At the end of World War II, Brigadier Oswald Allen Harker, Deputy Director General of MI5 asked Lt. Col. George Frederick Sampson to write a brief history of Camp 020. In late September 1945, Sampson submitted his report to Harker and then retired from the Security Service, taking a job with the United Nations. At […]
Two Histories of Camp 020 Read More »
For the past several months, I’ve been digging underneath the brick wall that surrounded the birth and parentage of Lt. Col. William Edward Hinchley Cooke. My two previous blogs can be found below: Britain’s Spy Catcher Mysterious Origins of W.E. Hinchley Cooke Britain’s most famous World War II spy catcher had enigmatic beginnings but the
Breakthrough on Lt. Col. William Edward Hinchley Cooke Read More »
Recently I’ve reestablished contact with Martyn, grandson of Horace Jaikens, the police officer who was in charge of the Ramsey Police Station when Josef was captured. Martyn is a war history buff and a great source of information on Ramsey and the surrounding area. Last week, Martyn sent me some information from a book that
German Spy equipped with Two and a Half Pounds of Chocolate Read More »
N.B. I posted a blog in April 2019 with new information that seems to confirm his real name was Kurt Karl Goose On rare occasions I get distracted by the stories I encounter which are technically peripheral to my research into Josef Jakobs. One of those stories is that of double agent GANDER (GOOSE). Information on
The Mystery Spy – Double Agent GOOSE/GANDER Read More »
Over a year ago, I wrote a blog post about Lt. Col. William Edward Hinchley Cooke, an MI5 officer who helped catch and prosecute numerous spies during World War II. Hinchley Cooke picked up the nickname “Cookie” during his career, a rather innocent term for such a dedicated and dangerous MI5 officer. While I have
The Mysterious Origins of Britain’s WWII Spy Catcher – William Edward Hinchley Cooke Read More »
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about German spymaster Nikolaus Ritter and his American wife, Mary Aurora Evans. I based the blog on information I had dug up on Ritter as well as several book reviews on Aurora’s biography (written by her daughter, Katharine (Ritter) Wallace). The biography sounded quite fascinating and
The German Spymaster and his American Wife Read More »
What does it take to become a spymaster? What are the qualifications? For the German Intelligence Service (Abwehr) in 1940, the answer would have been, “Not much”. We’ve already heard a bit about Major Nikolaus Adolf Fritz Ritter. He was hired by the German Abwehr in 1937 to run spy rings in the United States
Exporter of Stockings & Spies – Captain Julius Jacob Boeckel Read More »
Researching the life Josef Jakobs has led me down some very interesting side paths. I have come across many interesting characters whose lives intersected with that of Josef. Some were friends. Many were foes. Some were both. When Josef was recruited into the Abwehr (the German Intelligence Service) in 1940, he brushed shoulders with spymaster
The German Spymaster and the Alabama Schoolteacher Read More »
When German spy Josef Jakobs descended from the heavens on the night of 31 January, 1941, he brought with him a load of trouble for one James John Rymer of London. Josef Jakobs had been equipped with a National Identity Card in the name of James Rymer of 33 Abbotsford Gardens, Woodford Green. The ID
James John Rymer – The Innocent Radio Engineer tainted by a German Spy Read More »
When Josef Jakobs was found guilty of Treachery (espionage) by a military court martial in early August 1941, his fate was placed into the hands of the London District Deputy Provost Marshal, Colonel Charles Robert Tolver Michael Gerard. It was Gerard who would make arrangements for Josef’s execution and who would ensure that everything surrounding
Lt. Col. Charles R.T.M. Gerard – The Man in Charge of Josef Jakobs’ Execution Read More »