Patriotic Thieves
Posted by David Foster on July 8th, 2008 (All posts by David Foster)
You’ve probably already heard about the thief who alerted police after breaking into a van…which contained devices that appeared to be explosives.
This incident reminded me of another story.
Odette Sansom (later Odette Hallowes) was an agent of the WWII British sabotage organization Special Operations Executive. Unlike many SOE agents, she survived the war. She was honored by the British government with the MBE and the George Cross, and was made a Chevalier de la LĂ©gion d’honneur by the French.
Some time after the war, the house of Odette’s mother was burglarized, and these decorations were stolen along with some silver. Odette’s mother appealed via the newspapers for the return of the decorations, and the thief sent them back along with this note:
You, Madame, appear to be a dear old lady. God bless you and your children. I thank you for having faith in me. I am not all that bad – it’s just circumstances. Your little dog really loves me. I gave him a nice pat and left him a piece of meat – out of fridge.
Sincerely yours,
A Bad Egg.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:35 am
“Unlike many SOE agents, she survived the war.”
Violette Szabo.
Noor Inayat Khan.
SOE lost a lot of people.