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Getbig Main Boards => General Topics => Topic started by: The True Adonis on August 14, 2012, 08:57:46 PM
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The White Mouse. Nancy Wake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Nancy_Wake_%281945%29.jpg)
Wartime service and Special Operations Executive
In 1937, she met wealthy French industrialist Henri Edmond Fiocca (1898–1943), whom she married on 30 November 1939. She was living in Marseille, France when Germany invaded. After the fall of France in 1940, she became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow. In reference to her ability to elude capture, the Gestapo called her the White Mouse. The Resistance had to be very careful with her missions. Her life was in constant danger, with the Gestapo tapping her phone and intercepting her mail.[4]
By 1943, she was the Gestapo's most wanted person, with a 5 million-franc price on her head. When the network was betrayed that same year, she decided to flee Marseille. Her husband, Henri Fiocca, stayed behind where he was later captured, tortured and executed by the Gestapo.[5]
"A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I'd pass their (German) posts and wink and say, 'Do you want to search me?' God, what a flirtatious little bastard I was."[6]
Wake had been arrested in Toulouse, but was released four days later. An acquaintance managed to have her let out by making up stories about her supposed infidelity to her husband.[7] She succeeded, on her sixth attempt, in crossing the Pyrenees to Spain. Until the war ended, she was unaware of her husband's death and subsequently blamed herself for it.[8]
After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive. Vera Atkins, who also worked in the SOE, recalls her as "a real Australian bombshell. Tremendous vitality, flashing eyes. Everything she did, she did well." Training reports record that she was "a very good and fast shot" and possessed excellent fieldcraft. She was noted to "put the men to shame by her cheerful spirit and strength of character."[8]
On the night of 29–30 April 1944 she was parachuted into the Auvergne, becoming a liaison between London and the local maquis group headed by Captain Henri Tardivat. Upon discovering her tangled in a tree, Captain Tardivat greeted her remarking, "I hope that all the trees in France bear such beautiful fruit this year," to which she replied, "Don't give me that French shit.”"[9][5] Her duties included allocating arms and equipment that were parachuted in and minding the group's finances. She became instrumental in recruiting more members and making the maquis groups into a formidable force, roughly 7,500 strong. She also led attacks on German installations and the local Gestapo HQ in Montluçon.[9]
At one point Wake discovered that her men were protecting a girl who was a German spy. They did not have the heart to kill her in cold blood, but Wake did. She said after that it was war, and she had no regrets about the incident.[10]
From April 1944 to the liberation of France, her 7,000 maquisards fought 22,000 SS soldiers, causing 1,400 casualties, while taking only 100 themselves. Her French companions, especially Henri Tardivat, praised her fighting spirit, amply demonstrated when she killed an SS sentry with her bare hands to prevent him from raising the alarm during a raid.
During a 1990s television interview, when asked what had happened to the sentry who spotted her, Wake simply drew her finger across her throat. "They'd taught this judo-chop stuff with the flat of the hand at SOE, and I practised away at it. But this was the only time I used it -- whack -- and it killed him all right. I was really surprised."[6]
On another occasion, to replace codes her wireless operator had been forced to destroy in a German raid, Wake rode a bicycle for more than 500 miles (800 km) through several German checkpoints.[11] During a German attack on another maquis group, Wake, along with two American officers, took command of a section whose leader had been killed. She directed the use of suppressive fire which facilitated the group's withdrawal without further losses.[8]
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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]
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Australian Liberal Party is actually more republican than democratic TA. Not sure why they use the term liberal though.
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"In Australia, the term Liberalism refers to centre-right economic liberalism, rather than centre-left social liberalism as in other English-speaking countries. Party ideology has therefore been referred to as Liberalism, distinct from its meaning in other English-speaking countries, but also as conservatism, which features strongly in party ideology."
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Australian Liberal Party is actually more republican than democratic TA. Not sure why they use the term liberal though.
Exactly, it's the A. Labor Party which is considered the "liberal" party.
Kind of like in the US there's the "deep south" and in Australia there's the "deep north".
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lol I have an advertisement running for her on my webpage - a relative of her wanted me to show a picture of her for her 100th birthday.
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but she never squatted 400 or curled 50lbs dumbbells for reps. She probably didn't even inject fully loaded 3ml syringes!!!
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She actually could squat 420 lbs on a good day.
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Good reminder of what a true Liberal is ought to be.
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Sounds like mostly propoganda bs stories, i mean come on that reads like a female version of Captain America movie.
" and then she rallied a group of thousands of ragtag soldiers, led the charge thru heavy fire to the enemy fortress, killed the ss sentry herself, parachuted out of a plane, joined the intelligence elite, drank a gallon of gin, outshot the special forces men, then killed hitler with her bare hands!!" ::) lol oh brother...
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Sounds like mostly propoganda bs stories, i mean come on that reads like a female version of Captain America movie.
" and then she rallied a group of thousands of ragtag soldiers, led the charge thru heavy fire to the enemy fortress, killed the ss sentry herself, parachuted out of a plane, joined the intelligence elite, drank a gallon of gin, outshot the special forces men, then killed hitler with her bare hands!!" ::) lol oh brother...
Its extremely well documented.
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JWB IS RIGHT.. they are basically a center right group..
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JWB IS RIGHT.. they are basically a center right group..
And?
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ttt
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Exactly, it's the A. Labor Party which is considered the "liberal" party.
Kind of like in the US there's the "deep south" and in Australia there's the "deep north".
