Part four
Suggested inquiry questions: What does Noor's file show about her training?
Potential activities: Examine Noor's finishing report; watch the actor in the role of Maurice Buckmaster.
Download: Lesson pack
What does the document look like as an object? Don’t read the contents but focus on the way it has been produced and set out on the page. You could talk about the fact that it has been typed on a typewriter (not on a computer!), and that some of the information has been underlined. You could also draw the pupils’ attention to the fact that additional people have also written on the document – there are at least two different styles of handwriting, one penned in ink and the other in pencil. You can even discuss how the document might have been kept, or filed. Draw attention to the punched holes in the margin and how this can reveal that this document comes from a much bigger file.
Explain that this document is Noor Khan’s final report for her completed SOE training (a bit like an end-of-year school report). It talks about what she’s done well and what she has found more challenging.
Tasks
Listen to the audio of the document:
- What skills/abilities are being commented on? Draw attention to the codes section ‘envelope opening’. What do the pupils think this means? Why has Noor Khan been trained to do this?
- At least two different people have contributed to this report. Do they both agree about Noor Khan’s abilities? What is each person saying about her?
- Explain that the main author of the report is not that impressed by Noor Khan’s abilities, but that Maurice Buckmaster (whose handwriting is on the document and who was Head of the French section of SOE) has a very different opinion of Noor.
Play video 5, SOE Maurice Buckmaster:
- Explain that an actor playing the role of Maurice Buckmaster is going to tell us a little bit more about his opinion of Noor Khan. What are his judgements of her?
- Explain that from the moment of Noor Khan’s initial training as an SOE agent, her suitability for the role was thrown into question, with some people like Buckmaster staunchly defending her and others less impressed by her capabilities. Even today historians have been divided in their assessment of her.
Time for debate!
Split the class into small groups, and task one half of the class with coming up with arguments in support of sending Noor Khan into France, and the other half of the group with suggesting arguments against sending Noor to France.
Pupils could also discuss whether they think having female spies was a good idea, and finish with a vote to decide whether or not they would send Noor into occupied territory.
Keep this as an oral activity so that all can participate.
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Suggested inquiry questions: What does Noor's file show about her training?
Potential activities: Examine Noor's finishing report; watch the actor in the role of Maurice Buckmaster.
Download: Lesson pack
The National Archives
