Noor Inayat Khan: A spy descended from royalty, trained in Beaulieu, executed in Dachau

Wednesday 25 November, 7.30pm

St Barbe Heritage Talk | Sway Village Hall SO41 6BB | Doors open 7pm | Starts 7.30pm

Speaker: Marc Heighway

The extraordinary true story of Noor Inayat Khan – code name “Madeleine” – the first female wireless operator sent undercover into occupied France. This talk traces her remarkable journey from a childhood shaped by her family’s Sufi traditions and royal ancestry in India, through wartime training in Beaulieu, to her perilous missions for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), capture by the Gestapo, and ultimate sacrifice at Dachau concentration camp. 

The talk is presented by Marc Heighway, a New Forest historian, author and speaker specialising in the wartime history of Hampshire and the New Forest. Founder of the New Forest & Hampshire Wartime Association, committee member of the Beaulieu History Society, and former trustee of St Barbe Museum + Art Gallery, Marc is a familiar speaker across the region. He has curated exhibitions on local wartime history, appeared on Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast and BBC Sounds, and is passionate about bringing hidden local stories to life for new audiences.