Vera Leigh
| Vera Leigh | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Simone |
| Born |
17 March 1903 Leeds, England |
| Died | 6 July 1944 KZ Natzweiler-Struthof, France |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom, France |
| Service/branch | Special Operations Executive, French Resistance |
| Years of service | 1943-1944 |
| Rank | Field agent (Courier) |
| Commands held | Donkeyman, Inventor |
| Awards | King's Commendation for Brave Conduct |
Vera Leigh (born Vera Glass on 17 March 1903 in Leeds, England - died 6 July 1944) was a member of the French Resistance and a British SOE agent during World War II. In 1944 she was captured by the Germans and executed at Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.
Abandoned by her parents soon after birth, she was adopted by H. Eugene Leigh, an American racehorse trainer who raced in the United States, winning the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and in Europe where he owned stables at Maisons Laffitte near Paris, France. Her plaque of remembrance, re-edited to remove 'was murdered at' and replaced with 'died for her country' is mounted to this day on the wall of the Holy Trinity Church in Maisons Laffitte.
She had an early ambition to become a jockey, but after completing her education she worked as a dress designer. In 1927 she went into partnership with two friends to establish a 'grand maison' (fashion house) known as Rose Valois in the Place Vendôme, Paris.
After the fall of Paris in the Second World War, Leigh left for Lyon to join her fiancé. She became involved in the French Resistance, helping to run an escape line for Allied servicemen trapped behind enemy lines. In 1942 she used the same escape route to cross the Pyrenees to Spain in the hope of reaching England, but found herself imprisoned for several months at the Miranda de Ebro internment camp near Bilbao. Eventually, with assistance from a British Embassy official, Leigh was released from the camp and completed the journey to England via Gibraltar.
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