Unsung Heroes: Susan Travers
Hello history buffs!
Today we yet another new series (and this one is super exciting). We are going to discus unsung heroes. Although all of the men and women who volunteer to serve their country are brave, not all of them go down in history like the George Washington's of the world. Saying this, it is our duty to keep their names and memories alive. To those that fought for a better world... this is for you...
Our first unsung hero comes to us thanks to the White Viking who introduced me to this brave woman. Susan Travers was an Englishwoman who served in the French Red Cross during WWII. Travers was the daughter of Eleanor Catherine and Francis Eaton Travers, a Royal Naval Admiral.
At the outbreak of the Second World War Susan Travers joined the French Red Cross as a nurse. She would later become an ambulance driver with the French Expeditionary Force in 1940. This did not last long. France fell in June on 1940. From there she went to London and joined the Free French Division. She would travel to Syria and Lebanon to aid in Operation Exporter (British Invasion of Vichy French Syria and Labanon in June and July of 1941). Here, it is said that she negotiated minefields, enemy attacks, and earned the nickname "La Miss" from her thousand male comrades. She also had an affair with a White Russian prince (yes, my curiosity is peaked too).
Not long after, Travers was reassigned as the driver to Colonel Marie-Pierre Koenig. It was their affair that she would call the greatest love affair of her life. In 1942, Koenig's forces were assigned to Bir Hakeim. The battle of Bir Hakeim took place on an oasis on the Libyan desert. All women were ordered to leave but Susan Travers refused to leave Koenig's side.
Koenig's forces were almost destroyed by the Afrika Korps (aka German Africa Corps). The Germans expected to win the battle in fifteen minutes. Yet, the Free French Division held onto it for an amazing fifteen days. This battle became a symbol of resistance across the world. During the battle Susan was the only man among more than 3,500 men. During the battle the soldiers dug her into a coffin-sized hole in the desert floor where she hid for the fifteen days while listening to the cries of war.
When all of the supplies ran out Koenig decided that they needed to make their escape. Travers was his driver and thus was ordered to take the wheel and help led the escape. Author Wendy Holden, on behalf of Susan Travers, wrote that "Under heavy machine gun fire, she finally burst through enemy lines, creating a path for the rest ,to follow. Only stopping when she reached Allied lines several hours later, she noted 11 bullet holes and severe shrapnel damage to the vehicle." She helped lead 2,500 men to safety and, thanks to her bravery, Koenig was promoted to the rank of General. Without really saying goodbye, Koenig took his new post, returned to his wife, and started living the life of a high official.
When the war ended Travers applied to be a formal member of the Legion, omitting her gender on the application. The man who accepted her application knew exactly who she was and was happy to make her the first female in the French Foreign Legion. She would be posted in Vietnam during the First Indo-China War where she would meet and marry her fellow legionnaire, Nicholas Schlegelmilch. They would go on to have two sons and live quietly outside Paris.
Right before she passed, Travers wrote her autobiography (with the help of author Wendy Holden). She had waited until all of the major principals in her story (except her obviously) had passed, she had not wanted to subject any unwanted attention on those she shared her life with. She passed away on December 18, 2003 at the age of ninety four.
There is only the one book and one writer that has remembered the memory of this great woman. The only woman in the French Foreign Legion has been forgotten by most of the world. I hope that you read this, remember her, and help share her story with the world...
"All the true heroes of history will be forgotten and all the villains will be remembered as heroes." ~ Leo Tolstoy
Today we yet another new series (and this one is super exciting). We are going to discus unsung heroes. Although all of the men and women who volunteer to serve their country are brave, not all of them go down in history like the George Washington's of the world. Saying this, it is our duty to keep their names and memories alive. To those that fought for a better world... this is for you...Our first unsung hero comes to us thanks to the White Viking who introduced me to this brave woman. Susan Travers was an Englishwoman who served in the French Red Cross during WWII. Travers was the daughter of Eleanor Catherine and Francis Eaton Travers, a Royal Naval Admiral.
At the outbreak of the Second World War Susan Travers joined the French Red Cross as a nurse. She would later become an ambulance driver with the French Expeditionary Force in 1940. This did not last long. France fell in June on 1940. From there she went to London and joined the Free French Division. She would travel to Syria and Lebanon to aid in Operation Exporter (British Invasion of Vichy French Syria and Labanon in June and July of 1941). Here, it is said that she negotiated minefields, enemy attacks, and earned the nickname "La Miss" from her thousand male comrades. She also had an affair with a White Russian prince (yes, my curiosity is peaked too).
Not long after, Travers was reassigned as the driver to Colonel Marie-Pierre Koenig. It was their affair that she would call the greatest love affair of her life. In 1942, Koenig's forces were assigned to Bir Hakeim. The battle of Bir Hakeim took place on an oasis on the Libyan desert. All women were ordered to leave but Susan Travers refused to leave Koenig's side.
Koenig's forces were almost destroyed by the Afrika Korps (aka German Africa Corps). The Germans expected to win the battle in fifteen minutes. Yet, the Free French Division held onto it for an amazing fifteen days. This battle became a symbol of resistance across the world. During the battle Susan was the only man among more than 3,500 men. During the battle the soldiers dug her into a coffin-sized hole in the desert floor where she hid for the fifteen days while listening to the cries of war.
When all of the supplies ran out Koenig decided that they needed to make their escape. Travers was his driver and thus was ordered to take the wheel and help led the escape. Author Wendy Holden, on behalf of Susan Travers, wrote that "Under heavy machine gun fire, she finally burst through enemy lines, creating a path for the rest ,to follow. Only stopping when she reached Allied lines several hours later, she noted 11 bullet holes and severe shrapnel damage to the vehicle." She helped lead 2,500 men to safety and, thanks to her bravery, Koenig was promoted to the rank of General. Without really saying goodbye, Koenig took his new post, returned to his wife, and started living the life of a high official.
When the war ended Travers applied to be a formal member of the Legion, omitting her gender on the application. The man who accepted her application knew exactly who she was and was happy to make her the first female in the French Foreign Legion. She would be posted in Vietnam during the First Indo-China War where she would meet and marry her fellow legionnaire, Nicholas Schlegelmilch. They would go on to have two sons and live quietly outside Paris.
Right before she passed, Travers wrote her autobiography (with the help of author Wendy Holden). She had waited until all of the major principals in her story (except her obviously) had passed, she had not wanted to subject any unwanted attention on those she shared her life with. She passed away on December 18, 2003 at the age of ninety four.There is only the one book and one writer that has remembered the memory of this great woman. The only woman in the French Foreign Legion has been forgotten by most of the world. I hope that you read this, remember her, and help share her story with the world...
"All the true heroes of history will be forgotten and all the villains will be remembered as heroes." ~ Leo Tolstoy
Im Honoured thank you
ReplyDeleteBrave lady!!
ReplyDelete