Description
Physical description
medal, ribbon and fitted case of issue
silver cross, of Greek form, with the mounted figure of St George (on horseback) and the dragon in a central raised roundel surrounded by a band bearing the text: 'FOR GALLANTRY'. At the base of the circlet bearing the text is a small Tudor rose. The whole superimposed upon an edged cross. In each angle formed by the arms of the cross a small 'GVI' cipher. The cross is suspended from a straight (laurelled) suspender bar and the ribbon is dark blue, often referred to as 'Garter' blue. This example is named and dated on the reverse to ODETTE MARIE CELINA (sic) . MRS SANSON (sic). M.B.E.,F.A.N.Y., 20 August, 1946. For awards to ladies, the ribbon is formed into a bow unless the recipient is a member of a uniformed service when the ribbon is worn in the usual way.
Label
Mrs Odette Marie Celine Hallowes (see Sansom) (28 Apr 1912 - 13 Mar 1995). Lieutenant Officer Odette Marie Celine Sansom (nee Brailly), Women's Transport Service (FANY)/Special Operations Executive (SOE, F Section), was born in France on 28 April 1912. In 1931, she married an Englishman and came to live in Britain. She was recruited by SOE in the spring of 1942 and, after training, was sent to Vichy France in October. In April 1943 she and her colleague Peter Churchill were arrested. Despite prolonged interrogation and torture, she refused to reveal any information. After a year in French prisons, including Fresnes Prison, Paris, Mrs Sansom was taken to Germany in July 1944 and interned in Ravensbruck concentration camp. There she was held in solitary confinement in a cell without light or heat but still refused to co-operate with her captors. Although she was sentenced to death, the Germans' belief that she was married to Peter Churchill and thereby related to Winston Churchill (Peter Churchill was not related to the Prime Minister), prevented them from carrying out the execution. On 3 May 1945, shortly before the German surrender, she was escorted across the Allied lines to safety. Odette Sansom, who later married Peter Churchill, was awarded the George Cross on 20 August 1946, the first woman so honoured. Later, as Mrs Geoffrey Hallowes, she became prominent in her old service, the WTS (FANY), and was on the Committee of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. Mrs Hallowes, a national figure in Britain and a living symbol of the French Resistance, died in Surrey on 13 March 1995.
History note
Mrs Odette Marie Celine Hallowes (see Sansom) (28 Apr 1912 - 13 Mar 1995). Lieutenant Officer Odette Marie Celine Sansom (nee Brailly), Women's Transport Service (FANY)/Special Operations Executive (SOE, F Section), was born in France on 28 April 1912. In 1931, she married an Englishman and came to live in Britain. She was recruited by SOE in the spring of 1942 and, after training, was sent to Vichy France in October. In April 1943 she and her colleague Peter Churchill were arrested. Despite prolonged interrogation and torture, she refused to reveal any information. After a year in French prisons, including Fresnes Prison, Paris, Mrs Sansom was taken to Germany in July 1944 and interned in Ravensbruck concentration camp. There she was held in solitary confinement in a cell without light or heat but still refused to co-operate with her captors. Although she was sentenced to death, the Germans' belief that she was married to Peter Churchill and thereby related to Winston Churchill (Peter Churchill was not related to the Prime Minister), prevented them from carrying out the execution. On 3 May 1945, shortly before the German surrender, she was escorted across the Allied lines to safety. Odette Sansom, who later married Peter Churchill, was awarded the George Cross on 20 August 1946, the first woman so honoured. Later, as Mrs Geoffrey Hallowes, she became prominent in her old service, the WTS (FANY), and was on the Committee of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. Mrs Hallowes, a national figure in Britain and a living symbol of the French Resistance, died in Surrey on 13 March 1995.
Inscribed (on reverse)
ODETTE MARIE CELINA. MRS SANSON. M.B.E.,F.A.N.Y., 20 August, 1946.
