The extraordinary story of the Manchester nurse who risked her life as an undercover spy against the Nazis has been pieced together by historians.

Thrice-married Madge Addy lived a life of dashing adventure... helping stranded British troops evade capture in occupied France.

But her heroic exploits would have come to a huge shock to her neighbours in Chorlton, where she had quietly worked at a hairdressing salon.

But local historians have now launched a campaign to honour Madge, who received a Royal honour for her spy work, with a blue plaque in the south Manchester suburb. They are also appealing for further information to complete the puzzle about her remarkable life.

Ms Addy, who was born in Chorlton at the turn of the century, served as a nurse in Spain during the Spanish Civil War then became an agent for the government in occupied France. Research has revealed she was awarded an OBE, or possibly even a CBE, for her work as a spy, with sources suggesting she risked death to carry secret documents for the Allies under the noses of the Nazis.

(Image: UGC. Supplied for use.)

She is also said to have played a key role in setting up one of the largest escape and evasion networks for Allied troops in western Europe.

Chorlton historians Chris Hall and Andrew Simpson have been researching her story, with Andrew documenting the findings on his blog, chorltonhistory.blogspot.com.

Council bosses in Manchester want to honour her life with a blue plaque, with costs met from donations.

Ms Addy’s first name was really Marguerite and she was married three times, first to Arthur Lightfoot, then a Norwegian doctor she met in Spain, Wilhelm Holst, then Thorkold Hansen.

In the mid 1930s, she was believed to be living at an address on Manchester Road in Chorlton and possibly working as a hairdresser. It’s also thought she lived in Rusholme.

Mr Simpson, writing on his blog, reveals she arrived in Spain in 1937 and became a head nurse at a hospital in a monastery in Castile. He said she would write letters to the Chairman of the North Manchester Spanish Medical Aid Committee to help with the campaigns for medical supplies.

Ms Addy, one-of-five siblings, is credited with saving lives and treating many of the sick and wounded in Spain before she was captured and imprisoned as a foreigner when the war ended.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

It is understood the British government lobbied for her release and she was the last nurse to leave Spain. After that, Mr Simpson reveals she married Norwegian Mr Holst and went on to work for the ‘Special Operations Executive’ in France with MI9, a department of the war office.

However little is known about her life after the war - and experts are now keen to understand how she spent her later years.

Historian Andrew said: “Her bravery included travelling as a Norwegian subject on German civil flights, carrying secret messages sewn into the lining of her fur coat.

“As an English woman operating in enemy-occupied territory, she would have known what the penalty would be if caught. She was a remarkable woman and it’s an incredible story. But it’s one that very few people know much about. She died in 1970 but we cannot find an obituary. Despite facing some very dangerous situations in both Spain and France, she does not seem to have sought publicity.”

Letters sent home by Ms Addy from Spain have emerged in which she sought to raise funds for the Republican cause, but the research has turned up only one photograph of her.

Hundreds of men and women served as undercover operatives in occupied countries in Europe - helping file reports on troop and armament movements and working with local resistance.

(Image: Film Four)

Many died in the course of their duty or suffered torture or imprisonment. While others who survived were often requested to stay silent about their extraordinary wartime spying.

One of the most extraordinary heroes Violette Szabo was awarded a posthumous George Cross for carrying out numerous missions in France after her husband was killed in North Africa.

The Manchester nurse’s exploits closely echo those of fictional heroine Charlotte Gray from Sebastian Faulk’s best-selling novel of the same name, later made into a hit film starring Cate Blanchett.

The research is being carried out in conjunction with the International Brigade Memorial Trust, a charity working to keep alive the memory of soldiers, nurses and doctors who served during the Spanish Civil War.

Contact christoff_hall@yahoo.com with any information.

From a salon in Chorlton to the frontline in France

Believed to be born in around 1904, Madge Addy was one of five siblings and appears to have lived an ordinary life in south Manchester.

However it would not stop her displaying exceptional courage during two conflicts in Europe.

Records appear to show Miss Addy and her family lived with their widowed mother at an address in Rusholme Grove, Rusholme.

Historians believe she had a hairdressing business in Chorlton just before she took the extraordinary decision to leave for Spain alongside volunteers to fight with the International Brigades.

She is known to have arrived in Spain as a nurse in 1937 - at a time when other famous British volunteers against Franco’s forces included the writers George Orwell and Laurie Lee.

(Image: Getty Images)

After agreeing to serve in a Republican hospital, she was reportedly the last to leave after being captured when the civil war ended in 1939. The UK government reportedly petitioned for her release.

She then reportedly married her second husband, a Norwegian doctor she met at the hospital, before being recruited as a spy during the Second World War.

Ms Addy was awarded the OBE for her work in France but it is not known exactly when. Little is known of her movements after the war but it’s believed she married her third husband in 1955.

She died in 1970. Historians researching her have as yet been unable to find out where she lived in Chorlton.