Category: Intelligence

HART-DAVIS, Duff. Man of War: The Secret Life of Captain Alan Hilgarth, Officer, Adventurer, Agent. xii, 433p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 2012.  ISBN: 9781846059711.

An extraordinary life of adventure. He fought at Gallipoli, went gold hunting in Bolivia and wrote thrillers. He was an intelligence officer in Spain and a key player in Operation Mincemeat and later Chief of Intelligence for the Eastern Fleet. 

COLVIN, Ian. Chief of Intelligence. 223p.,bibliog. London: Gollancz; New York: McGraw-Hill, 1951.

In a series of essays on Canaris and German Intelligence, tries to describe Canaris's character, his views, his role in the Abwehr and in German intelligence, and his place in German opposition to Hitler.The US edition is entitled Master spy, the incredible story of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who, while Hitler's Chief of Intelligence, was a secret ally of the British. Reprinted by George Mann in 1973 as Canaris, Chief of Intelligence, ISBN: 0704100231.

BALME, David. Enigma: The Untold Story of the Secret Capture (The British Navy at War and Peace, Volume 3). x, 166p., bibliog., illus., index. Dunbeath: Whittles, 2016. ISBN: 9781849952262.

        A biography based on recordings made by Balme and assembled by the series editor Peter Hore. When war broke out in 1939 he was a midshipman on Ivanhoe. He saw the sinking of Courageous guarded convoys then took his Sub-Lieutenant’s course at Portsmouth. He joined Berwick in June 1940 and went to the Mediterranean with her. He saw action at Cape Spartivento and against Hipper when she attacked convoy WS5A. Early in 1941 he joined Bulldog, which served in the Atlantic. The book focuses on the battle for convoy OB318 and the capture of U 110. Balme led the boarding party which ransacked the submarine, took her in tow and captured her Enigma machine. In August 1941 he transferred to the Fleet Air Arm. After service in the Western Desert he trained as a Fighter Direction Officer. In 1943 he joined Renown. He served with her in the Pacific Fleet.

MCKAY, Sinclair. The Lost World of Bletchley Park: An Illustrated History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre.192p., illus. London: Aurum, 2013. ISBN: 9781781311912.

A well-illustrated general history with some limited material of naval interest.

HESKETH, Roger. Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign. xxii, 513p., illus., index. London: St Ermin’s Press, 1999. ISBN: 0316851728.

Written in the late 1940’s as a confidential official history, it is published after being declassified and updated. Republished in the USA in 2000 by Overlook Press. ISBN: 1585670758.

JEFFERY, Keith. MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949. xxi, 810p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN: 9780747591832.

An authoritative official history. Important background but with limited naval relevance.

VAREY, Peter. Life On The Edge: Peter Danckwaerts GC, MBE, FRS brave, shy, brilliant. iv, 368p., bibliog., illus., index. Cambridge: PFV Publications, 2012. ISBN: 9780953844012.

The biography of a distinguished chemical engineer and academic. During the war he served in mine and bomb disposal in London and the Mediterranean. After being wounded in Sicily, he was given a role in Combined Operations HQ working on scientific projects and intelligence.

SHOWELL, Jak P. Mallmann. Dönitz, U-Boats, Convoys: The British Version of His Memoirs from the Admiralty's Secret Anti-Submarine Reports. xvi, 208p., illus., Barnsley: Frontline, 2013. ISBN: 1848327013.

Combines Dönitz’s memoirs in a parallel text with the Admiralty’s secret Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports to give a novel view of the U-Boat war.

HODGKINSON, Terry. “Frederick”: The Forgotten Mission. c.45p. [Kindle edition], 2012.

Guy Verstraete, code name Vlaminck, was a young officer in the Belgian Merchant Navy who escaped from French internment. He was taken by the submarine Saracen to Corsica in 1943 for MI6 accompanied by two Corsicans. Hidden for two months, in a small shepherd’s house he sent coded radio messages to MI6 in Algiers. But he was eventually caught and condemned to death. Verstraete was the only foreign agent shot by firing squad in Corsica, under the Italian occupation.

