Sophie Moss
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Sophie Moss (born Zofia Roza Maria Jadwiga Elzbieta Katarzyna Aniela Tarnowska; 16 March 1917 – 22 November 2009) was a
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
noblewoman A noblewoman is a female member of the nobility. Noblewomen form a disparate group, which has evolved over time. Ennoblement of women has traditionally been a rare occurrence; the majority of noblewomen were linked to the nobility by either their ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
organiser. At the request of
Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...
, Poland's wartime leader, she founded the
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
branch of the
Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross (, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. On regaining its ind ...
.


Early life

Moss was born on 16 March 1917 in
Rudnik nad Sanem Rudnik nad Sanem (until 1997 ''Rudnik'', ''Ridnik'') is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,765 (02.06.2009). The town is located next to the river San, hence the "nad Sanem" (on the San) part of ...
. Her father was a politician and a writer named Hieronim. Her grandfather was
Stanisław Tarnowski Count Stanisław Tarnowski (7 November 1837 – 31 December 1917) was a Polish nobleman (''szlachcic''), historian, literary critic and publicist. Life He was born on 7 November 1837 and hailed from an aristocratic family. His father was Ja ...
, who was a professor and rector at
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. Moss was also a possible direct descendant of
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
and her family held some of the highest offices in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In 1937, she married Andrew Tarnowski, a member of the senior branch of the family. Her first son died in July 1939 before the age of two.


World War II


Invasion

At the outbreak of war, Tarnowska and her husband left their home to the front where Poland was fighting against the Germans. She burnt her passport as a gesture of commitment to never leaving Polish soil. Tarnowska and her companions, including her brother Stanislaw, after spending two weeks travelling Poland by car, finally resigned themselves to cross the border into
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, reaching
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
as the
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
invasion progressed from the east. As sympathy for the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
cause grew in Bucharest, they left for
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. They traveled through the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
, where their second baby son died. They traveled to
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
, where their marriage broke down. Separated from her husband, Tarnowska left Palestine and travelled to
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, where she and her sister-in-law were welcomed by Prince Youssef Kamal ed-Dine (a visitor to Poland before the War). She began working for the
International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...
, tracing missing Allied soldiers.
General Sikorski A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Mar ...
, the Polish Prime Minister-in-Exile and Commander-in-Chief, visited Cairo in November 1941. At his request, Tarnowska set up the Cairo branch of the Polish Red Cross with the help of Lady Lampson, wife of Sir Miles Lampson, the British Ambassador, and Sir Duncan Mackenzie of the
British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...
. She became friends with
King Farouk Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...
and
Queen Farida Farida (born Safinaz Zulficar 5 September 1921 – 16 October 1988) was the queen of Egypt for nearly eleven years as the first wife of King Farouk. She was the first queen of Egypt since Cleopatra to have left seclusion and played a public r ...
. Tarnowska was living at the National Hotel as
Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...
's troops advanced into Egypt in June 1942 after the fall of
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop ...
. Cairo was evacuated, and many of her contemporaries left for Palestine, but she refused to leave and carried on working for the Polish Red Cross until she was ordered to leave for Palestine by the Polish Legation. She refused and instead set off for the front in Alexandria, to be near the troops of the First Battle of El Alamein. There she stayed in a hotel as the only guest, all others having fled. As Rommel's advance was halted, Tarnowska returned to Cairo in July 1942 to welcome the returning evacuees.


''Tara''

In 1943, Tarnowska moved into a
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
on
Gezira Island Gezira is an island in the Nile, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira district, and the northern third contains the Zamalek district. Gezira is west of downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square, connected acr ...
rented by
W. Stanley Moss Ivan William Stanley Moss Military Cross, MC (15 June 1921 – 9 August 1965), commonly known as W. Stanley Moss or Billy Moss, was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist, and traveller. ...
, with a group of British SOE officers including: *
W. Stanley Moss Ivan William Stanley Moss Military Cross, MC (15 June 1921 – 9 August 1965), commonly known as W. Stanley Moss or Billy Moss, was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist, and traveller. ...
Moss, W. Stanley, ''Diary'', 1944 *
Xan Fielding Alexander Wallace Fielding (26 November 1918 – 19 August 1991), known as Xan Fielding, was a British author, translator, journalist and traveller, who served as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in Crete, France and East Asia during ...
* Arnold Breene *
Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greate ...
* Billy McLean *
David Smiley Colonel David de Crespigny Smiley, (11 April 1916 – 9 January 2009) was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Syria, the Western Desert and with Special Operations Exec ...
* Rowland Winn The villa was dubbed "Tara" by its occupants – after
Hill of Tara The Hill of Tara ( or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. ...
, mythical home of the
High Kings of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
. It became a centre for entertaining diplomats, officers, writers, lecturers, war correspondents, and local party-goers, hosted by Tarnowska, in the guise of "Princess Dneiper-Petrovsk" with: * McLean as "Sir Eustace Rapier" * Smiley as "the Marquis of Whipstock" * Winn as "the Hon. Rupert Sabretache" * Fielding as "Lord Hughe Devildrive" * Breene as "Lord Pintpot" * Leigh Fermor as "Lord Rakehell" * Moss as "Mr Jack Jargon" Tarnowska used experience liqueur-making on her father's estates to produce the party drinks. By the winter of 1944, the owner of the damaged property secured the eviction of the occupants, who moved into a flat.


Family

In 1945, she married
W. Stanley Moss Ivan William Stanley Moss Military Cross, MC (15 June 1921 – 9 August 1965), commonly known as W. Stanley Moss or Billy Moss, was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist, and traveller. ...
. He had fought with the Eighth Army in the
North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
before joining the
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
based in Cairo. He is best known for the kidnapping of Heinrich Kreipe to Egypt in April and May 1944. He became a best-selling author in the 1950s. They had three children, Christine Isabelle Mercedes, named after their mutual friend and former SOE agent
Krystyna Skarbek Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek, (, ; 1 May 1908 – 15 June 1952), also known as Christine Granville, was a Polish agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. She became celebrated for her daring exploi ...
(Christine Granville), Sebastian (who died in infancy), and Gabriella Zofia. Initially living in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, they moved to Riverstown House,
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
in Ireland. They later returned to London,
Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...
, but separated in 1957. Moss died in 1965 in
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...
.


Visit to Poland

When Tarnowska left her father's home in 1939, he gave her the personal seventeenth-century
jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
(''"proporzec"''), of King Karl Gustav of Sweden, a trophy won at his army's defeat on the Tarnowski estate during the
Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
. In 1957, she and her brother Stanislaw, also living in London, decided to donate the flag to the Wawel Art Collection in Kraków, where it remains. The government highlighted the cultural event and granted the visiting party visas, but Tarnowska declined the offers of expenses-paid travel and hospitality.Hickey, William, ''Daily Express'', 20 April 1957 The siblings paid their own expenses and were allowed to revisit Rudnik. After the fall of the Polish People's Republic, Tarnowska's nephew was able to buy back Rudnik, dilapidated and then gradually restored. She and her brother were later able to host several family gatherings on the estate in Poland.


Later years

For much of the latter part of her life, she lived in London and spent her summer months in Ireland.


Publications

* Schulz, Bruno, transl. by
W. Stanley Moss Ivan William Stanley Moss Military Cross, MC (15 June 1921 – 9 August 1965), commonly known as W. Stanley Moss or Billy Moss, was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist, and traveller. ...
and Zofia Tarnowska Moss. "My father joins the fire brigade".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Sophie 1917 births 2009 deaths Tarnowski family People from Nisko County