The Department of History at Royal Holloway is working with partners to host Liberté, a touring pop-up exhibition exploring the inspirational story of a female British spy in World War II.
PThis exhibition has been postponed from the original date of 8 March 2020. We will be working with ArtsAsia and CWGC to reschedule at a point in the future.
The exhibition, from cultural organisation Arts Asia, partnering with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), explores the life of Noor Inayat Khan, GC, who served behind enemy lines in France. Born to an Indian father and American mother in Moscow, she grew up in France and then fled to Britain to escape the Nazi occupation. Despite her pacifist principles, she volunteered and owing to her impressive language skills was eventually signed up to the Special Operations Executive, Britain’s espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance agency. She became the first female wireless operator aiding the French Resistance, contributing to the war effort, but was captured and executed at Dachau concentration camp in 1944.
Liberté will be free to attend and open to all on campus and beyond.
On Saturday 7 March, the CWGC will also be launching a new digital exhibition, developed in conjunction with the Girlguiding Association, at the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial, next door to our Kingswood Hall of Residence. Visitors can access the exhibition free (without any downloads) on their mobile phones. The digital exhibition will be available from 2pm on 7 March and will continue indefinitely.
Commenting on the exhibition, Head of the Department of History, Dr Anna Whitelock said:
“We’re excited to be providing space for Arts Asia to bring their exhibition to our campus. Inspiring and fascinating stories, such as those of Noor Inayat Khan, are what make studying history so rewarding. Her life and story touches on so many of our areas of interest in the Department of History such as Asian history and Women’s history, as well as our research into the Holocaust and our expertise in Public History.
“Working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to raise the profile of this fantastic local historical resource is a privilege and we hope this partnership will provide exciting opportunities for our students in the future.”
