Best-selling author Shrabani Basu to give ‘Spy Princess’ talk at Ditchley Park in museum charity fundraiser

• 7pm, Wednesday 6^th September 2023 at Ditchley Park
• Shrabani Basu is the best-selling author of Victoria and Abdul and Spy Princess
• Tells the story of Noor Inayat Khan GC a Second World War secret agent codenamed ‘Madeleine’
• Tickets sold raise funds for Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust, in memory of former Trustee and friend Major Tom Shannon

Best-selling author Shrabani Basu will give a talk on the story of Noor Inayat Khan, the first woman radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France in 1943, at Ditchley Park on Wednesday 6^th September 2023 from 7pm.

Based on interviews with her family, colleagues and secret service records, Shrabani Basu traces the journey of Noor Inayat Khan from her early life in Paris as a writer and a musician to her recruitment by the British secret service, her valuable work for the Allies, and final death in Dachau concentration camp in September 1944.

As her circuit collapsed around her, she remained the last link with London and refused to abandon her post despite the dangers. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her extraordinary bravery, and France honoured her with the Croix de Guerre.

This talk has been organised in celebration of the life of Major Tom Shannon, a friend of Basu and former Trustee of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, who sadly passed away in August 2022. Proceeds from ticket sales from this event support Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust. It is planned to be the first in a series of lectures held in his memory.

The co-founder of Oxford Metrics, Tom had served as a Reservist in the Australian Army, and in the Territorial Army in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Alongside his Trusteeship of the county’s military museum, he was secretary of the Army Benevolent Fund in Buckinghamshire and a long serving chairman of the Oxford Club.

The venue for this event will be the magnificent Ditchley Park, with the ticket price including a donation to the museum, as well as drinks and canapes.

Tickets can be purchased from the museum website, with virtual tickets to watch the event live online also available for those unable to attend in person.