Operation Garbo (22 page)
Authors: Juan Pujol Garcia
This order to suspend operations was exactly what
GARBO
and Harris had been hoping for, and they both took a brief
vacation
, the first that either had had since
GARBO
’s arrival more than two years earlier.
GARBO
went on a motor tour of the British Isles, chauffeured by Jock Horsfall, while Tommy and Hilda Harris stayed with Sarah Bishop’s parents at Chisbury in Wiltshire. Naturally, Tommy took his easel and paint brushes, and he completed several pictures of the farmyard animals.
All the players in this bizarre pantomime were just
recovering
from the arrest when, on 29 July, Madrid sent their own congratulations:
With great happiness and satisfaction I am able to advise you today that the Führer has conceded the Iron Cross to you for your extraordinary merits, a decoration which, without
exception
, is granted only to first-line combatants. For this reason, we all send you our most sincere and cordial congratulations.
Suitably humbled,
GARBO
answered:
I cannot at this moment, when emotion overcomes me, express in words my gratitude for the decoration conceded by our Führer, to whom humbly and with every respect I express my gratitude for the high distinction which he has bestowed on me, for which I feel myself unworthy as I have never done more than what I have considered to the
fulfilment
of my duty. Furthermore, I must state that this prize has been won not only by me but also by Carlos
2
and the other comrades, who, through their advice and directives, have made possible my work here, and so the
congratulations
are mutual. My desire is to fight with great ardour to be worthy of this medal which has only been conceded to those heroes, my companions in honour, who fight on the battlefront.
Being informed of the decoration was one thing, but actually taking possession of it was quite another, and both
GARBO
and Tommy Harris were keen to receive their trophy. On 12 August
GARBO
made further inquiries in a letter, his twenty-fifth:
I want also today to amplify my message with regard to the Iron Cross which I have been conceded. From the time of knowing this, I have carried the series of reverses which I have suffered with greater resignation and, I can now say, with greater courage than previously; my fervent desire is to possess this and hold it in my very hands. I know that this desire is difficult to fulfil, as I cannot glorify myself with it when I have it. But for my personal satisfaction, I should certainly like to have it by me, even though it be hidden underground until I am able to wear it on my chest, the day when this plague which surrounds us is wiped off the face of the earth. Can you possibly send it camouflaged via the courier?
MI5 were later to learn, via the
ISOS
intercepts, that
GARBO
’s request was to create some serious problems for the Abwehr. The matter was still being raised some six months later when, on 12 December, the following
ISOS
decrypt was passed to Tommy Harris:
In re award of Iron Cross II to
ARABEL
and the discussions in Berlin. In our message of the 17 June we applied for the award of Iron Cross II to
ARABEL
, emphasising that he was a Spanish national, but giving as justification the fact that activity of
ARABEL
constantly at the price of his life was just as important as the service at the front of the Spanish members of the Blue Division. We were informed in your message of 24 June that this award was agreed to and that the submission of the prescribed proposal had been put forward. On the basis of this information, we at this end were under the impression that no difficulties were to be expected in [obtaining] the eventual award and this was reported to
ARABEL
, who was at that time, as a result of very great difficulties, in a state of mental depression for psychological reasons. The
communication
of this news about the award had the expected result and evoked from
ARABEL
a written expression of his special pride at the distinction. Difficulties in maintaining and extending the
ARABEL
network have been constantly increasing recently, but were mastered by
ARABEL
with an utter disregard for all personal interests and by giving all he was capable of.
ARABEL
has himself been in hiding for weeks, separated from wife and children. The extraordinary successes of
ARABEL
have been made possible by his constant, complete and express
confidence
in the Führer and our cause. He regards the award of the Iron Cross II, as reported to him, as final and as coming from the Führer. It seems psychologically impossible now to inform him that the award will not be made without
exercising
the most adverse effect on him and his organisation. For the reasons stated, please support the award from your end
with all possible means. Would it not be possible to classify
ARABEL
retrospectively as a member of the Blue Division? Please report to us by w/t results of your efforts, as
ARABEL
has already asked for the decoration in question to be sent to his next of kin to be kept for him.
