How does a Certified Public Accountant end up in jail, not once, but twice, for smuggling aliens into the USA? How does a tax accountant end up dabbling in passports and visas? When I first came across H. Ely Goldsmith’s name in the Swiss Archives files, I had no idea he would lead me down […]
The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 1: From Berlin to New York Read More »
While searching for nuns and spies the other week, Google presented a few results that piqued my curiosity. All of the hits revolved around a lady named Margaret Spencer from Eastbourne. She had passed away in June 2014 and, after her death, her family revealed that Margaret had been a wartime spy. Now, this is
Draper, Nurse, Midwife, Spy: The Fantastical Life of Margaret Spencer Read More »
During the Second World War, rumours of parachute spies dressed as nuns proliferated through the English countryside. Woe betide any nun who went out without her identity papers! She was likely to be arrested and frog-marched to the nearest police station. Of course, we now know those rumours were unfounded. But then… I overheard heard
The Nun Who Wasn’t: Unveiling a Spy Story Too Strange to Believe Read More »
I have received some fascinating mail over the last few months. I am always a bit shocked when people write to me, seemingly out of the blue, and claim their connection to one of the historical figures that I have written about. In so many ways, we are all connected, and these stories, the stories
From the Mailbox: Echoes of Spies, Refugees, and Court Martials – September 2024 Read More »
I’ve been absent from this blog for almost a year but I am now back in the blogging saddle! I hope. It is amazing how times flies! Life can get hectic and sometimes choices have to be made. I am slowly learning that I cannot do “everything”. For the past year, other life projects took
Back in the Blogging Saddle 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 »
I came across a news article about RAF Upwood, the former wartime airbase near Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). Josef Jakobs landed southeast of Ramsey near both RAF Upwood and RAF Warboys. Let’s see how the article did in terms of historical accuracy. I have added italicized comments in square brackets where needed. The derelict RAF
RAF Upwood and Josef Jakobs in the News Read More »
Well, this is a bit of a departure from my normal reading material. I came across this book during one of my internet searches and… it looked interesting. And light and fluffy. So, why the heck not. And who knows, it might even mention Josef Jakobs! On top of that, this gives me a bit
Book Review – Falling Hard for the Royal Guard – Megan Clawson – 2023 Read More »
I interrupt this series on Yvonne Sommerfeld for just a moment… Digging through the Swiss Archives online…. I have been a bit like a child in a candy shop. Stunned and gobsmacked… staring around me with wide-eyed wonder and glee. I’ll have this one… and this one… oh, and this one too! Oh heck… I’ll
This is Part 1 of a five-part series on the Sommerfeld family, beginning with Yvonne Sommerfeld and her entanglements with Josef Jakobs and Werner Goldstein.Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 5 is hereN.B. An Addendum can be found here, touching on Yvonne’s French military connections. Josef Jakobs was
Yvonne Sommerfeld – The Mysterious French Jewess involved with German Spy Josef Jakobs Read More »