Was there a war-time spy ring in Birmingham, England? It's a topic that comes up quite frequently in the Bella in the Wych Elm story. The theory is that Bella was involved with the Birmingham spy ring, ran afoul of the leaders and ended up stuffed in the hollow wych elm. To date, however, I've never come across any solid evidence to support that particular theory. I was always perplexed as to where the theory originated, and had only ever come across it in Donald McCormick's book, Murder by Witchcraft . Donald McCormick - Murder by Witchcraft - 1968 Cover - Murder by Witchcraft - 1968 Donald McCormick I blogged about his book in regards to the Bella case back in May 2017 . McCormick told the tale of a stellar spy operating in the British Midlands... My next search was into any records which showed whether the Germans had successfully infiltrated their spies into the Midlands during the war. This proved both lengthy and in the main unrewarding. This was quite under