About Phyllis Latour
Phyllis Latour, 102, South African-born New Zealand intelligence officer (SOE).
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Full Biography
|Phyllis "Pippa" Latour MBE (8 April 1921 – 7 October 2023) was a South African-born agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organisation in France during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents in France allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Latour worked as a wireless operator in Normandy from 1 May 1944 until August in the same year.
Early life and family
Latour's father, Philippe, was a French doctor and married to Louise, a British citizen living in South Africa, where Phyllis was born in April 1921. Her father died three months later during local conflicts in the French Equatorial Africa, and her mother remarried three years later. Her stepfather was a racing driver.
There are contradictory accounts of Phyllis' mother's death. According to some reports, Louise was driving one of her new husband's racing cars, which malfunctioned and she was killed when it crashed into a barrier. However, in her autobiography published in 2024 Latour describes this as "Poppycock. Absolute rubbish. An accident like that could have happened somewhere and sometime but not to my mother in 1925. I wish I could get this story off the internet." She says her mother died of a haemorrhage at a doctor's surgery. In any case Phyllis then went to live with her father's cousin in Jadotville in the Belgian Congo.
She was later sent to a boarding school in Kenya at age 16.
WAAF and Special Operations Executive
Latour moved to England in May 1939, and joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in November 1941 (Service Number 718483) as a balloon operator. Because of her fluent French, however, she was immediately asked by SOE to become an agent, and went through vigorous mental and physical training. She joined the SOE in revenge for her godmother's father having been shot by the Nazis and for her godmother's suicide after being imprisoned, officially joining on 1 November 1943 and was commissioned as an Honorary Section Officer.
Latour parachuted into Orne, Normandy on 1 May 1944 to operate as part of the Scientist circuit, using the codename Genevieve to work as a wireless operator with the organiser Claude de Baissac and his sister Lise, his courier and assistant. The de Baissacs, among SOE's best agents, were "dedicated but difficult." Lise described Latour as 'very brave and very willing but a mess of a girl." Care was necessary as the de Baissacs were working in Normandy, soon to be the site of the Allied D-Day invasion of France. The area was heavily militarised by the Germans and the working environment dangerous.
Small of stature, Latour posed as a teenage girl whose family had moved to the region to escape the Allied bombing. She rode bicycles around the area, selling soap and chatting with German soldiers. She encoded and transmitted the de Baissacs' messages to SOE headquarters. She transmitted by using one-time codes printed on a piece of silk she concealed by wrapping it around a knitting needle that was inserted into a flat shoelace, which she used to tie up her hair, and would translate using Morse code equipment. She was searched on several occasions, and at one point was brought in for questioning, but the German authorities did not think to examine her hair tie and she was released. Latour's 135 coded messages helped guide bombing missions to enemy targets. She had several close shaves while in France. Once, as she typed out a transmission two German soldiers opened the door looking for food. Calmly she closed up the wireless set, pretending it was a case she was packing, while telling them she had scarlet fever – which had been sweeping the area – and said she had to get out of the village. The soldiers left quickly.
In early August, the American army reached the village where Latour was operating. Suspicious of her, they held her captive for five hours until she was recognised as an SOE agent. She soon returned to England, her mission completed.
Post World War II
After World War II, Latour married an engineer with the surname Doyle, and went to live in Kenya, Fiji, and Australia. She later lived in Auckland, New Zealand, and turned one hundred years old in April 2021. She was the last living female SOE agent of the 39 who worked in France during World War II.
Latour did not discuss her wartime activities with her family until her children discovered them by reading about them on the Internet in 2000.
Phyllis Latour died on 7 October 2023, at the age of 102.
Honours and awards
In September 1945, Latour was appointed an additional Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services in France during the German occupation. She was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (Knight of the Legion of Honour), by the French government on 29 November 2014, as part of the 70th anniversary of the battle of Normandy.
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Articles & News
- theguardian.com"Phyllis Latour obituary"
- bbc.com"Phyllis Latour: The secret life of a WW2 heroine revealed"
Reported coverage of Phyllis Latour; each link opens the original article on the publisher's own site.
Books & Media
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Latour
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
Trivia & Knowledge· 16 questions
Questions drawn from Phyllis Latour's archived record and the sources above.
1.What is the title of the book published in 2024 by Phyllis Latour?
- A.Mission Improbable
- B.A Quiet Courage
- C.The Last Secret Agentcorrect
- D.A South African Girl in the SOE
The autobiography published in 2024 by Phyllis Latour is titled 'The Last Secret Agent'.
