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

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 the proposed captions for the exhibits.

At the bottom of one of the memos is a red typewritten note:
“The above Minute and accompanying papers were found amongst the papers left by Brigadier Hinchley-Cooke. Another set of copies will be found in the Waldberg and Meier Pros. file.”

One can see why these documents were filed in the Druecke/Walti and Waldberg/Meier case files, as they are the only spies named in the papers. Yet several of the listed items are not attributed to either pair of agents, and we are left with a mystery. Can we determine which equipment belongs to which spy? The paperwork provides some clues.

Internal MI5 Memos

Most of the surviving papers consist of draft exhibit captions prepared for the Imperial War Museum displays. Only three memos directly reference the transfer of the equipment itself.

The first memo is dated 23 January 1946, from R.L. Hughes of MI5’s B3b section to Hinchley-Cooke:

“I attach, as promised, drafts of the captions which we have prepared for our exhibits at the Imperial War Museum. It is proposed to include the agent’s revolver with the parachute equipment and not make it a separate exhibit. If you approve of the captions, we can deliver the exhibits at any time.”

On 1 February 1946, Hinchley-Cooke replied to Hughes and noted that the Rt. Hon. Mr. Justice Humphreys had approved the draft captions. He was also sending the Mauser pistol No. 489366 (minus ammunition). That same day, S. Riesen of B1a acknowledged receipt of the Mauser pistol, indicating that more than one MI5 section handled the equipment during this process.

These fragments cannot represent the complete correspondence relating to the transfer of the spy equipment, but only the few memos that were found in Hinchley-Cooke’s paperwork. The absence of correspondence with Humphreys or the Imperial War Museum suggests that another MI5 section handled liaison with the museum and the physical transfer of the equipment.

Captions for Imperial War Museum Exhibits

The donated equipment comprised two wireless transmitter sets; a parachute, flying suit and revolver; and two items connected with secret writing — a prepared match and a letter (or photographs thereof).

Secret Writing Match

“This box of matches was the property of an enemy agent. Concealed amongst the matches is a specifically prepared match, the head of which was used for secret writing.”

There is no information on which spy used this box of matches. It is not stated whether the matches were connected to the second secret writing artifact listed below. The matches were formerly on display at the Imperial War Museum as part of an espionage exhibit. They exist in the IWM catalogue as EPH 178.

Letter Containing Secret Writing

“Photograph of “A” is of the covering letter which contains writing in secret ink.
Photograph “B” shows the developed secret text contained in the above covering letter.”

Again, there is no information on which spy created this secret letter. If any reader knows which wartime spy used the matches or the secret writing letter, do please let me know. Both images of the secret writing letter were formerly on display at the Imperial War Museum. The typewritten letter was dated 11 June 1942 and both it, and the secret writing, are written in French. This may offer some insight into which spy produced the letter. The signature on the typewritten letter is blanked out, and although it is faintly visible on the secret writing copy, it is impossible to decipher.

Parachute & Accessories

“This parachute, flying suit and harness was used by an enemy agent dropped in the United Kingdom at night.
The entrenching tool was supplied for the agent to bury his flying equipment for the purpose of concealing the evidence of his arrival.
The revolver was supplied to enable the agent to deal with any individual who might interfere with his activities, particularly in the early stages.”

There were relatively few agents dropped by parachute into the United Kingdom during the Second World War. The field of possible attribution is therefore limited: Wulf Schmidt, Gösta Caroli, Karl Kurt Goose, Engelbertus Fukken (all in 1940), Josef Jakobs (1941), Karel Richard Richter (1941) and Nikolay Steen Marinus Hansen (1943).

We know from the earlier memos that the firearm was actually a pistol. Many of the police and MI5 officers used the terms “pistol” and “revolver” interchangeably, although they are distinct types of firearm. The earlier mention of the Mauser pistol’s serial number allows that object to be tied to a particular case and will be examined in detail in a subsequent post.

Jose Rudolf Waldberg & Carl Heinrich Meier

“WALDBERG, a German, and MEIER, a Dutchman, arrived in September 1940, landing by rowing boat from a trawler which was towed by a minesweeper; the landing was made at Lydd-on-Sea. They brought with them a wireless transmitter and accessories packed in two black leather carrying cases.

The smaller case contained:–
1. the wireless transmitter;
2. aerial insulators and cut lengths of aerial wire;
3. Morse key.

The larger case contained the high tension and low tension supply batteries.”

The proposed caption also included a technical section describing the transmitter’s specifications. Unlike the parachute equipment and revolver, the wireless set is explicitly attributed to Waldberg and Meier. The museum’s display of this equipment will be examined in a subsequent post.

Werner Heinrich Walti & Karl Theo Druecke

“WALTI, who claimed to be a Swiss but was believed to be German, and DRUECKE, a German, arrived in September 1940, landing by means of a rubber dinghy dropped from a seaplane off the Scottish coast near Port Gordon, and were subsequently executed. They brought with them, amongst other things, two sets of wireless equipment, one of which is contained in a black fibre reinforced suitcase, and consists of:–

1. a combined transmitter and receiver, battery operated;
2. the high tension and low tension dry batteries;
3. crystals for controlling the transmitter frequency;
4. aerial insulators and cut lengths of aerial wire;
5. Morse key;
6. voltmeter for checking condition of batteries;
7. spare valve for the transmitter;
8. pair of telephones.”

As with Waldberg/Meier, the proposed caption also included a technical section describing the transmitter’s specifications. The paperwork confirms that two wireless sets were brought ashore by Walti and Druecke, yet the caption does not identify which set is represented by the suitcase transmitter now in the museum. The museum’s display of this suitcase transmitter will be examined separately.

Conclusion

The fact that these documents are accessible in the public sphere seems to be down to pure chance. They were found in Hinchley-Cooke’s files, and copies were placed in the case files of the named spies. Had they not been, they might have remained buried in B3b’s files, which may or may not ever enter the public domain. The Imperial War Museum generally does not share attribution documents, citing the privacy of the donor organization.

The existing documents do provide us with helpful information. My 2025 visit to the IWM to examine the objects was done with a view to answering some questions. Whose parachute gear is held by the Imperial War Museum? Which suitcase wireless does the IWM possess? And to which agent can the pistol be definitively tied?

Sources

The documents referenced are located in two of the MI5 spy files:
KV 2/1452 – Waldberg et al – pages 2-9 (based on the downloadable pdf from Kew)
KV 2/1701 – Druecke et al – pages 5-15 (based on the downloadable pdf from Kew)

Third studio image of box of matches from Imperial War Museum – EPH 178.
Third image of secret writing (typewritten letter) from Imperial War Museum – EPH 180.
Fourth image of secret writing (white lettering over typewritten letter) from Imperial War Museum – EPH 179.

Header image created with Gemini AI.