Marguerite (Knight) Smith MBE (1920 - 2004)

Born 19 Apr 1920 in Paris, France

Ancestors

Died 2004 at about age 83 in England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Peggy (Knight) Smith MBE is Notable.

Peggy (Knight) Smith MBE was a British Spy in World War II.

Peggy (Knight) Smith MBE was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Marguerite, (best known as Peggy) was born on 19 April 1920 in Paris, France. She was the daughter of Capt. Alfred Rex Knight and Charlotte Beatrice Mary Ditkowski.

Before becoming a spy, she worked as a short hand typist for the Asea Electric Company of Walthamstow, a district northeast of London, England. In the 1939 register at age 19, she was listed as a short hand typist and single on New Lyn Coombe Avenue, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England.^{[1] [2]}

In the spring of 1944, leaders of the British intelligence organization, Special Operations Executive overheard her speaking French (nearly perfect) in a cafe and immediately recruited her into the (SOE) organization. she was sent behind enemy lines in Vichy France 11 April 1944, to establish herself as a secret British courier. Following the Allied invasion of France at Normandy of June and July 1944, She crossed back and forth between battle lines several times, carrying intelligence messages and information. She narrowly escaped capture and execution later in 1944 when she and a group of resistance fighters were betrayed by one of their number to the Nazis.^[3]

In December 1944, just a month after her return, she married Sub-Lieutenant Eric C. Smith of the Royal Navy. Her marriage was registered in the Oct-Nov-Dec quarter of 1944 in the Essex South Western district.^{[4] [5]} After the war, Eric resumed his peacetime job as a River Lea police inspector in the United Kingdom. The couple had two children together and they moved to Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire County, England.

For her wartime activities, she was later awarded high British, French, and American honors, including appointment as a member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the French Croix de Guerre, and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom [pictured on right].

Her death at age 84 was registered in 2004 in the Truro district.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ 1939 Register: "1939 England and Wales Register"
   The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/2136f; Line Number: 23; Schedule Number: 357; Sub Schedule Number: 3
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61596 #1466704 (accessed 30 November 2022)
   Marguerite Knight (born 19 Apr 1920), single, Short Hand Typist, on New Lyn Coombe Avenue, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England.
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Knight
3. ↑ John Prados, Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003; pg. 15
4. ↑ Marriage Registration: "England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005"
   General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 4a; Page: 498
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8753 #48473051 (accessed 30 November 2022)
   Marguerite D F Knight's marriage to Eric C Smith was registered Oct-Nov-Dec 1944 in Essex South Western.
5. ↑ A copy of Peggy and Eric’s marriage registration information can be found here: https://hannah-howe.com/eves-war/peggy-knight/
6. ↑ Death Registration: "England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007"
   General Register Office; United Kingdom
   Ancestry Record 7579 #12803639 (accessed 30 November 2022)
   Marguerite Diana F Smith's death was registered Sep 2004 in Truro (born 19 Apr 1920).

• http://www.specialforcesroh.com/showthread.php?31743-Knight-Marguerite-Diana-Frances-(Peggy)
• http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/579480.from_the_typewriter_to_blazing_sten_gun/
• http://wartimespyladies.blogspot.com/2013/11/peggy-knight-1920-2004.html
• http://www.leytonhistorysociety.org.uk/peggy_knight_1.html

Read Also:

• Marcus Binney, The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Agents of the Special Operations Executive. New York: William Morrow, 2002. https://www.amazon.com/Women-Who-Lived-Danger-Operations/dp/0060540877

See also:

• Wikipedia: Peggy Knight
• Wikidata: Item Q7160674, en:Wikipedia