Villameur, Lise (1905–2004)

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Villameur, Lise (1905–2004)

French secret agent and heroine. Name variations: Lise de Baissac; (code name) Odile and Marguerite. Born Lise de Baissac, May 11, 1905, in Mauritius; died Mar 28, 2004; moved to Paris when young; m. Henri Villameur (artist), 1950 (died 1978); no children.

As a member of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), landed by parachute in the Loire and Cher region of France, the 1st woman to be parachuted into occupied France (1942); under codename Odile, established a small resistance network in Poitiers (1942–43); under codename Marguerite, joined her brother Claude de Baissac in Normandy, where she set up more resistance groups (1944). Awarded MBE and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur Croix de Guerre avec Palme.

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