How did literary historian, Edward Brereton Goodacre, become an intelligence officer and interrogator of spies with MI5? That’s what I want to know. Although I doubt that I will ever learn the answer. I wrote about Goodacre several years ago but I thought I might try to expand on what we know about this enigmatic […]
For over 100 years, the list of German spies executed by Britain has included the name of a German-American, Irving Guy Ries. While many sources acknowledge that this name was a pseudonym, they simply note that the man named Ries did not wish his real name divulged in order to avoid embarrassing his family. Over
Irving Guy Ries – an Early Victim of Identity Theft Read More »
A few months ago, I came across this blog post on Huntercombe (Camp 020R) by Tony Percy on his Coldspur site. The post had a number of stunning photographs of a group of officers, including R.W.G. Stephens, inspecting the troops at Camp 020 (Latchmere House). I asked Tony if he could put me in touch
The Many Faces of Robin W.G. Stephens Read More »
It must take a certain type of individual to mentor and train a man as a spy. Watching them depart on their mission, knowing that the likelihood of success is excruciatingly slim. Knowing that they have essentially been sent on a one-way suicide mission. Such were the men stationed at Abteilung I of the German
The Four German Abwehr Operatives who Ran the “Finishing School” for Spies in The Hague Read More »
Most of the history books note that Josef Jakobs was a dentist by profession, which is quite true. But not the entire truth. Let’s start with what Josef told MI5 during his interrogations in England in 1941. He claimed to have studied dentistry in Argentina in the early 1920s before returning to Berlin and completing
A Fashionable Dentist in Berlin Read More »
While tracing the stories of the victims of Jürgen Ziebell’s passport fraud in the late 1930s in Berlin, I often found myself sidetracked by the lives of siblings or other family members. Such was the case with Hermann Hagen. Hermann was the older brother of Louis Georg Hagen who I have written about previously. Louis,
The Tragic Fate of Hermann Hagen Read More »
Back in October, I sent a request to the Landesarchiv for the Einwohner Melde Kartei (EMK) records of several individuals from Josef’s family. I got a reply in December and it contained good news and bad news. I had requested the cards for: Josef Jakobs Margarete Jakobs – Josef’s wife Emma Jakobs – Josef’s mother
Update on the Landesarchiv Berlin research Read More »
Doctors were, obviously, not the only ones who cared for Josef Jakobs while he was laid up at Dulwich Hospital. There were a rotating cohort of nurses who also provided care but, unlike the doctors, their names are lost to history. While the doctors put their names on medical requisitions and reports, nurses did not.
Ellen English, the Irish Nursing Sister who cared for a German spy Read More »
German spy, Josef Jakobs, was not a well man when he was found in the early morning hours of 1 February 1941. He had a shattered right ankle which cause him excruciating pain and made movement impossible. After a jostling ride to the Ramsey Police Station in the back of a horse-drawn cart, Josef was
Compassionate Care for a German Spy at Dulwich Hospital Read More »
Every once in a while, I go back to old cases where I’ve hit a brick wall and try a different tack. Perhaps some new records have been released? Perhaps I just have a fresh perspective and can see things differently? I never know what I might find. This latest revist is that of Lt.
Physician to Rudolf Hess and Josef Jakobs Read More »