Spy

  • Operation Postmaster: A Daring Special Operations Executive Mission in World War II Introduction Operation Postmaster was a covert military operation conducted during World War II by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). It was a meticulously planned and highly successful mission that took place in January 1942, targeting enemy-controlled shipping in Spanish-controlled Fernando Po (now

    Read more →

  • This is one of those amazing stories of resilience and perseverance. Odette Sansom, aka Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code name Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom’s clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during World War II. She was born on 28 April 1912 in Amiens, France. She met an Englishman, Roy

    Read more →

  • The one thing this is for certain in history, it always repeats itself. With all the talk about spies nowadays it is a good time to look at one of WWII spies.Takeo Yoshikawa. Because of his expertise on the U.S. Navy, Yoshikawa was sent to Hawaii under the cover of being a vice-consul named Tadashi

    Read more →

  • I have to confess that the title is actually deceiving, because this blog is not about James Bond as such but more about 007’s creator, Ian Fleming, and some of his WWII efforts. Looking at some of the operations it appears that his inspiration for James Bond may have partially come from himself. In May

    Read more →

  • The facts of the case are odd. Five letters were written in early 1942 and mailed by seemingly different people in different U.S. locations to the same person at a Buenos Aires, Argentina, address. In early 1942, five letters were written and mailed by seemingly different people in different U.S. locations to the same person

    Read more →

  • During the Second World War, many well-known fashion brands were accused of collaborating with the Nazis. However, Coco Chanel, the iconic founder of the luxury brand, is not only accused of fraternizing with high-level Nazi officials but that she capitalized on her powerful connections to oust Jewish business partners in her company. Her loyalty to the German party

    Read more →

  • Life and death of Mata Hari

    Despite her exotic name Mata Hari was a Dutch woman. Her real name was Margaretha (Gretha)Zelle and was born in Leeuwarden, in the province of Friesland in the North West of  the Netherlands.. Today marks the centenary of her execution. At 18, Zelle answered an advertisement in a Dutch newspaper placed by Dutch Colonial Army Captain Rudolf MacLeod (1 March 1856 – 9

    Read more →

  • The Thing-not the movie.

    The Thing, also known as The Great Seal Bug, was a passive covert listening device, developed in the Soviet Union and planted in the study of the US Ambassador in Moscow, hidden inside a wooden carving of the Great Seal of the United States. It is called a passive device as it does not have its own power source.

    Read more →

  • On this day 78 years ago the last person was executed in the famous Tower of London, his name was Josef Jakobs.   Josef Jakobs (30 June 1898 – 15 August 1941) was a German spy and the last person to be executed at the Tower of London. He was captured shortly after parachuting into the United

    Read more →