E
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1958.
THE MAN WHO NEVER
WAS
CHAPTER 15
This is his Tombstone
HOW THE Spaniards found him, opened
his letters and passed
them to the Germans...
ARLY in the morning of April 30; 1943, a Spanish fisherman sighted a body close inshore off the port of Huelva (on the At- lantic coast 1350 miles north-west of Gibraltar).
He hailed a launch, which picked up the body and landed it
on the beach at La Bota:
"Major Willam Martin, Royal Marines," was carrying out his
mission.
The body was handed over to a military patrol, who reported the discovery to the local commandant.
A post mortem was carried out, and the verdict was "asphyxia-
tion through immersion in
the sea. So Sir Bernard
Spilsbury was justified in his theory that only, a pathologist
of his own
eminence would know that "Major Murtin" had not drowned.
The British Vice-Consul was duly informed of the finding of the body and on May 2, 19:13, "Major Martin" was buried with full military honours in the presence of "high' officers" of the Spanish Services.
WE HAD BEEN GIVEN THE BODY BUT WE HAD NOT BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE DESPATCH CASE!
Meanwhile the German Agent in Huelva did
let us down, either.
THE ROLL OF HONOUR
ROYAL NAVY
The Board of Admiralty regrets lo announce the following casualries which have been sustained in meeting the general hazards of war. New-of-kin have been notified;--
OFFICERS KILLED
A Camry 1-B
ROYAL MAREYES -T.
TLD.
13. (A)
HAI
'PROOF' FOR ⚫ THE GERMANS
EL
'The Major' appears in an otherwise genuine casualty list... the tombstone that is still in Huelva today, monument to an audacious plan.
Director
MART
We then asked for a tomb- day rione lo be set as soon as pos- of sible and a handsome one was
WILLIAM MARTIN
born 29th March 1007 died 24th April 1943 Beloved son of Joth GLYNDWYR MARTIN
been lost when a naval aircraft crashed into the sea.
was
tho
and it had to be considered whether wo (the British) still had time elther to change or to speed up our plans. That also was thought to be unlikely. “
The date of the operation was however not considered to he imminent both because the captured letters revealed that there was still time to alter some of the minor arrangementa for the operations and because some of the troops named involved were known (to tho Germans) to have recently been in action and would have to be rusted before the operation,
ឆ
They also deduced that the invasion of Greece would take place simultaneously with that in the West as we had decideti that it was impossible to use Siclly as the "cover target” for both.
What they had learned about Grecco was considered of vital importance as they had had much less Intelligence about preparations in the Eastern Mediterrancan than they had had from the Western end.
NEW REPORT
THIS Als was followed by an- other Intelligence report on the check up that was made in Spain.
*
The points were stated to have been "cleared up in conversation of May 10, 1943, with the offlejul concerned, with whom we have beon im .Com tact for many years."
This official explained that the brief CREO had- been "clutched in the hand of the
been to take the risk of using compse" (how right we had
the chain to prevent losa of the bag). The report goes on to describe in detail the con- tents of the bag.
By pura chance "Major Mar- tin's" pane was published In the same casualty list if the Germans had been looking out for his name, what was more
that it likely than samo aircraft crashl
But
cause Goma complication, Inquiries promptly came from the sec tions dealing with Naval Wills,
The German agent had hold that
with statistics of the envelopes in his hand, they and others, like were in good condition,"
this insertion
The letters had been 'extract- ed from
the envelopes and dried with artificial beat for reproduction purposes ant then resoaked in salt water for 24 hours to reproduce their origi nal condition.
not He
The British officer in charge We followed that with learned from one of his con- tacts of the existence of the another signal on the 7th of the examination one
rang the Deputy envelopes in the despatch stating that the letters may Naval Intelligence, with horror placed over the grave bearing
had been in black in his voice. Something the inscription:-- cuse and of the distinction have
D.N.I. would of the addresses, and there despatch case and that the happened that
officer A very senior Army can be little doubt, from attache was to inquire dig probably like to handle himself.
hail been had sent olle
some highly secret what happened later, that creetly if
by an letters, apparently he alerted his superiors,
regular route, and they had and the late Antonia Martin of The attache replied on tallen into German hands. The the 8th that there certainly Deputy Director told me and, Dulce et decorum est pro patria not worry about Major Martin, some detail" "Major
the they were sure enough, had been a despatch case, documents of "Operation Mince-
into official cus- the Vice-Consul report- ed to the British Naval toy and that he
A SIGNAL
found.
ACCORDING to routine, but that it had been taken meat"!!!
Attucho in Madrid of the finding of the body and he sent word to London,
had been pro- mised that when it reached Madrid
(always '
Blow business) it would be handed over to him.-
BY THE HON. EWEN E.S.MONTAGU
There
Ir-
In tho
lot-
Cardiff, Wales,
mori
one
them,
casung
why they had he could vouch that they
not heard of "Major Martin." not
anti
did
Martin's"
They had to be informed in not appear to have been open- great secrecy that they need
The report then discussed in or record him or his death. He personal papers and mentioned was a speglar agent who had that a "night club bill dator been sent on an important mia- 27th April showed that he hud sion after having been given "left London on the morning (with the First Sea Lord's au- of the 28th April, the same day thority) the cover of naval that the aircraft came to grief rank as an officer in the Royal near Huelva.
'SQUIGGLE'
R.I.P. It is still there to this day. Of course, neither parents' German flies, were names bore any relation to the copies of the letters, names of the real parents. with translations, Finally I wrote to the attache and also Intelligence asking, on behalf of the Marines. reports, "apprecia bereaved family, for photo- tions," out messages graphs of the grave and these and so on.
were duly taken und sont Then after a first routine
We were right home. signal, we began to react.
