When MI5 distributed the captured spy radios after the war, the Northamptonshire Police received one. It was catalogued and displayed as belonging to Gösta Caroli. That attribution stuck—in books, in labels, in memory. But the radio itself tells a different story, if you know where to look. Introduction Gösta Caroli was one of the Operation […]
Northampton’s Wartime Spy Radio: Caroli and the Wrong Number Read More »
I took a big step forwards a few weeks ago. I decided to post some of the photographs of Josef Jakobs onto Alamy, one of the stock photo websites. There are a number of different stock photography sites; places like Shutterstock, Pixabay, Unsplash, iStock, Getty and Alamy. I chose Alamy because they have a section
Photographs of Josef Jakobs now on Alamy Read More »
N.B. 2024 09 14 – a Dutch reader has commented on this post and noted that the cigarette company is likely Zeka Wettig Gedep. not Zeka Wettig Geder. I have amended the blog post to reflect this new information. A few years ago, while browsing through eBay, I stumbled upon a leather cigarette case that
The Leather Cigarette Case of German Spy Josef Jakobs Read More »
I’m not much of a hat person. I find a ball cap or a toque will do me for the year. And ball caps seem to be the most popular hat style, at least here in Canada. We don’t see a lot of people wearing fedoras… although the prairies may see a fair number of
The Trilby Hat – A Chapeau for All Seasons Read More »
Almost 80 years ago, a pair of reading glasses changed hands. German spy Josef Jakobs handed his spectacles to Lance Corporal William Chidlow, a Coldstream guardsman who was a Military Policeman with Britain’s Armed Forces. The transfer took place in the early hours of Friday, August 15, 1941, at Wandsworth Prison. Josef, found guilty of
Seeing Clearly – The Reading Glasses of German Spy Josef Jakobs 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 »
A few months ago, I received a comment on one of my blog posts about Josef’s landing spot. The anonymous individual was writing in reference to the military map code that is contained within the MI5 files on Josef. The file notes that Josef was found at: Grid bearing 135 degrees from Dovehouse Farm. Distance
The Cassini Code of Josef Jakobs’ Landing Spot in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire Read More »
Over the last few months, I’ve gotten a crash course in spy radios. Thomas Hoeppe, an amateur Ham radio operator, and a crafter of replica Abwehr spy radio sets, has been answering my many and varied questions on the finer details of spy radios. Naturally, I am most intrigued by the radios brought by the
A guide to the Front Panels of Spy Wireless Transmitters / Receivers Read More »
N.B. 2021 01 31 – I’ve posted a follow-up blog on Spy Radios here. A few years ago, I reached out to the Military Wireless Museum’s Ben Nock for assistance with deciphering the schematics of Josef Jakobs’ wireless radio transmitter/receiver. After examining the electrical circuit diagram, Ben concluded that the set was an SE 88/5.
Spy Radios – Teasing apart a Decades Long Puzzle Read More »
When Robin W.G. Stephens applied to join the Security Service, he claimed to have been awarded the Star of Abyssinia medal for his service with the Red Cross during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in the mid-1930s. The funny thing is… there is no such medal in the United Kingdom. A mystery calling out for investigation.
The Medals of Robin W.G. Stephens Read More »