The "Proud and Illustrious" Life-Story of "La Miss", Susan Travers
Fondly known as “La Miss” to the Legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion, to this day, Susan Travers remains the only woman to have ever served in the Legion’s ranks.
Born the daughter of an esteemed Royal Navy Admiral, the latter moved Susan to the French Riviera when she was 12 years of age.
Following the swift and unexpected 1940 capitulation of her adopted Nation, however, she then found herself back in her native Britain, where, although she could have settled for a life of upper-class privilege there, she chose instead to enlist as an ambulance driver with the Free French under General Charles de Gaul.
Attached to the revered 13th Demi-Brigade of the Legion Etrangere, she set sail with the 13th for present-day Senegal, from where, she moved north with the Brigade to rendezvous with the British 8th Army in Libya.
Along the way, she met then Général de brigade Marie-Pierre Koenig, who, so impressed he was with her driving ability, he appointed Susan as his chauffeur.
Then deployed with Koenig and his troops to hold the old Ottoman fortress of Bir Hakeim, it was there where Susan distinguished herself in what became one of the fiercest battles in the North African theatre.
Attacked by a vastly superior Axis force on 26th May 1942, the fort was relentlessly bombarded, first, by an endless stream of Stuka dive bombers, and then, by wave after wave of General Erwin Rommel’s Panzers.
As the fighting intensified, Koenig gave the order for all female personnel to flee Bir Hakeim whilst there was still time.
On hearing Koenig’s order, though, Susan refused to leave his side.
For more than two weeks, they held their own against Rommel and his Italian allies, choosing only to mount a breakout once they’d exhausted all of their ammunition, food, and water supplies.
When the breakout was initiated, it was none other than Susan who volunteered herself to lead Koenig’s column across the desert through minefields, heavy artillery, and machine gun fire, and, in so doing, it’s Susan who’s widely credited for having guided him and his soldiers to the safety of British lines.
Soon after they reached them, Koening was made Général de Division, and Susan, despite being given the opportunity to return to England, admirably made the decision to stay with the French Foreign Legion.
In May 1945, she was formally enrolled as a fully-fledged Legionnaire; promoted to the rank of Adjudant-Chef, and subsequently deployed to Indochina where she served with distinction again.
Bestowed not just the Medaille Militaire for her heroics, but also the Croix de Guerre, she was then presented with the Legion d’Honneur just four years before her passing on this day in 2000.
“Of course, I’m flattered”, she said upon receipt of France’s highest military accolade.
"But please, let's not get carried away. I was young and in search of an adventure. Thankfully, I found it when the Legion admitted me to its proud and illustrious family."