-all the On May - 4 we sent an
-ters had been extracted "Immediate Most Secrét"
envelopes This was not done until their signal stating that we had May 13 when the Chief of Spaniards, photographed, learned that "Major Martin," the Spanish Naval Staff copies given to the Germans
and they had swallowed the contrary to regulations, was hunded over the case to our whole thing! carrying papers some of attache "on the express
But let me complete "Major which were "of great im instructions of the Minister Martin's story. He had play- portance and secrecy." of Marine," and unctuously ed his part well and he wag informed him that every entitled to the only thanks we thing was safely there.,
could give him.
That everything was there was true—but "safely” was
another matter!
Formal demand was to be made for all documents, but great care was to be taken not to betray undue anxiety. The addresses of any letters recovered were to be signalled immediately and I will jump now for a the letters sent "un moment to the time after tampered with in any way" the war when we were to the Director of Naval examining captured Germun Intelligence, personally. Naval Archives,
Meanwhile,
Look We from further precaution over here. WHEN We gul
-The -usual time-
by
the
པ
would have
the
་
contents had
the
This was presumably a mud- dle over the nature of the Prince of Wales Theatre and a misreading of the date an the stubs of the tickets as well as letters affording some extension of the allowed-W back, examination made it post mud been in the water sor
mortem finding that and between a death and the in- clear that the
semo days before it was found on the 30th, However, our use sertion of a name in the lists of been extracted. naval casualtics clapsed before the attack on From that moment we know of the stubs to reinforce "Majar Sielly was safely launched-and that we were half-way homel Martia" having had to, The Times reached Lisbon by German-Spanish co-operation by air was justified. air shortly after publication.
was such that we had no doubt that the Germans would have CASUALTY got copies the question still remained as to whether they had swallowed them.
the landing Although
what WDS found there gave a pretty good We
of
on
an-
Bides, if we could arrange Co, we had to insert "Major frex 1 visits to the grave it ▷ Martin's" fame in the casual- WOL prevent any chance
ty list which appeared in The Sicily and the Germans having him dis- Times of June 4, 1943, interred for a check on The have no evidence that the Ger-swer to that last question we post-mortem verdict.
muns ever noticed this, but it did not learn the extent of our they did our phenomenal luck success until after the war. was with us once again.
Then all the processes of in- It had already been publicly vestigation and inquiry mate announced that Rear-Admiral it quite certain: from the spate Mack, D.S.O., and others had of captured documents in par-
ticular came proof positive.
We therefore instructed the British Naval Attache to have wreath from the family and "Pam" ("Major Martin's" sweetheart) put on his grave.
21
TIME FOR SHUT MOUTHS..
Wouldn't you think that will such ant age-old example..
the Manchester Guardian,
First, there was a Ale es- pecially prepared for Admiral Doenitz, on the main document
AS PLANNED
travel
Peek Preans Piscuits
Coronation Souvenir "THE QUEEN'S DRUM"
receives special commandation by the Council of "Industrial DesignTMand as a result thereof a rare tribute
by "The Times", London In the publication of a
photograph of the Drum in the issue of 24th February 1953.
ROBERTSON, WILSON & CO., LTD.
理代總行洋興大
David House, Hong Kong.
ratti
Cream
BUENDED
Soch Thing
Tolophono: 21746
One of Scotland's best!
Scottish
Cream
Available from all good stores
Sola Importers
GIBB, LIVINGSTON & CO.LTD- TEL:38458
The first
FINALLY the German Intel- AUTOMATIC
our
ligenco Service put out a detailed "appreciation of Intentions and plans. These it ret out in exactly the way that we had hoped that the Ger- mans would deduce them to be from a study of the false let- texs.
In addition I was pleased to and that the "appreciation" stated, as confirmation of their deductions, that "a joking re- ference in the letter points to Sardinia.
So my ponderaus joke about sartlines being "on polnis" had,
German sense of humour had the intended effect,
and
of which we found Admiral as I had hoped, appealed to the Doenitz's personal "squiggle."
These documents were mark- ck that they were to be circu- lated personally and not to go through any registry. They consisted of coples of the let ters and two "appreciations," the final one of which ended
"Maintenance of complete secrecy over this discovery and the, ulmost limitation of circulation of this information is essential.”
WEB
The German intelligence "ap- preciates" that the risk of the documents being planted slight. The main risk was whother we know that the documents had been "captured" or only lost at sea-that ques-' tion was being followed up -
PETER MOK
HIM YICK HONG
MACAO.
BIANUFACTURERS'· REPRESENTATIVE
Agent for
AUSTIN. CARS
China Ma Distributor
33 RUA VP, ARCOS TEL. 000 CABLES: 'PETER MACAO. Agencies Invlied
So far success was complete, but what really mattered was whether the German General Stag had accepted the view of its Intelligence Service?
(World copyright)
NEXT WEEK The deception is com- pleto: Koltel fortifies Sardinia: Troops' are sent to Greece.
✪ Hitler disagrees with
the Duce.
CAFASPIN
immediately
relieves,
all pains!
ADENUINE SAVIR:PRODUCT
•¦ MANUFACIVOJO IN LEVERKUSEN, Ö‡RMÁNY
pocket watch
ETERNA MATIE
Unbreakable' pha-gini baa
"GOLFER"
FIRST WATCH TO WIND ITSELF ON A BALL BEARING
LGANGSED.A.KELLER & CO.LTD.
A good hair cut doesn't necessarily mean cutting it shorter but does mean to shape it. If your hair is already curly, what will suit you best is a "SPECIAL RAZOR CUT! But if you wish to have natural waves, try the world famous
Helene Curtis Cold Waves". operated by expert hairdresser. MRS, SULLAN 523, Natha Road, 2nd Floor
Appointment Phone: 50342"