Year: 2020

Book Review - They Came to Spy - Stanley Firmin 2

Book Review – They Came to Spy – Stanley Firmin – 1947

The Book They Came to Spy: An Account of Nazi Espionage in Great Britain. Stanley Firmin. London-Hutchison. 1947. Background For over a year, I’ve been meaning to review Stanley Firmin’s 1947 book, They Came to Spy, but somehow, there is always another blog that seems more pressing. But, today is the day. Mind you, I

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shorthand

Court Martial of Josef Jakobs – Stenographer – Sgt. Bertram Anthony Balment RAOC

I’d never heard of the tooth-to-tail ratio before. It’s the ratio of the number of combat soldiers (tooth) to the number of soldiers involved in a support capacity (tail). I guess I knew that every army needed support and logistics but, in my mind, when someone is a soldier, that means they are in a

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From the Mailbox

Several months ago (April!) I received an email from a German researcher, Heinz-Jörgen K.-v.H. who has been tracing the lives of the Katz family. Those who follow this blog might recall that Lily (née Katz) Knips was a Jewish widow living in Berlin, who in 1938, was introduced to Josef Jakobs by friends. Josef tried

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Irish Guards

Court Martial of Josef Jakobs – Waiting Member – Major Robert Christopher Alexander, Irish Guards

A few years ago, I posted a blog giving a bit of background about the officers who served as the Members of the Court at Josef’s court martial in early August 1941. I was able to track down fairly good info on all but one of the officers, drawing a blank on Major R.C. Alexander,

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From the Mailbox

Some of the communications I’ve received this past week. Harm Knol Bruins – Dutch Spy I received an email this week from Ivar B. whose great aunt-in-law was the second wife of Harm Knol Bruins, Dutch engineer and German spy. I’ve updated my blog post (link above) with the info that Ivar shared. The most

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Article Review – After the Battle – Volume 150

The Magazine Article From the Editor, After the Battle, volume 150, Battle of Britain Prints International Ltd., 2010, page 53. Summary A full page spread (mostly photos) summarizing my visit to Ramsey, Huntingdonshire with Winston Ramsey. Includes photograph of me standing in the potato filed where Josef Jakobs landed, and in front of the Ramsey

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From the Mailbox

A few months back, I received some very kind feedback on The Spy in the Tower. I’ve been meaning to share the comments for a while and my weekly Mailbox blog post seems like a good place for that. Winston Ramsey, After the Battle Magazine Winston was the first person I reached out to back

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