BEAUCHAMP LODGE 1422 - The West Kent Military Lodge

Incredible Phyllis Latour MBE - 101st Birthday

Author:
Mark Eyles-Thomas
PDProvGM West Kent, Member of Beauchamp Lodge No.1422
Date:
8 April 2022
Category:
Happy 101st Birthday to Phyllis Latour

Phyllis Latour "Pippa" was born in South Africa on the 8th April 1921. She moved from South Africa to England and joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in November 1941 (Service Number 718483) as a flight mechanic for airframes. Because of her fluent French, however, she was immediately asked by SOE (Special Operations Executive) to become an agent.

Phyllis Latour was parachuted into Normandy on 1st May 1944 and acted as a wireless operator for the Scientist circuit using the codename Genevieve. Over the next four months she transmitted daily and after D Day much of her traffic was regarding tank and troop movements. Her transmissions were tracked by the Abwehr who used DF disguised vans. They took around 90 minutes to locate the transmission point so her messages were limited to 60. One unit (a laundry van) became a danger and Phyllis requested help. A grenade lobbed inside solved the problem.

1st September Phyllis made a long journey on foot to newly liberated Paris where she made contact and was flown home to UK on 9th October. She spent some time recovering before in early 1945 began retraining for a second mission, this into Germany. Her parachute drop due for 4 May was delayed and then cancelled with VE day.

Post war Phyllis returned home to the Congo but tribal war saw her move to East Africa and other family. In 1947 she obtained the first commercial pilots license issue to a woman in the country. Phyllis and her family moved to NZ some 50 years ago and today lives in rural West Auckland.

For her service Phyllis was awarded an MBE together with CdeG Palme, Legion of Honour (Chev) and Resistance medal. In 2000 the Parachute Regiment finally issued her with her "wings". She did not discuss her wartime activities with her family until her children discovered them by reading about them on the Internet in 2000.

Phyllis is the last living female SOE agent of the forty who worked in France during World War II.

Phyllis Latour during the 1940s. (British Defense Ministry)
Phyllis Latour during the 1940s. (British Defense Ministry)
Phyllis Latour now an then
Phyllis a ‘now and then’ photograph
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