Thread by @claremulley

I’m absolutely thrilled to be sitting in the new ‘Granville Suite’ in London’s brand new #Raffles hotel in the renovated #OldWarOffice.
It is named in honour of the first woman to serve Britain as a special agent in #WW2… 1/9

#krystynaskarbek aka #christinegranville was born a Polish countess. She was the longest-serving agent, male or female, & among the highest achieving…
In 1941, after her latest remarkable mission, #winstonchurchill called Granville his ‘favourite spy’. 2/9

Poorly treated after the war, despite service in occupied France in 1944 that made her legendary & her by then being a British citizen, I don’t think she would have objected to the level of luxury offered in the Granville Suite… (those 2 cases are showers!) 3/9

And here’s the outside of the #OWO @raffleshotels , a building so well known to #Churchill, #Menzies, #IanFleming etc… all filling the high ceilings with cigarette & cigar smoke… 4/9

I wish she could have seen the many ways she is being remembered now… with this ‘Granville Suite’… and… 5/9

With an @EnglishHeritage blue plaque on her last address… 1 Lexham Gardens, London and… 6/9

On the Tempsford Memorial to the female #SOE agents unveiled by then Prince Charles… and 7/9

With this wonderful bronze bust by sculptor @wolter_ian, commissioned by @ognisko_polskie, London’s Polish club, where you can ask to see it in the Members Room… and not least…8/9

In my biography of her, which tells her remarkable life story using interviews with friends & family, archives in London & Warsaw, & liberal use of the Freedom of Information Act! 9/9