BOYD, Andrew. British Naval Intelligence Through the Twentieth Century. xxiv, 776p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2020. ISBN: 9781526736598.

 A magisterial but very readable fresh perspective on naval intelligence. Exhaustive and well researched.

BROOKES, Andrew J. Photo Reconnaissance. 247p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Ian Allan, 1975. ISBN: 0711005702.

A general history which concentrates on WWII. It was useful to the navy and this is touched on briefly. 

BREUER, William B. The Secret War with Germany: Deception, Espionage and Dirty Tricks 1939–1945. 328p., bibliog., illus., index. Novato, Calif.: Presidio, 1988; Shrewsbury: Airlife, 1991. ISBN: 1853100374.

Much relevant naval material.

BEESLY, Patrick. Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty’s Opera-tional Intelligence Centre 1939–1945. xv, 271p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Hamilton, 1977; New York: Doubleday, 1978. ISBN: 0241896061.

The author served in OIC from 1940 and describes its war against Germany, but excluding the Mediterranean theatre. Complements Maclachlan’s book and benefits from the relaxation of security restrictions and the release of some secret files to the public domain, as well as personal knowledge. It presents a clearer picture than previously possible of how intelligence affected the war at sea.

An important book assessing the impact of ULTRA. It reviews various campaigns and actions with a quite new eye in the light of what is now known of this intelligence.

Tennant was officially the British Press Attaché in Stockholm throughout the war. But he was one of SOE's men and this is a lively tale of black propaganda, blockade running, and sabotage.

One of those involved gives an account of the role of photo reconnaissance and interpretation. Some mention is made of its naval value.

A German perspective on the role of Enigma, and the U-boats and weather ships which provided Enigma machines or related intelligence. Also speculates on half a dozen other boarded U-boats where information might have been gained. Excellent illustrations.

A campaigning local journalist tells the story both of the action when Petard captured the Enigma codes from U-559 and of his campaign to highlight the bravery of a local man, Colin Grazier, one of three men who boarded the submarine, losing his life in the process.

CABELL, Craig. Ian Fleming’s Secret War. xxv, 182p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2008. ISBN: 9781844157730.

A somewhat disjointed and in places sparse biography, which gives a good picture of Fleming’s role in naval intelligence. Reprinted in paperback in 2016 by the same publisher, ISBN: 9781473853492.

GLYN-JONES, Anne. Morse Code Wrens of Station X: Bletchley’s Outer Circle. xiv, 163p., illus. Exeter: Amphora Press, 2017. ISBN: 9781845409098.

A very personal and readable account of the realities of daily life at Bletchley Park for those working at the coal face.

LEVINE, Joshua. Operation Fortitude: The Story of the Spy Operation That Saved D-Day. 316p., bibliog., illus., index. London: HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN: 9780007313532.

The story of the operation to persuade the Germans that the landings would take place in the Pas de Calais. There was a naval element to the deception. Republished in 2019 as Dunkirk & Operation Fortitude: Two Missions That Changed the Fate of World War II, published by William Collins (ISBN: 9780007978717).

HASTINGS, Max. The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939-1945.xxvii, 612p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Collins, 2015. ISBN: 9780007503742.

Aims to provide a worldwide perspective on the successes and failures of all the participants. Has some marginal naval relevance. A substantial and well-written account.        

MCKAY, Sinclair.  The Secret Listeners: How the Y Service Intercepted the German Codes for Bletchley Park. 354p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Aurum, 2012. ISBN: 9781845137632.

A slightly hagiographic breezy account of the young operators who gathered the signals used by Bletchley Park.

MCKAY, Sinclair. The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre and the Men and Women Who were There. vi, 336p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Aurum, 2010. ISBN: 9781845135393.

A description of the work of Bletchley, but especially of the men and women who worked there and their reminiscences.

MACINTYRE, Ben. Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed The Course of World War II. xiii, 400p., bibliog, illus., index. London: Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN: 0747598681.

