Uncovering NZ's Last Secret Agent with Jude Dobson

Pippa Latour was one of the last female special operations agent in France to get out alive after its liberation in WWII. Born in 1921, she became a covert special operations agent who parachuted into a field in Nazi-occupied Normandy.

Demonstrating incredible bravery – Pippa could be instantly shot if her cover was blown – she sent 135 secret messages conveying crucial information about German Troops in the lead-up to D-Day, posing as a soap seller to get information and concealing codes in her shoelaces and hair ties. Pippa continued her mission until France’s liberation in 1944 but until now, no one, not even her children, knew her remarkable story. Before Pippa's death last year at 102, TV personality Jude Dobson documented her full story in the new book, The Last Secret Agent.

About Pippa La Tour

Following the war, Pippa settled in New Zealand where she raised four children. For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats during WWII.

For seventy years, Pippa's contributions to the war effort were largely unheralded, but she was finally given her due in 2014 when she was awarded France's highest military decoration, the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour).

Pippa was the last surviving F (French) Section Special Operations (SOE) agent from World War II.

Pippa finally decided to tell her remarkable story, written with the assistance of TV personality and award-winning historical documentary producer and writer Jude Dobson.

About Jude Dobson

Jude has been researching/writing, producing and directing WWI and WWII content for the past six years. She won the New York Radio Awards Bronze Award in 2023 in the historical documentary category, for an Anzac Day audio documentary about WWII aviators telling their stories.

Pippa chose Jude to tell her story and they formed a close bond before Pippa's death in 2023, at the age of 102.

This event is part of Yarns in Barns: Wairarapa Festival of Reading which takes place between 12–26th October 2024. This community-led festival features cracking yarns and tall tales for all ages from some of Aotearoa's best writers and storytellers held in an eclectic range of venues across the Wairarapa. View the full festival programme at yarnsinbarns.co.nz

Presented by Hedley's Books, Fraser Books, Masterton District Library and the Wairarapa Library Service.