1953-04-18 — Page 11

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1953.

owe him

The debt we owe

What THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS did for Britain

The China Mail today concludes one of the most successful real-life stories this newspaper has ever published. The exploits of THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS, as told by his creator, The Hon. Ewen E. S. MONTAGU, QC, are now to be printed in book form; there are five separate inquiries for rights to make the story into a film; all over the world people are reading this uncanny talo. Today's instalment makes the final reckoning. What did THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS do to save his follow-countrymen's lives? He did a great deal indeed.

FOURTEEN DAYS after the body of "Major William Martin, Royal Marines," had been floated ashore in Spain on April 30, 1943, the German Naval Staff War Diary recorded that the German Army Staff had definitely concluded that the documents found on him were' 'genuine!

The Army Staff deduced that the main Allied assault would be on Sardinia (and not Sicily, which was the Allied intention) with a From this subsidiary landing in Greece. deduction came the following troop move- ments:

A WHOLE PANZER division was moved from France to a town in the Peloponnese in Greece to cover communications to the two beaches in Greece-- Cape Araxos and Kalamata- mentioned in the documents "Major Martin" carried. was an enormous operation and the division was out of the war for some time.

This

The German High Command ordered laying of minefields off the Greek coast; coastal batteries were to be installed; M.T.B. bases, command stations and sea patrol services prepared. A whole group of M.T.B.s were sent from Sicily to Greece in Juna.

IN THE WEST Keitel himself signed an order from the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces dated June 14 ordering "reinforce- ment of Sardinia" -with the emphasis now on. Sardinia.

A strong Panzer force with supplies for two months was ordered to Corsica and emphasis was laid on the improvement of defences on the North coast of Sicily WHERE WE DID NOT LAND against "a diversionary attack during the assault on Sardinia."

DOENITZ

I

KEITEL

EXACTLY ONE DAY before we invaded Sicily the German. Admiralty sent to its Commander- in-Chief, Mediterranean, a message giving Admiral Doenitz's views on Allied intentions: "Sardinia and. perhaps Corsica were the first targets ....

the assault on Greece was most probable.". A landing on the Italian mainland was con. sidered less likely.

HIS, then, was our dividend. The Ger mans had spreadeagled their defences and, na the war record gives it, the in vasion of Sicily was an un qualified success.

In our examination of

cap tured German documents after the war we also found 'other odd items.

The German Foreign

Office was asked by the German In- telligence to warn Turkey that shipping and troops were being

moved to Greece.

inva- Even after the Sicily

German sion had started the High Command asked for special look-out to be kept by agents in the Straits of Gibral- tor for convoys which would be going to attack Corsica and Sardinia.

to

after the invasion began --- a Admiral Doenitz was sent different view began bo at the beginning of May to try taken. Hurried messages went to co-ordinate out stopping any MTB which

operations with had not yet salted from the Mussolini. While he was away "Mincemeat" documents Italian area for the Ægean from the leaving..

Leached Germany.

It was stated, bitterly that the sending of MTBS tin carly June) to Greece had left a gap in the defences of Sicily which were now vital to a battle that was "decisive as regards fur- ther participation Italy" the war.

On Doeliz's return, bo ro- ported to Hitler on May 14.

to was asked the Duco's views as to the Allies' next target,

Hitler must have seen in

the documents, for Duenitz then re- cords this change of view:-

So we learned that "Opera, tion Mincemcat," as we called it. had succeeded beyond our most sanguine hopes.

to

One more pleasure was be vouchsafed to us. The diary, kept by

by Admiral Doctiliz of his conferences with Hitler was examined after the war. This diary revealed that Hitler, like everyone else, had originally decided that the tar- Het of our next assault was to documents showed be Sicily. But "Major Marlin" that by July 12-two, days changed, his mind.

Further

AND IN

SPAIN

TODAY-

Ten years later...

BIK

BE

"THE FUIKEN DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE DUCE LIKELY THAT THE MOST INVASION POINT 18 SICILY. FURTHERMORE,

THAT THE LIEVES

DIS- ANGLO - SAXON COVERED

CONFIRMS THE ORDER ASSUMPTION THAT THE PLANNED ATTACK WILL DE DIRECTED MAINLY AGAINST FELO- BARDINIA AND THE PONNESUS."