Offers a mass of new detail, and enchanting pen portraits of the British, Spanish and German participants.

HEMINGWAY-DOUGLASS, Reanne & DOUGLASS, Don. The Shelburne Escape Line: Secret Rescues of Allied Aviators by the French Underground, the British Royal Navy & London’s MI-9. xxiv, 197p., bibliog., illus. Anacortes, WA., Cave Art Press, 2014. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2015. ISBN: 9781473837782.

The story of the escape route from Brittany set up in late 1943 by MI-9 agents. Full of personal stories including those of the French who hid the escapees and with some small naval relevance. Researched and written as a labour of love over some eight years.

PAGE, Gwendoline. We Kept the Secret: Now It Can Be Told. Some Memories of Pembroke V Wrens Collected and Edited by Gwendoline Page. xii, 169p., illus. Wymondham:, Reeve, 2002. ISBN: 0900616652.

A wonderful collection of memories from the Wrens who served at Bletchley Park and the various out stations at home and abroad.       

HORE, Peter. Bletchley Park’s Secret Source: Churchill’s Wrens and the Y Service in World War II. xiv, 210p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill, 2021. ISBN: 9781784385811.

Uncovers the hidden story of the Wrens who ran the Y Service chain of wireless intercept stations which provided much of the raw data for Bletchley Park. Engagingly told with strong use of recollections from those who served.

SIMMONS, Mark. Ian Fleming and Operation Golden Eye: Spies, Scoundrels and Envoys Keeping Spain Out of World War. xvi, 192p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Casemate, 2018. ISBN: 9781612006857.

The story of Ian Fleming and a whole host of characters who were active in the Iberian Peninsula in the early years of the war as Franco dithered between maintaining neutrality and joining the Axis. Also covers the various plans prepared for any attempt to capture Gibraltar. A fascinating tale spoiled somewhat by poor proofreading.

NUDD, Derek. Castaways of the Kriegsmarine: How Shipwrecked German Seamen Helped the Allies Win the Second World War. 259p., bibliog., illus. [n.p.], CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017. ISBN: 9781548371012.

Examines the survivors of five vessels of the Kriegsmarine as the British shifted them through the interrogation process after capture. All were sunk in late 1943 and early 1944, a period of intense activity for the naval team at Combined Services Detailed Intelligence Centre (CSDIC). A well written introduction to British intelligence gathering from prisoners.

NUDD, Derek. Castaways in Question: A Story of British Naval Interrogators from WW1 to Denazification. xix, 349p., bibliog., index. [n.p.], Cottage Grove Editions, 2020. ISBN 9781838094317.

Building on his earlier research this is an entertaining and well written book which uses original sources to great effect and throws fresh light on intelligence gathering.

SPICER, Tim. A Dangerous Enterprise: Secret War at Sea. 312p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Barbreck Publishers, 2021. ISBN: 9781999589134.

A distinguished soldier turned author gives an excellent account of the service of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla. Based in Dartmouth it specialised in ferrying secret agents to and from Brittany. Uses an extensive range of official documents such as SOE files and private papers as well as published and on-line sources.

WEBB, Adrian James. Churchill’s Secret Chart Makers: The Road to D-Day and Beyond in Somerset 1939-45. xii, 252p., bibliog., illus., index. Taunton: Harry Galloway Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 9781862410527.

The untold story of the RN Hydrographic Department based in Taunton, Bath, Exeter and Froome.  During the war they produced over thirty million charts and navigational products distributed to almost 5000 allied vessels. A fascinatingly detailed account.

Sir William Stephenson considered her the greatest unsung heroine of the war. Her daring exploits included the acquisition of the Italian naval cypher, which is claimed to have affected the battle of Matapan, while the acquisition of the Vichy French cyphers affected beneficially the North African Torch landings.

A good account which helpfully explores the role of politics as a brake on such cooperation.

More than half the book is concerned with his distinguished wartime career. He was Director of Naval Intelligence from 1939 to 1942, but was removed after disagreements on the Joint Intelligence Committee. He then commanded the Indian Navy for the rest of the war.