Australia has 'Mexicans' too.
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I want to hear TA's thought on illegal immigration and obama giving out work permits to illegals to work
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I want to hear TA's thought on illegal immigration and obama giving out work permits to illegals to work
The borders should be closed and immigration to citizenship should be done by a lawful process. Work Permits should be earned/granted once one becomes a citizen of the United States. Those who employ illegal immigrants should be heavily fined.
Illegal Immigration only serves to lower the standard of living for the rest of us. If someone wants to come to our country to be a citizen, there is no reason why they can`t go through the correct process.
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Why would anyone support illegal immigration and why would anyone support them working for less so they can just go back to their country and spend it there instead of here, thus doing nothing for our economy other than taking away jobs from Citizens who expect a fair wage.
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The borders should be closed and immigration to citizenship should be done by a lawful process. Work Permits should be earned/granted once one becomes a citizen of the United States. Those who employ illegal immigrants should be heavily fined.
Illegal Immigration only serves to lower the standard of living for the rest of us. If someone wants to come to our country to be a citizen, there is no reason why they can`t go through the correct process.
Here, here !!!! 8)
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Why would anyone support illegal immigration and why would anyone support them working for less so they can just go back to their country and spend it there instead of here, thus doing nothing for our economy other than taking away jobs from Citizens who expect a fair wage.
I agree just seeing as Obama is letting illegals obtain work permits starting today I think :-\
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adonis why dont you learn more science and physics rather than womens history and liberallism. dont you think science and physics is cooler or have you already masterd that?
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I agree just seeing as Obama is letting illegals obtain work permits starting today I think :-\
Romney would be just as worthless in this area. Nobody is serious about fixing this problem and enforcing the existing laws on the books.
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Romney would be just as worthless in this area. Nobody is serious about fixing this problem and enforcing the existing laws on the books.
Exactly. Repubs want the cheap labor and dems want the votes.
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Romney would be just as worthless in this area. Nobody is serious about fixing this problem and enforcing the existing laws on the books.
X2 scared to stand up and more worried about the votes and backlashes of the Hispanic pop.
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adonis why dont you learn more science and physics rather than womens history and liberallism. dont you think science and physics is cooler or have you already masterd that?
I live and breathe Science. Its the only candle we have to light the dark and religion, pseudo-science and ignorance only seek to dim it.
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help me to understand
whats wrong if a mexican leaves and spends the money in mexico if they helped the american whiteman get the job done FASTER for CHEAPER
cheaper AND faster are good things my bros
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I live and breathe Science. Its the only candle we have to light the dark and religion, pseudo-science and ignorance only seek to dim it.
if you like history and science and not religion why not astrotheologin theories
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help me to understand
whats wrong if a mexican leaves and spends the money in mexico if they helped the american whiteman get the job done FASTER for CHEAPER
cheaper AND faster are good things my bros
1. Less money circulated in America, less benefit to us all. Once the money is gone from the United States, its gone from circulation in our country and every lost dollar has the potential to increase inflation.
2. Hiring illegal immigrants under the table devalues American Citizen`s wages because as long as cheap illegal labor can be had, there would be no reason for the business owner to pay anyone a fair/living wage. This has a great impact on law abiding citizens who want to work, but can`t because some illegal immigrant is just going to steal the job for 3 dollars an hour and then go back to Mexico with the money. We have a standard of living that needs to be upheld and by supporting this type of illegal nonsense, it does nothing but lower it. Even if they don`t go back to Mexico, it lowers the standard further.
The lower the standard of living goes, inflation increases, dollar devalues, quality of goods and service decrease and we all suffer as a result.
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if you like history and science and not religion why not astrotheologin theories
I don`t have time for Bullshit and Ignorance. I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.
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I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.
That is a T shirt right there...
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The White Mouse. Nancy Wake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake
"A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I'd pass their (German) posts and wink and say, 'Do you want to search me?' God, what a flirtatious little bastard I was."[6]
A little powder ey! ;D
Looks like she was born in New Zealand.
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Fasinating woman.
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1. Less money circulated in America, less benefit to us all. Once the money is gone from the United States, its gone from circulation in our country and every lost dollar has the potential to increase inflation.
2. Hiring illegal immigrants under the table devalues American Citizen`s wages because as long as cheap illegal labor can be had, there would be no reason for the business owner to pay anyone a fair/living wage. This has a great impact on law abiding citizens who want to work, but can`t because some illegal immigrant is just going to steal the job for 3 dollars an hour and then go back to Mexico with the money. We have a standard of living that needs to be upheld and by supporting this type of illegal nonsense, it does nothing but lower it. Even if they don`t go back to Mexico, it lowers the standard further.
The lower the standard of living goes, inflation increases, dollar devalues, quality of goods and service decrease and we all suffer as a result.
getting cheap underpaid labor is great to keep a buisness thriving and actually makes the buisnesses product cheaper because the cost was cheaper to build the buisness. this creates more competition in buisness, while some buisnesses may use illegals as an advantage for a bigger profit cause they are greedy....while on the other hand other buisnesses using illegals will make there product cost more competitive, this helps the consumer
thus if an unemployed consumer is getting products for cheaper then he doesnt have to work as much
with all this being said we need to give the unemployed consumer a good job in this sitiuation, this is done by allowing the unemployed an easier route to start there own buisness (less regulations) likewise or if they want to work for another buisness that buisness cant be underpressure from high cost of overhead and regulations in order for the unemployed to be hired