I recently heard about a book by Leonard Mosley entitled The Druid. Written in 1981, it tells the tale of Welshman Gwyn Evans who, as an undetected spy of the German Abwehr, apparently betrayed the Dieppe Raid in 1942. In his book, Mosley also claims that double-agent Gösta Caroli was condemned to death and executed. […]
Gösta Caroli – Double Agent and Fox Farmer Read More »
It always amazes me, the tangential relationships I discover that touch on the Josef Jakobs story. On 13 June 1941, during an interrogation with Camp 020 officer, Lt. George F. Sampson, Josef mentioned that: Dr. Paul List, a Russian Jew who immigrated to Germany, can confirm that I am anti-Nazi. List is a professional chess
The German Spy and the Russian-Jewish Chessmaster Read More »
I have written a series of blog posts about Robin W. G. Stephens as he played a pivotal role in the Josef Jakobs story as commandant of Camp 020 interrogation centre. A couple of months ago I had a fascinating email exchange with Nick Hinton, a former commander of the 2nd Gurkha Regiment, and now
Robin W.G. Stephens and the Wana Column (1920-1921) Read More »
In her 1953 statement to police about the Bella in the Wych Elm murder, Una Abel Mossop stated that: “The only child of our marriage was born in 1932 and he was christened Julian and at the present time, he is somewhere in America.” Seemingly an open and shut statement except… when it comes to
Bella in the Wych Elm – Jill Mossop Read More »
The West Mercia Police files on the Bella in the Wych Elm mystery contain many interesting documents. There is one file, however, that has the most intriguing title: “Folder 11 – Possible Suspect Julian Mossop”. It turns out that Julian Mossop was the son of Jack Mossop and Una Abel. Let’s take a look. Julian
Bella in the Wych Elm – Julian Mossop Read More »
Every once in a while, a few more bits of information about Robin William George Stephens float my way. The latest batch come from an odd assortment of sources. MI5 – Bad Nenndorf & Robin W.G. Stephens The MI5 website has had a bit of a face-lift and they now include a whole page dedicated
Robin William George Stephens – A few Bibs & Bobs Read More »
At last! The copy of Double Agent Celery that I ordered in December has finally arrived! I am looking forward to reading it (review coming in the next few weeks). In the meantime, there is a fascinating interview with author Carolinda Witt on the Conversations program on Australia’s ABC Radio. You can listen to the
Double Agent CELERY – update Read More »
It would appear that Alex Merrill’s new book and the facial reconstruction he has commissioned has sparked some interest in the case. I was reading a Birmingham Live article (author Mike Lockley) that came out today. It is so full of errors, I can’t even begin to touch on all of them. They do, however,
Media Review – Birmingham Live article on Bella in the Wych Elm (2018) Read More »
It’s fair to say, I think, that Bella in the Wych Elm was definitely not the German cabaret singer Clara Bauerle. I’ve laid out the facts in other blogs and the evidence seems pretty overwhelming. But even though we can lay Clara Bauerle to rest, there is another Clara whose name has been circulated as
Debunked: Bella in the Wych Elm was the wife of spy Johannes Marinus Dronkers Read More »
In March 2013, Alison Vale wrote an article for The Independent, which connected German cabaret singer Clara Bauerle with Bella in the Wych Elm. The article noted that Josef Jakobs was a “Czech-born Gestapo agent”. Since then, numerous web articles, blogs and news articles have propagated that information. Unfortunately, that statement is not accurate. Czech
Josef Jakobs – Agent of the Abwehr or the Gestapo? Read More »