A good general account with a generous amount of space given to naval matters, notably the Battle of the Atlantic.

Mainly a military history, but with some mention of naval concerns.

Few memories not very well told.

The story of a hunt for "the man who never was." Seraph dropped the body of a "Major Martin" off the Spanish coast. It carried fake documents aimed at distracting the Axis from the planned invasion of Sicily.

The highlights of WWII are disposed of in 50 pages, with an eye to the controversial and some brisk judgments.

A disappointing and scrappy account of an important wartime post. Fills out the picture of operations in Northern waters.

Essentially a study of espionage in the Far East between the wars based on official intelligence material released in the 1980s. Issues explored include Britain's appeasement policy towards Japan, and the conspiracy theories which claim Churchill and Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbour.

An account of the early 1943 convoy battles, focusing on the use of intelligence.

An overview of the battle which reassesses ULTRA and puts it in its context as a useful and very occasionally crucial tool, but ultimately only one facet in a complicated campaign with many dimensions.

A set of US Army War College Conference papers, which includes a notable paper by Beesly on PQ17.

Seven lengthy essays, by various contributors, with an emphasis on the invasion of Europe.

An account of Petard's immensely important capture of U 559. A detailed account which would have made an excellent journal article is turned into a very padded book.

A dry and unemotional work, as befits its purpose, with naval intelligence well covered. The final volume was written by Sir Michael Howard. A one volume abridged edition with the same title was published in 1994. (ISBN: 0116309563).

Colonel Bassett joined the Marines in 1907 and served with them for over fifty years. Early in WWII he was attached to Naval Intelligence to set up the Inter-Services Topographical Unit, where he served throughout the war.

The best and fullest account of the influence of ULTRA on naval operations.

At the strategic core of the Allied naval effort in the Battle of the Atlantic were Commander Rodger Winn of the Admiralty Operational Intelligence Centre and US Navy Commander Kenneth Knowles of their F-21 Atlantic Section. Together, Winn and Knowles influenced the most pivotal decisions and operations in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and other naval theaters as well. They fostered an atmosphere of Anglo-American cooperation that was described by Patrick Beesly as "probably closer than between any other British and American organizations in any service and in any theatre."

First published in Poland in 1979. This is one of the early works on ULTRA decryption and has a good section on the war at sea.

A particularly well-illustrated account, with much material of naval relevance.

A scholarly account of the intelligence war which had only recently come to public knowledge. Has some background on the naval value of the material.

A useful life, with almost sixty pages on his wartime career.

A good account of a neglected area with much naval relevance.

A full account, interesting but incomplete, for example in its omission of any discussion of the value of ULTRA, which was still considered secret in 1968.

The author served in Section 17-M of the Naval Intelligence Division. He was responsible for all nonoperational intelligence, including ULTRA decodes, for deception using double agents and liaison with other intelligence services. An enjoyable if coy account of a recently declassified area. US title: Beyond Top Secret ULTRA.

An account by one of its organisers of Operation Mincemeat, in which an attempt was made to fool German Intelligence about the forthcoming landings in Sicily by allowing them to find a dead body with false documents. The body was washed ashore in Spain, having been "planted" at sea by Seraph.

A very detailed and well illustrated account.

Sir Alan Peacock served with the Y Service, which intercepted enemy signals at sea. He was called up in 1942 from university and was drafted for Intelligence work because of his knowledge of German. He served on Woolston on East Coast convoys before going to King Alfred for officer training. Assigned to the staff of Captain (D) Plymouth, he was almost immediately wounded on Limbourne in a disastrous Tunnel operation in the Channel. After survivor's leave he was posted to work with Arctic convoys and finally to the occupying forces in Germany.

Fleming's wartime service as personal assistant to Admiral Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence, is covered in under fifty pages. It was a mixture of painstaking hard work and madcap exploits.

A participant describes the role of photo-interpretation.

An excellent account of the fight for the naval Enigma code covering the codebreaking, traitors and heroic cutting out and captures of U-boats and weather ships.