Free Republic

Nancy Wake, Australia's greatest World War II heroine and a prominent figure in the French Resistance known as the "The White Mouse" for her ability to evade the Germans, has died in London. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the woman who was once the Gestapo's most wanted person, was "a devastatingly effective saboteur and spy". "Nancy Wake was a woman of exceptional courage and resourcefulness whose daring exploits saved the lives of hundreds of Allied personnel and helped bring the Nazi occupation of France to an end," Gillard said. Wake, who died in a London hospital on Sunday just...

For 57 years a genteel hotel has welcomed a celebrated guest. Her picture graces its walls and a leather-backed bar stool is reserved for her at 11am, when she sips the first gin and tonic of the day. Now 90, Nancy Wake, who as a beautiful and daring resistance fighter was regarded as one of the bravest women of the Second World War, has told the staff that she is staying "until I die". There is a problem, however. She is penniless and even a small contribution from the Prince of Wales proffered after he read her biography barely dents...