War heroine’s medals expected to fetch £300,000

Tania Szabó, the daughter of Lieutenant Violette Szabó, a special operations executive in the Second World War, is putting the relics up for sale in order to secure her financial future.

Tania Szabo with Prince Charles

Among the items being sold is the George Cross, along with three Second World War campaign medals and the Croix de Guerre that Violette was awarded by the French for her gallantry.

Violette’s medals constitute one of the most important collections ever to have been offered for sale in Britain, according to auctioneers. Only four women have received the George Cross since its inception in 1940.

Two days after the D-Day landings, Violette was travelling in a car while on a mission in France when she ran into a German roadblock near Limoges. A firefight ensued and she was wounded and then captured by German soldiers.

A young Tania Szabo wearing her mother's medals

In the months that followed, she was tortured and eventually shot and executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp around January 1945.

Tania ran The Tania Szabó Language Studio in St Helier for over 30 years, before retiring and moving to Wales in 2009. She said that she was selling her mother’s medals as she had no one to leave them to and, at the age of 73, needed to secure her financial future.

A film was made about the story of Violette Szabo

In a statement, she said: ‘After many years of actively supporting the legacy of my gallant mother, I have reached a point in my life where I need to make a difficult decision in respect of the future of her medals. I have no children and therefore the ongoing custodianship of Violette’s medals needs to be addressed.

‘Moreover, I have my own financial security to consider.

‘After examining the options, I have decided to place her awards in auction. I do so with some regret but it is a decision derived from much careful thought and I have every confidence that the successful purchaser will cherish and take great care of them.’

The medals are due to go on sale at auctioneer’s, Dix Noonan Webb, in London on 22 July.

  • The organisation initially contained three departments – SO1, which dealt with propaganda, SO2 which looked after operations, and SO3 which carried out research
  • SOE operatives were made up from a variety of people taken from all classes and nationalities and included Indian royalty and members from Britain’s criminal underworld
  • First and foremost agents had to have a deep knowledge of the country they would be working in and the ability to speak its language fluently
  • Although women were first used only as couriers and SOE admin staff, they soon began to be used in the field and trained in the use of weapons
  • Field agents were issued with a handgun, a Fairburn-Sykes fighting knife used by Commandos and cyanide suicide pills concealed as coat buttons[/breakout]
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