The Germany Army went into the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 2nd August 1914. During WW1 people from Luxembourg fought on both sides. Luxembourg was important as, due to its geographical position and the railway system, trains from Germany to France went through there.
During a visit to see her son in Paris during the First World War, Lise was recruited by the British as a secret agent to provide valuable information about the German troop movements and trains that travelled through Luxembourg. Lise put the information into carefully worded texts which were then published in advertisements placed in the local newspaper “Landwirt”.
Lise died on 28th February 1940 in Luxembourg City.
Lise’s story is fascinating - she travelled from her home in Luxembourg in the area held by the Germans via Switzerland to Paris, which remained a free city during WW1, and then set up a network to provide vital information to the British.
I mention Lise in the book of the Inspirational Women of World War One Exhibition "No Woman's Land" but you can find out the whole amazing story in the book “The Secrets of Rue St. Roch” by Janet Morgan (London: Allen Lane, 2004).
An exhibition held at the British Embassy in Luxembourg City in 2018 remembered Lise and her contribution.
Sources: “The Secrets of Rue St. Roch” by Janet Morgan (Penguin, London, 2004).
https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Rischard
