AI-generated image of archival research materials on a wooden table, including document boxes, a typed page, photographs, tags, and a magnifying glass.

What the MI5 Files Record: Equipment of the 1940–41 Agents

/ Archives, Things / 4 minutes of reading

The wartime spy case files contain no consolidated inventory of equipment; each agent’s gear must be reconstructed from scattered documentation. Any attempt to identify patterns requires scanning hundreds of documents across dozens of individual files. Years ago, I began compiling a spreadsheet to track key information on the wartime spies, specifically those tried under the

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Open archival storage box containing typed mid-twentieth-century documents on a wooden table in a records repository.

Tracing MI5’s Donation of Captured Spy Equipment to the IWM

/ Archives, Things / 7 minutes of reading

Tucked away within two wartime spy files are documents that shed light on the provenance of some of the spy equipment displayed at the Imperial War Museum. After the war, Lt. Col. W.E. Hinchley-Cooke oversaw the donation of some of the spy artifacts to the museum and a small series of internal MI5 memos reference

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Andrzej Mrowiński and a woman sit in green armchairs during a book presentation in a library. Andrzej speaks into a microphone while the woman reviews notes. Bookshelves and a keyboard stand are visible in the background.

Andrzej Mrowiński: Preserving the Stories of Barlinek Jews

/ Books / 3 minutes of reading

About four years ago, a reader of this blog reached out to me after reading my post on Gerhard (Gert) Drucker. His name was Andrzej Mrowiński, and he had been researching the Jewish families of Berlinchen (now Barlinek)—the same town where Gerhard was born and spent his early childhood. Andrzej had become particularly invested in

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Sepia-toned image of three pairs of women’s leather Mary Jane shoes placed in front of a pitted wall marked with bullet holes.

Espionage and Execution in 1940: Anna Lilian von Vaupel-Klein

/ People / 15 minutes of reading

Several years ago, I came across Harm Knol Bruins in the Guy Liddell diaries. His story intrigued me and I dug deeper. How had a Dutchman, caught with a wireless transmitter, managed to escape the hangman’s noose? More to the point, why had his wife—complicit in his crimes—been shot by firing squad, while he survived?

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Four working replicas of Second World War LENA spy wireless sets and components recreated by Thomas Hoeppe.

Labour of Love: Bringing the LENA Spy Radios Back to Life

/ Things / 9 minutes of reading

We know what the wireless sets carried by Germany’s LENA agents looked like. But what happens when someone actually tries to build one—and make it work? After years of research, photographs, measurements and experimentation, Thomas Hoeppe has done just that. Early in this blog’s history, in 2014, I wrote a post about the wireless transmitter/receivers

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Green vintage mailbox mounted on a brick wall, used as header image for “From the Mailbox” blog series.

From the Mailbox – Eyeglasses, Escapes, and Spy Radios – September 2026

/ Mailbox / 5 minutes of reading

I am always amazed at what correspondence comes while this blog goes on hiatus. This summer is no exception. Some of these will generate a stand-alone blog, while others will lead to an update on an existing blog. Tower of London: Royal Armouries and Historic Royal Palaces The Tower of London is in the process

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