Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle, Heroine of the SOE

[Subdeacon Joe]

WWII uncovered: Women's History Month: Honouring Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle Heroine of the SOE

Born in South Africa on 8 April 1921, Phyllis "Pippa" Latour was an orphan by the age of 3 years old. Adopted by her French father's cousin, Pippa relocated to England in 1939 to finish her education. In November of 1941 she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) as a flight mechanic for airframes.

"They took a group of about 20 of us away for training. It was unusual training – not what I expected, and very hard. It wasn't until after my first round of training that they told me they wanted me to become a member of the SOE. They said I could have three days to think about it. I told them I didn't need three days to make a decision - I'd take the job now." - Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle - Stuff New Zealand November 25, 2014 interview

Latour officially joined the Special Operations Executive on 01 November 1943 and was commissioned as an Honorary Section Officer.

According to the New Zealand Army News: "She parachuted into Orne, Normandy on 01 May 1944 to operate as part of the Scientist circuit, using the codename Genevieve. Pippa worked as a wireless operator with Resistance member Claude de Baissac, or “Denis,” who was also a southern-African, and of Mauritian origin, and his sister Lisé de Baissac (the courier). Denis had to plug gaps in the SOE’s northern France operations caused by double agents and lay the groundwork for an anticipated Allied landing. For Pippa’s cover story, De Baissac had forged papers showing she had left Paris to study painting. Within days of dropping into France, Latour made contact with London, using a safe house belonging to a doctor, before shifting to de Baissac’s farmhouse headquarters."

"Word got back to the network that an informer was among the resistance group who collected Pippa and that the Germans had discovered her parachute. Forced to move, Pippa, who by now was working closely with de Baissac’s sister Lise, known as “Odile,” fled on a bicycle and set up in a barn. Using radio sets hidden round the countryside, Latour sent a stream of coded reports to London." - Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France

"Small of stature, Latour, who was fluent in French, posed as a teenage girl whose family had moved to the region to escape the Allied bombing. She rode bicycles around the area, selling soap and chatting with German soldiers. When she obtained any military intelligence, she encoded it for transmitting using one-time codes that were hidden on a piece of silk that she used to tie up her hair. At one point, she was brought in for questioning, but the German authorities did not think to examine her hair tie, and she was released." (Beryl E. Escott et. al)

Following the war, Phyllis married Patrick Doyle, an Australian engineer. The couple relocated to Kenya, then Fiji, Australia and eventually settling in Auckland New Zealand. Pippa and Patrick had four children.

A highly decorated veteran of World War II, Phyllis Latour Doyle was honored with the Member of the Order of the British Empire, Croix de Guerre 1939–1945, France and Germany Star, Defense Medal and on 25 November 2014 she was awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest military honor.

Pippa passed away on 07 October 2023 at the age of 102 years old.

Please join us in honouring Section Officer Phyllis Latour Doyle for a lifetime of dedicated service. Lest We Forget.

#ww2uncovered #WomensHistoryMonth #womenveterans #InMemoriam #WWII #HonorOurVeterans #lestweforget

WWII uncovered description and photos sourced by New Zealand Army News, Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France, London, Patrick Stevens Limited, 1991 and Stuff New Zealand November 25, 2014 interview. (Fair Use Photos)