the day. She was welcomed at the hotel, celebrating her 90th birthday there, where the hotel owners absorbed most of the costs of her stay. In 2003, Wake chose to move to the Royal Star and Garter Home for Disabled Ex-Service Men and Women in Richmond, London, where she remained until her death.[9]
Wake died on Sunday evening 7 August 2011, aged 98, at Kingston Hospital after being admitted with a chest infection.[19] She had requested that her ashes be scattered at Montluçon in central France.[20]
Honours
Wake was appointed a Chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour in 1970 and was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1988.[21]
Initially, she refused offers of decorations from Australia, saying: "The last time there was a suggestion of that I told the government they could stick their medals where the monkey stuck his nuts. The thing is if they gave me a medal now, it wouldn't be love so I don't want anything from them."[22] It was not until February 2004, that Wake received the Companion of the Order of Australia.[23]
In April 2006, she was awarded the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association's highest honour,[24] the RSA Badge in Gold.[25] Wake's medals are on display in the Second World War gallery at the Australian War Memorial Museum in Canberra.[1]
On 3 June 2010, a "heritage pylon" paying tribute to Wake was unveiled on Oriental Parade in Wellington, New Zealand, near the place of her birth.[26][27]
List of honours
Ribbon Issuing authority Description Date awarded Notes/citation
Ribbon of the AC Commonwealth of Australia Companion of the Order of Australia 22 February 2004 The award recognises the significant contribution and commitment of Nancy Wake, stemming from her outstanding actions in wartime, in encouraging community appreciation and understanding of the past sacrifices made by Australian men and women in times of conflict, and to a lasting legacy of peace.[23]
Ribbon of the GM United Kingdom George Medal 17 July 1945 FANY: Special operations in France[12][28]
Ribbon of the 1939–1945 Star Commonwealth of Nations 1939–1945 Star
Ribbon of the France & Germany Star Commonwealth of Nations France and Germany Star
Ribbon of the Defence Medal United Kingdom Defence Medal
Ribbon of the War Medal United Kingdom War Medal 1939–1945
Ribbon of the Legion of Honor – Chevalier French Republic Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur 1970
Ribbon of the Legion of Honor – Officier French Republic Officier de la Légion d'Honneur 1988
Ribbon de la croix de guerre French Republic Croix de Guerre with two Palms and a Star
Ribbon of the PMOF United States of America Medal of Freedom with Bronze Palm. (Only 987 issued with Bronze Palm during WWII)[29]
Ribbon de la Médaille de la Résistance French Republic Médaille de la Résistance
New Zealand Badge In Gold 15 November 2006 Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association[25]
