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Ancient Craft - Dr. James Dilley
The pinnacle of prehistoric European flintknapping?
Found on the Danish island of Fænø around 1876 this
stunning flint dagger was owned by Hindsgavl Manor
on Funen until it was purchased by the National
Museum of Denmark.
Known as the "Hindsgavl Dagger", it features on
the 100 krone note.It is believed to date from
2400-1800BC based on similar examples which
are known as fish-tail type IV daggers. They come
from a period at the end of Stone Age when status
was shown by the quality of the dagger you owned
or could be buried with. There are suggestions
these late Neolithic daggers were imitations of the
earliest metal examples already in circulation.
There would have been few metalworkers at this
time so their work was very valuable. However
there would have been just as few (if not fewer)
flintknappers who could have produced work as
fine as the Hindsgavl Dagger.
To create the dagger, a large piece of flint would
have been shaped with hammerstones into a
roughout before it was refined with antler hammers
into a dagger blank. Pressure flaking may have been
started to create the final blade shape before it was
ground smooth. With a smooth surface, rippling
flakes could have been detached. The stitching effect
on the handle would have been achieved by pressure
flaking and indirect punchwork.

WWII uncovered: Women's History Month:
Honouring Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle Heroine of the SOE
Born in South Africa on 8 April 1921, Phyllis "Pippa" Latour
was an orphan by the age of 3 years old. Adopted by her
French father's cousin, Pippa relocated to England in 1939
to finish her education. In November of 1941 she joined
the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) as a flight
mechanic for airframes.
"They took a group of about 20 of us away for training.
It was unusual training – not what I expected, and very hard.
It wasn't until after my first round of training that they told
me they wanted me to become a member of the SOE.
They said I could have three days to think about it. I told
them I didn't need three days to make a decision - I'd take
the job now." - Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle - Stuff
New Zealand November 25, 2014 interview
Latour officially joined the Special Operations Executive
on 01 November 1943 and was commissioned as an
Honorary Section Officer.
According to the New Zealand Army News:
"She parachuted into Orne, Normandy on 01 May 1944
to operate as part of the Scientist circuit, using the
codename Genevieve. Pippa worked as a wireless
operator with Resistance member Claude de Baissac,
or “Denis,” who was also a southern-African, and of
Mauritian origin, and his sister Lisé de Baissac
(the courier). Denis had to plug gaps in the SOE’s
northern France operations caused by double agents
and lay the groundwork for an anticipated Allied
landing. For Pippa’s cover story, De Baissac had
forged papers showing she had left Paris to study
painting. Within days of dropping into France,
Latour made contact with London, using a safe
house belonging to a doctor, before shifting to
de Baissac’s farmhouse headquarters."
"Word got back to the network that an informer
was among the resistance group who collected
Pippa and that the Germans had discovered her
parachute. Forced to move, Pippa, who by now
was working closely with de Baissac’s sister Lise,
known as “Odile,” fled on a bicycle and set up in a
barn. Using radio sets hidden round the countryside,
Latour sent a stream of coded reports to London."
- Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, Mission Improbable:
A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France
"Small of stature, Latour, who was fluent in French,
posed as a teenage girl whose family had moved to the
region to escape the Allied bombing. She rode bicycles
around the area, selling soap and chatting with German
soldiers. When she obtained any military intelligence,
she encoded it for transmitting using one-time codes
that were hidden on a piece of silk that she used to tie
up her hair. At one point, she was brought in for
questioning, but the German authorities did not think
to examine her hair tie, and she was released."
(Beryl E. Escott et. al)
Following the war, Phyllis married Patrick Doyle, an
Australian engineer. The couple relocated to Kenya,
then Fiji, Australia and eventually settling in Auckland
New Zealand. Pippa and Patrick had four children.
A highly decorated veteran of World War II,
Phyllis Latour Doyle was honored with the Member of
the Order of the British Empire, Croix de Guerre
1939–1945, France and Germany Star, Defense Medal
and on 25 November 2014 she was awarded the Legion
of Honor, France’s highest military honor.
Pippa passed away on 07 October 2023 at the age of 102.

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