The year 2014 is the centenary of the beginning of World War I. From August 5 to November 11, the moat in the Tower of London has been progressively filled with ceramic poppies, one for every Commonwealth soldier who died during the war (888,246). The poppies cascade out of the Tower from two points, the […]
Shot at the Tower – A Commemoration of the Spies executed in the Miniature Rifle Range Read More »
Artifacts from the imprisonment and execution of Josef Jakobs are not held in a central repository. Many organizations and individuals were involved in his capture, interrogation and execution and each seems to have acquired a little fragment of the story. Unfortunately some of the fragments are lost to history. When Josef landed near Ramsey in
The Artifacts of German spy Josef Jakobs Read More »
The German spies who were sent to England from September 1940 to January 1941 were often equipped with a cipher disc to encipher their radio transmissions back to Germany. Cipher discs were first described in a 1467 treatise by Leon Battista Alberti, an Italian Renaissance Man. Two discs, one larger than the other were pinned
A Life Torn to Shreds – Cipher Disc of Josef Jakobs Read More »
Had German spy Josef Jakobs landed uneventfully in Huntingdonshire on the evening of 31 January, 1941, he would still have faced a number of hurdles on his way to London. Wartime Britain had instituted food rationing in January 1940 and every man, woman and child required a Ration Book. All food items were rationed: sugar,
Food for the Hungry – The Ration Book of Josef Jakobs Read More »
The farm field in which German spy Josef Jakobs landed on the night of 31 January 1941 was most likely enshrouded in unrelieved darkness. The waxing crescent moon was hidden behind clouds and British wartime regulations ensured that farmhouse lights were hidden behind blackout curtains. Josef was equipped with two items which would have helped
A Light in the Darkness – The Torch and Lighter of Josef Jakobs Read More »
German spy Josef Jakobs landed in a farmer’s field near the village of Ramsey on the evening of January 31, 1941. Having broken his ankle while leaving the aircraft, Josef was unable to move from his landing place and lay there all night. The following morning at around 8:30 a.m. he fired his pistol into
The Gun that Saved a Life – Josef Jakobs’ Shot in the Dark Read More »
When German spy Josef Jakobs parachuted into a farm field near the village of Ramsey in England, he carried upon his person a small fortune in British currency. Members of the Home Guard who searched him the following morning found wads of new and old £1 notes tucked away in his wallet and various pockets.
Money Money Money – Spy Funds Counterfeit or Legit? Read More »
N.B. See my February 12, 2017 blog for a break in the case. In April 2012, I wrote a blog article entitled Who is Kenneth C. Howard? The article arose out of two small notebooks which were contained within one of Josef Jakobs’ files at the National Archives in Kew. At the time, the notebooks
The Mystery of the Two Notebooks and a Boy named Kenneth C. Howard Read More »
The Show – BBC Radio Scotland – Edinburgh, Scotland: Carl Lody, Spy on the Forth Original Air Date – 17 February 2014Station – BBC RadioShow – World War I at HomeDuration – 6:38 minutesProducer -unknownClip available here Review This programme tells the story of Carl Hans Lody, a German spy who was executed at the
Radio Review – BBC – World War I at Home – Carl Hans Lody Read More »
The Show – BBC Radio – Tower of London, London: The Execution of Eleven German Spies Original Air Date – 3 February 2014Station – BBC RadioShow – World War I at HomeDuration – 6:49 minutesProducer -unknownClip available here Review Although this radio programme deals primarily with the execution of German spies during World War I,