SHUELVA

Captain Lenz takes

his hat

hat to us

off

by IAN COLVIN

drowning. I have made

A REPORT. HUELVA, Spain. this: the weirdest dreds coincidence of all in the case of The Man Who Never Was?

hun- south coast of

Seville area."

of examinations of hearts, lungs and loryzhees, con tusions and decomposition.

of.

Spain in

te

the

I asked him to go on. "I remember this case weli," snld Lenz, "My "agentin day Huelva rang me up one

a message in il passed me

Ho sald the a pouch containing

British

Then, during the first two years of the war, enlisted as a I met here Major Fritz Bau- Major of the Army, I was put mann-Frith, the German frog- on to studying the causes

in man, who had lurked round on lard and at sea. I examined

death Huelva during the war planting on wreckage of dozens of air time bombs in British ore ships. craft and the bodies of stores

We sat and talked.. The burly German Comman of aimen."

-aircraft nec/dents, boihed language.

documents of a dead courier bad boen washed ashore with the body. He had bean unable to learn more 19 the

Then

do off

ofleer fold mo then what I sald: "Suppose you hat Spaniards in Huelva were most

reticent. bis peacetime job had been: been told that this was a faked

I heard that Sir DOING AUTOPSIES ON air actides, that Major Martin PEOPLE KILLED BY had never been drowned, and Samuel Hoare himself, the Bri- fish Ambassador in Madrid, had DROWNING: He was one of that his papers might be a

made a demarche at the have tione Germany's young and coming plant? Could you

Ministry of Foreign Affairs lo about anything pathologists.

Major Baumann's face show get this pouch returned quick- Fake or not ? ed for a moment the distress of

who has a specialist

missed "PEFORE the war I studied what could have been the big- in the forensic branch Best case of his life. of Hamburg Police Academy." sald the Major. "Quite often subotage cemetery whether

have

I had to

decide

the water to take a suicide, or

"Yes: I would have had my team climb that wall....We

would had that body flown

corpse had been put dead into to Berlin for an autopsy

by Professor Asch-Mueller, who was our Sir Bernard Splis. bury."

say to women

YOU'VE GOT BLOOD PRESSURE? I'M NOT AT ALL SURPRISED

DOES, your blood press? say it does. Mine does too, and so does every- body else's. It just has to. Blood isn't easy stuff to pump, you know: In fact, the hear only keeps going by slicking to union rules In the matter ef an eight-hour day (it takes a rest Now you see, I think, that the after each pump, and it rests whole shooting match would be

for rice as long as it works).

by Dr. A. CHESBY

But first get away a bit see the picture better.

to

He sighed.

That made me think that there must be important papero in it. I got an agent of ours in the Spanish General Staff, and told him that I must see these documents.

Just a hoax

E agent was able to ex- tract and lend rae for a short time two letters, written, There was another hitch, If I remember rightly, on War now learn, which might have been fatal to the whole opera

tion.

All Spanlords were not work ing for the Germans during the legal to tell a patient one word were sympathetic to us.

At least half of them

Our luck held

I should like to see it made war.

about such a remote thing, as blood pressure."

That

would clear a host of gloomy denizens out of debtors' waiting rooms:

Yours ago I was doing a locum

Office notepaper.

by

heard

WIR

They discussed British strategy in the Mediterranean, noxi attack and whether the should be made on Sardinia or Greece. Sielly was not men- tioned. These letters were both addressed to General Alexander by a high offleer in London,

"I hurriet to the German Eatbassy, and photographed As soon as the body was found them in the basement. I cent

to Berlin the Photostats for a cunning practitioner, “AA at 'Huelva a filendly off- blood pressure fend came to see clat nearly handed the pouch special courier. I have off at this ever-moving blood me, demanding that I take his back to the British Vice-Consul now that these papers

nothing more than 庭 hoax Count "em

were not maintained at blood pressure. His top figure unopened. When I spoke to but I personally and

that hard minimum DICTEITA. Actually, was just 100 higher than Mr Hasleden, retired British

points

to believe," THINK of the suckiness of those are bo pressures there anything

two pressures there anything previously put on his Vice-Consul in

I pulled out my photograph particiva, "an un- witting

tin the of the grave of "Major William He said he felt even better operation, Let's have a little square box at work and one for when it

conformed

this Martin' in Huelva, swhose every side is one

than ever, so I told him how | detall. endilt Is tresting.