Source: Bibliography section
2.In which country was Phyllis Latour born?
- A.New Zealand
- B.France
- C.South Africacorrect
- D.Belgium
Phyllis Latour was born in South Africa in April 1921.
Source: Early life and family section
3.What was the occupation of the man Phyllis Latour's mother married after her first husband died?
- A.Engineer
- B.Doctor
- C.Intelligence officer
- D.Racing drivercorrect
After the death of Philippe, Phyllis Latour's mother remarried a man who was a racing driver.
Source: Early life and family section
4.What is the official cause of death for Phyllis Latour's mother, according to Phyllis Latour's 2024 autobiography?
- A.A fall at a boarding school in Kenya
- B.A haemorrhage at a doctor's surgerycorrect
- C.A tropical illness in the Belgian Congo
- D.A car crash involving a racing car
Latour explicitly rejects stories of a car crash in her autobiography, stating her mother died of a haemorrhage at a doctor's surgery.
Source: Early life and family section
5.What was Phyllis Latour's original role when she first joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)?
- A.Courier
- B.Intelligence analyst
- C.Wireless operator
- D.Balloon operatorcorrect
Phyllis Latour joined the WAAF in November 1941 as a balloon operator.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
6.Why did Phyllis Latour join the Special Operations Executive?
- A.To earn a commission as an Honorary Section Officer
- B.To escape her life in the Belgian Congo
- C.Because of the death of her godmother's father and her godmother's suicidecorrect
- D.To gain experience as a racing driver
Latour joined the SOE in revenge for her godmother's father having been shot by the Nazis and for her godmother's suicide.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
7.What was the codename used by Phyllis Latour during her time as a wireless operator in Normandy?
- A.Scientist
- B.Pippa
- C.Genevievecorrect
- D.Orne
Phyllis Latour operated using the codename Genevieve while working in Normandy.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
8.Where did Phyllis Latour hide the one-time codes used for transmitting messages?
- A.Sewn into the lining of her coat
- B.Inside a hollow bicycle frame
- C.Wrapped around a knitting needle inserted into a hair tiecorrect
- D.Inside a soap box
Latour concealed her codes by wrapping them around a knitting needle inserted into a flat shoelace used as a hair tie.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
9.How did Phyllis Latour avoid suspicion when two German soldiers entered her room while she was typing a transmission?
- A.She showed them her fake identity papers
- B.She claimed she had scarlet fever and needed to leavecorrect
- C.She claimed she was a local school teacher
- D.She pretended to be selling soap to them
When interrupted by soldiers, she calmly pretended to be packing a case and told them she had scarlet fever, causing them to leave.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
10.How many coded messages did Phyllis Latour transmit that helped guide bombing missions?
- A.70
- B.135correct
- C.39
- D.102
Phyllis Latour's 135 coded messages helped guide bombing missions to enemy targets.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
11.Which group held Phyllis Latour captive for five hours in August 1944?
- A.The British SOE headquarters
- B.The French Resistance
- C.The German army
- D.The American armycorrect
In early August, the American army held her captive for five hours until she was recognized as an SOE agent.
Source: WAAF and Special Operations Executive section
12.What was the surname of the man Phyllis Latour married after World War II?
- A.Latour
- B.De Baissac
- C.Doylecorrect
- D.Philippe
After World War II, Phyllis Latour married an engineer with the surname Doyle.
Source: Post World War II section
13.How did Phyllis Latour's children first learn about her wartime activities?
- A.She told them on her 100th birthday
- B.They discovered her secret files in the attic
- C.They read about them on the Internet in 2000correct
- D.She wrote a book about them in 2024
Latour did not discuss her wartime activities with her family until her children discovered them by reading about them on the Internet in 2000.
Source: Post World War II section
14.What distinction did Phyllis Latour hold regarding the female SOE agents who worked in France?
- A.She was the last living female SOE agentcorrect
- B.She was the only one to serve in the WAAF
- C.She was the first to parachute into Normandy
- D.She was the youngest agent sent into the field
Phyllis Latour was the last living female SOE agent of the 39 who worked in France during World War II.
Source: Post World War II section
15.In what year was Phyllis Latour appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour?
- A.2014correct
- B.2021
- C.1945
- D.2000
The French government appointed Phyllis Latour a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 29 November 2014.
Source: Honours and awards section
16.At what age did Phyllis Latour die?
- A.98
- B.100
- C.102correct
- D.104
Phyllis Latour died on 7 October 2023 at the age of 102.
Source: Post World War II section
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