How WW2 Spy Virginia Hall defied adversity, and how she inspires us now
Virginia Hall, described by the Nazis as the most dangerous of all Allied spies, was known as ‘the lady with the limp.’ She altered her gait to avoid recognition, changed her disguise and location countless times, and evaded capture — even scaling the Pyrenees in the winter at 7500–8000 feet fleeing to Spain with a prosthetic leg.
What makes A Woman of No Importance an essential read is both the narrative of Virginia Hall’s life along with evidence of her remarkable character strengths — her story is a testament to the power of the mind and body to persevere and overcome adversity.
Sonia Purnell’s brilliant 2019 biography “A Woman of No Importance — The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II” has brought Virginia Hall’s story to life. Over eighty years later, we now have a view into her extraordinary personality and character strengths.
Virginia Hall’s determination and courage in Nazi-occupied France was key in the Allies winning WW2. Nazi posters demanded the ‘limping lady’ be found — and both the Nazis and French collaborators were looking for her. This made it difficult for her to trust anyone, and isolation and despair was common.
Hall’s passion was working in the US State Department, but despite being qualified (she spoke five languages) was turned down for several jobs. She was up against a brick wall — in 1929 only six out of fifteen hundred foreign service officers were women.
She faced sexism, rejection, discrimination, and chronic pain. But she loved France as her second country and was witnessing the rise of fascism, knowing her purpose was to contribute. She did not give up.
Determined to join the French Resistance, in a chance encounter Virginia — known for her effervescent personality — made a contact with Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) and was hired as its first undercover female agent in 1941. Her mission: Liaison and Intelligence in Vichy France. Later in 1944 when the SOE wouldn’t allow her to return to France (by this time the Nazis had a clear description of her identity), she found a solution — the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was looking for agents and she was more than qualified (OSS was the predecessor to the CIA).
Female agents sent to occupied France were only expected to survive a few weeks, yet she endured five years. How did she do this?
Focus — Facing constant danger, she had intent focus on the immediate task while always aware of the mission.
Purpose — Virginia was driven by a deeper purpose and did not let rejection stop her.
Intuition — She had a sixth-sense which saved her life more than once, whether by steering her away from a dangerous route, canceling a meeting that was a trap, or knowing it was urgent to change location or disguise.
Ingenuity — She did not accept rejection or failure. When turned down from a State Department job she was qualified for, rather than giving up she volunteered for the French army in 1940 as an ambulance driver. Everything she did added to her repertoire of survival skills.
Self-reliance — Virginia relied on herself to solve problems. She devised her own escape from a Spanish jail cell, organized a network of hundreds of resistance agents and radio operators throughout France, and even trained as a radio operator herself which put her at high risk of being caught.
Networking — She knew that success meant finding the right people and was a master of recruiting, vetting, communicating, and protecting a grassroots resistance network.
Generosity — Despite the pressure she was under she always thought of her agents and what they needed to survive — money, food, supplies, safe houses.
Self-sacrifice — She slept in cold barns, endured chronic leg pain, and lived through semi-starvation — even had her teeth ground-down for disguise once the Nazis could recognize her.
Grit — Virginia endured unimaginable mental and physical pain. While being tracked by the Nazis, she escaped to Spain and eventually returned to England. But she was adamant to return to France one way or another, despite the SOE’s insistence that she not return. She found a way when the SOE wouldn’t allow her, but the OSS did.
Courage — Perhaps her most astounding ability was not letting fear defeat her and focusing on the task at-hand. Fear activates adrenaline which increases strength and focus (to a degree), but Resistance agents faced non-stop terror of what would happen if they were caught. Virginia was acutely aware of what this meant for her as one of the Nazis’ most-wanted Allied spies.
Virginia did not seek attention or awards. Now more than eighty years later, we can honor her life’s work as an extraordinary woman and trailblazer who contributed to France’s liberation and the Allied win in WW2.
Sources:
Sonia Purnell, A Woman of No Importance — The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II. Viking, New York, NY, 2019.
Sonia Purnell’s website: A Woman of No Importance, UK Edition | Sonia Purnell
Greg Myre, ‘A Woman of No Importance Finally Gets Her Due.’ NPR — Morning Edition, 4.18.19. ‘A Woman Of No Importance’: American Spy Virginia Hall Finally Gets Her Due : NPR
