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 »
While searching Ancestry a few months ago, I noticed that the array of Births, Marriages and Deaths from Berlin had been expanded. Births were now available up to 1906, Marriages up to 1936 (formerly 1920) and Deaths up to 1955 (formerly 1935 I think). Quite a bonanza! I had high hopes of tracking down the
New Release of Berlin BMD Records Read More »
I’d never heard of the tooth-to-tail ratio before. It’s the ratio of the number of combat soldiers (tooth) to the number of soldiers involved in a support capacity (tail). I guess I knew that every army needed support and logistics but, in my mind, when someone is a soldier, that means they are in a
Court Martial of Josef Jakobs – Stenographer – Sgt. Bertram Anthony Balment RAOC Read More »
Several months ago (April!) I received an email from a German researcher, Heinz-Jörgen K.-v.H. who has been tracing the lives of the Katz family. Those who follow this blog might recall that Lily (née Katz) Knips was a Jewish widow living in Berlin, who in 1938, was introduced to Josef Jakobs by friends. Josef tried
A few years ago, I posted a blog giving a bit of background about the officers who served as the Members of the Court at Josef’s court martial in early August 1941. I was able to track down fairly good info on all but one of the officers, drawing a blank on Major R.C. Alexander,
A few months back, I received some very kind feedback on The Spy in the Tower. I’ve been meaning to share the comments for a while and my weekly Mailbox blog post seems like a good place for that. Winston Ramsey, After the Battle Magazine Winston was the first person I reached out to back
I may have tracked down another one of Ziebell’s black market passport clients – Alfred Gutmann. The 1939 German Minority Census on Mapping the Lives has only one Alfred Gutmann living in Berlin at the time. While I am not 100% sure that it is him, I thought that I would dig a bit deeper,
Black Market Passports – Alfred Gutmann Read More »
I seem to be on a bit of a Stephens streak at the moment. While re-reading Chris Bilham’s Medal News article on Stephens, I noticed this bit: “Stephens was awarded the OBE which was apparently ungazetted but was probably awarded at the end of the war.” That same information appears in the DNW write-up for
The OBE of Robin W.G. Stephens Read More »