Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941

The sad tale of Engelbertus Fukken, alias Jan Willem Ter Braak has recently been published in more detail by Jan Willem Van den Braak (no relation). The author's persistent research tracked down relatives of the unfortunate Fukken who filled in some of his background story. Their astonishment at having such an infamous character in their family tree was understandable. Given the secrecy surrounding wartime espionage activities in Britain, shame amongst Fukken's immediate family at his nefarious activities and the obvious language challenges, it would be easy for later family members to dismiss the rumours surrounding the strange uncle/cousin who disappeared during the war. But now that Fukken has stepped from the shadows, his relations are arranging for a marker to be placed on his grave.

After the Battle - Ter Braak's Grave
Our knowledge of Fukken's final resting place is due in large part to the work of Winston Ramsey and After the Battle Magazine. Researching the wa…

The Book
The London Cage; Lt. Col. A.P. Scotland, O.B.E.; Evans Brothers Limited; London; 1957.

Summary
I purchased a copy of The London Cage several years ago and got around to reading it this past week.

The London Cage was one of a series of interrogation centres run by MI19. It was commanded by Lt. Col. A.P. Scotland. After the war, Scotland wrote the story of the London Cage but ran afoul of the Official Secrets Act. His original manuscript apparently outlined many of the controversial methods he used to extract confessions from the prisoners of war who passed through his hands. After being sanitized, the book was published in 1957.

Scotland outlines how he became involved in intelligence work in South Africa, even to the point of serving in the German Army for four years. We learn of his derring-do during World War I when he crossed enemy lines and sniffed out information on the Germans. Much of the book deals with the aftermath of World War 2 and how Scotland and his group sought…

The Book
Rough Justice - The True Story of Agent Dronkers, the Enemy Spy Captured by the British; David Tremain; Amberley Publishing; The Stroud, Gloucestershire; 2016.

Summary
Johannes Marinus Dronkers was a poor sod of a guy. A Dutchman who struggled to make a living in Nazi-occupied Holland, he was an easy mark for the German spy handlers. Dronkers, and two other Dutchmen, sailed for the English coast in a little boat in the spring of 1942. Their boat ran into difficulties and they were eventually picked up by the British. All three of the men underwent serious interrogations and, eventually, Dronkers caved. On December 31, 1942, Dronkers was hanged at Wandsworth Prison.

It would seem to be an open and shut case on a very minor World War 2 spy but... author David Tremain has conducted some intense research into Dronkers background and delved into the declassified MI5 files at the National Archives. As with many of the ill-fated men who were "recruited" by the Germans to sp…

The Book
Bella in the Wych Elm - In Search of a Wartime Mystery - by Andrew Sparke - 2014 and 2016

I came across reference to this book through the HD Paranormal site - the people who are doing a film on Bella in the Wych Elm (due to be released in August 2017). I hemmed and hawed a bit about buying the book but... it was less than $5 and an e-book, so why not.

First off... "book" is a bit of a stretch. The e-book has a grand total of 80 pages (that includes the front page, copyright pages, table of contents, further reading, etc). There are also another 46 pages of police file transcripts. This "book" is more like a pamphlet... particularly as the e-book pages are quite short and the font quite large. A paperback version has a grand total of 54 pages.

Secondly, the author appears to have accessed some of the Worcester police files and yet these are not referenced. In fact, there are really no references. Given the amount of speculation and supposition that surroun…