#Female agent best driver#

Hall was hired by the newly-created Special Operations Executive and became its second-ever female agent. She then moved to Spain, where she met a British Intelligence officer, who became her connection for her dream job in England.

#Female agent best driver#

So in 1939, she left her post as a consular clerk.ĭetermined to do more than work as a clerk, but with limited options as a woman, Hall took a job as an ambulance driver for the army of France in 1940, at the start of World War II. Her attempts to become a diplomat with the United States Foreign Service were repeatedly denied because women were not permitted to be employees at the time, and she was also rejected because of a rule against hiring people with disabilities. In school in the United States, she had studied she studied French, Italian, and German, and she continued her studies in France, Germany, and Austria, before being appointed a Consular Service clerk at the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, and then Venice and Estonia.ĭuring her time in Europe, Hall had a hunting accident, which resulted in the amputation of her lower left leg. A bright, inquisitive child and student, she went on to attend Radcliffe College, Barnard College, and George Washington University, before finishing her schooling in Europe. Hall was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1906. Though her name may not sound familiar to most people, Hall is regarded as America’s greatest female spy. Everyone loves a dramatic tale of espionage and danger! And there is one spy whose story stands out from all the others: Virginia Hall. A lot of those incredible World War II stories involve spies. Even after the war ended, it was dangerous to release the names of spies who may still be involved in operations, or potentially make people targets for retaliation.īut now that it is safe to declassify information about the war, we are learning of some incredible tales of bravery and dazzling heroics at long last. Part of the reason is because of the internet and how readily people can share information, and part of the reason is because classified documents are finally being made public after all these years. It has been 75 years since World War II ended, but there are still new incredible stories being uncovered all the time.