Noor Inayat Khan: Life of a Spy Princess (4)

Noorunissa Inayat-Khan's Biography • Noor Inayat-Khan Memorial Trust • Donate to Noor's Memorial Trust

By Sarah Jobling

Noor's RAF ID Card
Following their flight to Britain in 1940, Noor and her brother Vilayat were determined to join the British in their fight against Nazi Germany. Their Sufi faith did not permit them to kill anyone in armed combat, but they could still take on highly dangerous roles in the front line.

Vilayat joined the crew of a Royal Navy minesweeper and on 19 November 1940, Noor joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), where she embarked on her training as a wireless operator.

Over the next two years, Noor would be taught to transmit messages in Morse code and how to operate and maintain her wireless set. According to Squadron Leader Beryl Escott in her book, Women in Air Force Blue, she earned herself the nickname of 'Bang Away Lulu', thanks to the loud 'clackety-clack' of her Morse key tapping. It may have been because her hands were swollen. Noor suffered very badly from chilblain, and for this reason was unable to grip the Morse key properly.

Noor's RAF traning would lead to her selection as a wireless operator in the Special Operations Executive, the most dangerous role that she could undertake for them. Agents reputedly had a life expectancy of just six weeks.