Susan Travers
Susan Travers was a woman born into privilege, but she did not let it define her. She grew up to wealthy but unhappy parents until she was saved by an aunt who gave her the money to become a semi-professional tennis player and travel Europe. When she was 30 years old, war broke out and she did not hesitate to join the French Red Cross as a nurse. She was given the job of being an ambulance driver in Finland as part of the French Expeditionary Force. When Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, she left Finland and made her way to England.
In England, she joined the Free French Forces. By 1941, she became the chauffeur for the medical officer of the French Foreign Legion during the Syrian campaign. The legionnaires began calling her “la Miss.” She was willing to go whenever the Free French Foreign Legion went, including North Africa and the Congo. In 1942 her unit was sent to the fort of Bir Hakeim.
In May, the situation at Bir Hakeim turned dire when the Axis powers began attacking the fort. They surrounded the entire fort with minefields and panzer forces, hoping to wait out the Allies within. When the Allies started running low on water and ammunition, it was decided by Colonel Marie-Pierre Koenig to break out of the fort under the cover of darkness. Susan Travers led the escape driving Koeing’s car, not stopping even after an exploded mine revealed the escape. When they finally reached the British front line, the car was riddled with bullets but most of the convoy made it to safety by following her path through the mines.
Travers continued working as driver and nurse throughout the rest of the war. When the war ended, she decided to become an official member of the French Foreign Legion. Women had never before been allowed in the legion, but she deliberately left her sex off the form and her application was accepted, making her the first woman in the French Foreign Legion.