I think it was your Service Most bright minds hold metre. That means we con stand

little his pressure really matter- But our luck hold good.

which was hoaxed," I said. - 25 of them in the length of an the resting pressure is a mom od He could have killed me,

The senior spy presed his Afterwards I learned that his in Madrid, too I found Cap- Inch. Now Zay's all it with blood reliable guide to sickness than

Wilhelm the higher gure during work and see what we've got, My, my,

Intel-hand over his white hairs, and It's mathématics," ".

But authorities differ about eagerly this poor wretch leaned ligence ofseer in Spain during read the inscription with Thom Bro-0,000,000 red cells what is the actual point at forward to see the sgures. So the war, now living in retireverence-Duice et decorum en

pro paltia mort," jestli round a tuhcing oxygen which the lower, the tiastolic he had alware written down a meat. He too had returned take of my but," said one was san, bringing chrome priture,

should be recorded hundred points below what be from Internment in Germany to.. Captain/ Lenz, Some yours ago somebody found, Pily be fad not told me. the sunshine of Madrid, nekt in retumalon

There are 8,000 National Ser devised the machine 1 for vico fellell dressed in white, measuring blood pressure. What Then hit will be 250,000 plate lets 10 be sure the blood will elet in fine ou need, fo

The whole red hotchpatch is tumbling sining the blood vessels

that

a saviour he would have been had he said it was only to be. used by doctors who could guard tuele tongues:

ho

of the Navy regular man had noticed how | Lenz, tenlar-

Remember

German

was the frotto question him about "Maför" Martin." NE more thing. It may que I began cautiously by

irs the norm the fuld part of ing from the effects of blood my proastre ezept back on to the are people Teally suffer

His statue

İPOCKET CARTOON bý OSBERT LANCASTER

Jack to Str

CONSULATE 4734 DRA

"No fuck? Someone's told Senator McCarthy I wa crazy about the Russian

Ballet."

UNGILDED LILY

As

London.

S the world's aco Illy- gilders, Hollywood's

make-up men exasperate British movie-goers.

"Just look what they do .fo: our stars," they wail. And, true it is, that what goes out bloomy comes back brassy.

But back in London, having passed unscathed through the valley of Max Factor, is poetess Edith Sitwell with not a hair changed.

When she loft London three months ago 10 supervise the film scripting of her books, "Fanfare for Elizabeth", she was Dante-esque Tudor-style hat with over-the-car drapings, a black gown, two big bracelets and a giant ring. Home again,

only additional gliding was another giant ring. And this, Poetess Sitwell had compensated for with a Tudor-style hat minus the gold-tracery of the original.

the

Otherwise it was the mixture: as before.

Or Hollywood she had this to say: "A stimulating perience."

ex-

But, for the meantime, she returns to poetry with plans to out a book of her own work,

plus * 2,000-page of English and poems.

London

anthology American

Express Service..

day be your turn to hear cuming with him his old friend IJUELVA today, is a quaint those dreary words, "blood proa- and inteillgruce Chief, Ad-11"remote port. It was fina sure.” Think over what. I have miral Wilhelm Cimaris, - Than-hero, that Columbus set tall to “Stalking", about everywhere' said and stone it in your mind, we steered the talk to his war- discover America, his ... stutus I was a moping thing until time work, pok Meng dominates the coast where blood with bills abstruse

Captain Lenz, lively, white jor Martin" Kosted in. beure above safety level, or chart I know If you run car indeed, and keen to complete

Btengslera ⠀ing the

sunny The Fobart does its best

Sber what I have said you call with on Englishman sipped his cemetery, here are just now 'with best, at about 70 But there were alda, hordes of "stride out of the consulting zinná valdi pratenskapenak much Interested-fix-strow-b wikken er to Weary Winnies and From Time so will your chin up was one that fus me the cover of ANY help 166f they expand and con- monning

gol, blood And I hope you will remem-dili: punues melihat, Brilsh; best-bull-fighter, lylig tract to Mecg the massive load prossure." These are the people ber to say: “So how got blood military courice, who was-wash-i-krore (under: 72hb. Minn., and}}MAR

on the move.

we are concernich with how

Pago 1

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