Month: February 2015

Tower of London – The Summer of 1915 – Plans for a Miniature Rifle Range

Last year, I wrote a post about the Miniature Rifle Range at the Tower of London. The rifle range was used for the firing squad executions of eight World War I spies and one World War II spy (Josef Jakobs). Two other World War I spies, Haicke Petrus Marinus Janssen and Willem Johannes Roos were […]

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Book Review – Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture (2012)

The Book Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture. Ian Cobain. Portobello Books, London. 2012. Summary Since the tragedy of 9/11, there has been much in the news about the war on terror, and the questionable interrogation methods used by the United States of America. While many point fingers at the United States, Great Britain

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Book Review – Execution: A History of Capital Punishment in Britain – Simon Webb (2012)

The Book Execution: A History of Capital Punishment in Britain. Simon Webb. The History Press. Stroud, Gloucestershire. 2012. Summary [Disclaimer – I did not read the entire book, only the sections on Josef Jakobs and Karel Richter] The author of this book takes a look at the various methods of execution used throughout Britain’s history.

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Today in 1941 – February 3 – German spy Josef Jakobs was transferred to Dulwich Community Hospital

Today in 1941, German spy Josef Jakobs was finally admitted to Dulwich Community Hospital in East Dulwich. His broken ankle, injured during the parachute jump on the evening of January 31, was in desperate need of medical attention. Three physicians had examined Josef at various points on February 1 and 2 – all agreed that

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Today in 1941 – February 2 – German spy Josef Jakobs was briefly interrogated at Latchmere House by MI5

Today in 1941, German spy Josef Jakobs woke up in a hospital bed in the Infirmary at Brixton Prison. The Medical Officer at the prison took a look at Josef’s ankle and knew that Josef needed more advanced medical treatment than could be offered at the prison. Plans were made to transfer Josef to a

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Today in 1941 – February 1 – German parachutist Josef Jakobs was discovered in a field near Ramsey, Huntingdonshire

On this day in 1941, German spy Josef Jakobs was found in a potato field on Dovehouse Farm, near the village of Ramsey, Huntingdonshire. At about 8:30 a.m. Josef had fired several shots into the air from his Mauser pistol. The shots were heard by Charles Baldock and Harry Coulson, two farm labourers who were

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