Mary Katherine Herbert
Mary Katherine Herbert | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Claudine |
| Born | 1 October 1903 Ireland |
| Died | 23 January 1983 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom, France |
| Branch | Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Special Operations Executive, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry |
| Years of service | 1941 (WAAF) / 1942–1944 (SOE) |
| Unit | Scientist |
| Relations | Claude de Baissac, Lisé de Baissac |
Mary Katherine Herbert (also known as Maureen) (1 October 1903 – 23 January 1983), code named Claudine, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II in France. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Herbert was the only known female agent of SOE to have a baby while working in France during the war. The father was her organiser (leader), Claude de Baissac. The couple later married but never lived together.