Vera Leigh was born as Vera Glass on March 17, 1903, in Leeds, England. Abandoned shortly after birth, she was adopted by H. Eugene Leigh, a prominent American racehorse trainer, and grew up in Maisons-Laffitte near Paris. After gaining experience in the fashion industry, she became a partner in the Paris fashion house Rose Valois in 1927 and established herself within the city's fashionable social circles.

Following the fall of Paris in 1940, Leigh moved to Lyon, where she became involved with the French Resistance. She assisted Allied servicemen trapped behind enemy lines and helped guide them through escape routes leading out of occupied France. In 1942, she escaped to England via Spain and Gibraltar, where she volunteered for wartime service and was recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Her fluency in French and strong performance during training led to her deployment to occupied France in May 1943 as a courier for SOE's F Section.

Operating under the codename "Simone," Leigh carried messages between resistance networks in Paris and the surrounding regions while also assisting escape lines that aided Allied airmen. Her activities continued until October 1943, when the Gestapo arrested her following the betrayal of the INVENTOR network. She was imprisoned at Fresnes Prison before being transferred to Germany in May 1944.

On July 6, 1944, Leigh and three other captured female SOE agents were taken to Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp, where they were executed by phenol injection, and their bodies cremated and never recovered. For her courage and sacrifice, she was posthumously awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct. Today, she is commemorated at several memorials in the United Kingdom and France, including the Tempsford Memorial to Women of SOE. Her name is memorialized in the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial.

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org