Wilhelm Wassmuss (1880-1931 or 1935). Most people have heard of T.E. Lawrence, the British military intelligence officer from the First World War, immortalised by the famous movie “Lawrence of Arabia”. But very few people know that there was another spy working in the same area at the same time who …
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Scotland (1882-1965) In February 1947 some strange headlines appeared in British newspapers such as: “MI5 officer was on Nazi General Staff!” and “Britain’s Master Spy!”. Of course, the headlines were all poppycock as newspaper headlines generally are. But beneath those headlines lurked a story of a first …
Anton Copperlee (? – 19/5/15) One of the great mysteries of espionage is that you do not know what awaits you in the land of the enemy. Not all heroes of espionage were a success. Like troops leaping out of a trench, sometimes a spy is doomed before they even …
Professor John Fraser (1882 – 18/5/1945) Those who know anything about the annals of British code breaking during the First World War will be familiar with the efforts of the cryptanalysts of the Royal Navy’s Intelligence Division. They were based in various rooms of the Old Admiralty Building in Whitehall, …
Sir William Cecil (13/9/1520-4/8/1598) It is no secret that popular culture tends to distort history. Many people may have seen The Imitation Game and believe that Alan Turing single-handedly defeated Nazi Germany. The roles of such men as Bill Tutte and Tommy Flowers who were even more important to the …