Former WWII spy, Willie Apiata swap war stories

Former SAS soldier Willie Apiata shares service experiences with former World War II spy Pippa Doyle who was presented with the Legion of Honour (below) last night. Picture / Greg Bowker

Secret agent ‘Genevieve’ shows Apiata her Legion of Honour medal

Two military heroes - former spy Pippa Doyle and Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata - rubbed shoulders last night as France bestowed its highest honour on the 93-year-old Mrs Doyle.

The sprightly World War II secret agent - who, operating with the code-name Genevieve, sent wireless messages back to England from Nazi-occupied France - clearly enjoyed the company of Mr Apiata, who was among guests at the SAS base at Papakura for the ceremony.

The French Ambassador, Laurent Contini, presented Mrs Doyle with the Legion of Honour medal, which now sits alongside several other awards which grateful governments have given her. But true to form the modest heroine, who lives quietly by herself yet still manages to rustle up a cooked breakfast every day, was saying nothing publicly beyond remarking that it was a "privilege and honour" to receive the medal.

Mr Apiata, who won a VC for rescuing a comrade under fire in Afghanistan in 2007, knows Mrs Doyle through their links to the High Wire Trust, a Papakura charitable group which helps at-risk teens. While happy to be photographed with Mrs Doyle, he did not want to take anything away from her moment.

Mr Contini told the Herald the occasion was unusual. In his experience it had been servicemen who had been decorated with the medal. It was a rare pleasure to bestow the honour on a woman, who had displayed bravery and humility.

He said Mrs Doyle - who parachuted into northwest France in May 1944 - showed great courage in the face of danger and death threats from Nazi soldiers.

"Your bravery is inspiring," Mr Contini told Mrs Doyle.

A fluent French-speaker, Mrs Doyle was just 23 when she dropped at night into France.

Then Phyllis Latour, she had been through an intensive and at times gruelling Special Operations Executive (SOE) training course to prepare for the clandestine life of an agent. She learned surveillance, sabotage - and unarmed combat.

On the ground, she worked with the French resistance and used carefully hidden radio sets to pass valuable information about German troop deployments back to London.

For her cover story she claimed to be a young art student gaily cycling around the countryside, a ruse which got her out of the tightest spots.

Pippa Doyle

• Born in South Africa in 1921. Raised in the Congo after both her parents died when she was a child.

• Joined Women's Auxiliary Air Force to become a flight mechanic but was recruited by talent-spotters to train as an agent with the Special Operations Executive.

• After the war married an Australian engineer. Mother of four. Has lived in NZ for several decades.

• Legion of Honour adds to her other decorations - an MBE and a Croix de Guerre (Cross of War).