Krystyna Skarbek: The Polish Countess Who Became Churchill's Favorite Spy

Before James Bond, there was Christine Granville. And unlike the fictional 007, her story of daring espionage, seductive charm, and incredible bravery is entirely true. Born Krystyna Skarbek in Poland, she was not only an inspiration for Bond's Vesper Lynd but also Britain's first and longest-serving female special agent of the Second World War. Her exploits began months before the legendary Special Operations Executive (SOE) was even formed, cementing her status as a true pioneer of wartime intelligence.

From Polish Aristocrat to British Agent

Born into Polish aristocracy, the daughter of a Count, Krystyna Skarbek was a rebellious and spirited young woman. A beauty queen finalist in her youth, she was living a comfortable life in Africa with her second husband when Germany invaded her homeland in September 1939. Filled with a burning desire to fight back, she and her husband immediately traveled to London. Wasting no time, she walked into the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), unofficially known as MI6, and volunteered her services. The British were initially skeptical, but Skarbek's confidence, fluency in multiple languages, and fierce determination were impossible to ignore. They took a chance on her, and she soon became their first female field agent.

The Perilous Missions of 'Pauline'

Her first mission was as dangerous as they come. Adopting the codename 'Pauline,' she skied from neutral Hungary across the snow-covered Tatra Mountains into occupied Poland. This treacherous route, which she would traverse multiple times, allowed her to act as a vital courier, smuggling intelligence, funds, and propaganda to the Polish resistance. She gathered information on German troop movements, helped organize Polish resistance cells, and facilitated the escape of British prisoners of war. Her courage was legendary; on one occasion, when confronted by two German soldiers on skis, she coolly opened her coat to reveal a grenade pinned to her belt, and the soldiers wisely let her pass.

A Master of Deception

Skarbek's quick thinking and nerve were her greatest weapons. In 1941, she and a fellow Polish agent were arrested by the Gestapo in Hungary. During interrogation, she bit her tongue so hard that she began to cough up blood, convincingly feigning the symptoms of advanced tuberculosis. Terrified of catching the deadly disease, the Gestapo released them both. Her most famous exploit, however, occurred in August 1944 in occupied France. Learning that two of her SOE colleagues, including the unit's leader Francis Cammaerts, had been captured and were scheduled for execution, Skarbek took an audacious gamble. She marched into the local Gestapo headquarters and confronted the commanding officer. In a masterclass of psychological warfare, she introduced herself as a British agent and the niece of General Montgomery, coolly informing the officer that the Allies were hours away and that she could guarantee his safety if he released the prisoners. If he refused, she promised him a swift and terrible retribution. Her bluff worked. Hours later, the prisoners were free. As Cammaerts later recalled:

She was absolutely, bloody, bloody cool. She turned up and said she had to see the man in charge. She was beautiful, she was commanding. The man was petrified. She bullied him and threatened him and he released us.

A Tragic Peace

For her extraordinary service, Skarbek, who had adopted the nom de guerre Christine Granville, was awarded the George Medal, the OBE, and the French Croix de Guerre. She was famously lauded as Winston Churchill's "favourite spy." Yet, the peace she fought so hard for brought her little comfort. With her native Poland now under Soviet control, she was an exile. Despite her heroism, the British government dismissed her with a month's pay and left her to fend for herself. She took on a series of menial jobs, including working as a switchboard operator and a stewardess on a cruise ship. It was there she met a fellow steward, Dennis Muldowney, who became obsessed with her. After she rejected his advances, he stalked her. In June 1952, in the lobby of a London hotel, Muldowney stabbed her to death. The woman who had stared down the Gestapo and survived the deadliest war in history was killed in a place she should have been safe. Krystyna Skarbek's life was a testament to unparalleled courage, a story of a patriot who risked everything for freedom, only to be let down by the very country she served so brilliantly. Her legacy, however, endures as one of the greatest agents of the Second World War.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Krystyna Skarbek
• Imperial War Museums: The Incredible Story Of Christine Granville
• National Army Museum: Christine Granville