A spy who operated in occupied France for months during the second world war before being captured by the Gestapo and later executed has become the first woman of south Asian descent to be given a blue plaque in London. The award came after work by a group that was set up in 2016 to address the lack of diversity in the scheme. When the working group began, only 33 of the more than 900 plaques were dedicated to black and Asian figures. Basu said: “She was fluent in French, she knew the area, and she was a brilliant radio operator. She became the first female radio operator and was sent into Nazi-occupied France by the Special Operations Executive.

Source: The Guardian August 27, 2020 22:52 UTC