Evidently,
GARBO
’s case officer had run into a few
bureaucratic
obstacles in his attempts to have the Iron Cross actually awarded to someone who was not a member of the regular armed forces. The compromise suggestion that
GARBO
should be enrolled in the Spanish Blue Division, then fighting on the Russian front, was the solution that was eventually adopted. When the question arose about a British decoration, an
honorary
award of Membership of the Order of the British Empire, no such obstacles were placed in
GARBO
’s way. It was
recommended
by Tommy Harris (who was himself decorated with the CBE for his role in the
GARBO
case), Colonel Robertson (another CBE recipient for his war work) and the
director-general
of the Security Service, Sir David Petrie. Normally, the MBE is given only to British subjects, and a public notice naming recipients is placed in the
London Gazette
, but on this occasion, owing to the obvious security considerations, no such announcement was made and a special exception was allowed for
GARBO
to receive his medal. His name was placed in a secret annex at the central chancery of the orders of knighthood, with instructions that any inquiry concerning Juan Pujol should be referred immediately to MI5. That rule is applied strictly to this day. The medal itself, which
GARBO
still treasures, was presented by Sir David Petrie at a special luncheon in
GARBO
’s honour, held shortly before Christmas 1944. It was a highly emotional affair and was attended by all the senior MI5 staff who knew of the
GARBO
case.
The setbacks
GARBO
had referred to in his letter the
previous
August centred on his decision to reorganise his network.
CHAMILLUS
had been out of commission for the entire period
since his desertion from Hiltingbury, and had spent much of the time in hiding on a remote hill farm owned by an elderly couple in South Wales. He was apparently at the end of his tether, so
GARBO
arranged for
DAGOBERT
, the seaman from Swansea, to smuggle him aboard a merchant vessel bound for Canada.
DAGOBERT
had been unnerved by
DRAKE
’s
imprisonment
in Exeter and his retirement seemed inevitable. He was,
GARBO
reported, considering returning to the sea.
GARBO
now promoted
BENEDICT
and left him in charge of the day-to-day running of the entire network. He also promoted
DONNY
and brought him back from Dover.
DORICK
, still in Harwich, was given responsibility for all the east of England, and the Greek was placed in charge of all future Scottish activities. With the removal of
DAGOBERT
,
CHAMILLUS
and
DRAKE
, garbo was ready to begin operations again.
GARBO
restarted with a letter, his twenty-second, on 20 July, in which he speculated on the question of FUSAG and its command:
Patton was removed from his command of FUSAG and given, instead, the command of the Third US Army, giving over the command of the Twelfth US Army Group to General Bradley, who is Eisenhower’s ‘yes man’, who, at the same time, has the experience of the battles he has led in France. The command of FUSAG was unfilled for a few days and was then given over to another of Eisenhower’s favourites called McNair, who has just recently arrived from America. Patton is at present commander-in-chief of the Third American Army.
Although SHAEF may not have approved of
GARBO
’s choice of words, there was a strategic purpose to the gossip. A number of the genuine units designated as being under the command of Patton’s FUSAG had been sent to the Normandy front and, sooner or later, the Germans would interrogate a few
prisoners
. Only a relative handful of staff at SHAEF and elsewhere
were privy to all FUSAG’s secrets, and it would not take long for the enemy to suspect a deception campaign if individual prisoners expressed ignorance of their own supposed army group. Furthermore, the Abwehr would certainly want to know why FUSAG units apparently destined for the planned second offensive had been committed in France. The explanation was characteristically elaborate: extra reinforcements were
unexpectedly
required at the beachhead and Eisenhower had
therefore
transferred elements of FUSAG to Normandy. Patton had objected to the loss of some of his officers and had been replaced by General McNair, formerly commander-in-chief of the land forces in the United States. Patton had been sent to France in disgrace, and a US Twelfth Army had been formed under General Simpson (in reality the commander of the US Ninth Army) to bolster the FUSAG remnants. This all sounded reasonably plausible, especially given Patton’s many recently publicised indiscretions, but unfortunately General McNair was killed by bombs dropped in error by US aircraft when he visited Normandy a few days after his arrival in England. Accordingly, on 29 July,
GARBO
reported McNair’s demise, and other channels were used to communicate Simpson’s new duties at FUSAG.
GARBO
’s resumption of duties took care of a substantial
backlog
of messages that had built up in his absence.
DAGOBERT
’s were probably the most outdated, although
DORICK
had been sent on a mission some time before
GARBO
’s arrest and none of his lengthy material had been passed on. Nonetheless,
GARBO
relayed all these reports so as to prove that his network had not been idle in his absence. He now relied on the ever-faithful
DONNY
,
DICK
and
DORICK
, from
DAGOBERT
’s ring; J(1), his long-serving courier the Greek seaman, who continued to report from Scotland, and his various unconscious helpers: J(3) at the Ministry of Information; his mistress in Whitehall, J(5); and 4(3), the talkative American sergeant. All now communicated with Madrid through
BENEDICT
, who had taken over from
GARBO
in case the police pursued their inquiries into his detention. Meanwhile, the Canadian operation
was progressing well with
BENEDICT
’s brother in Ottawa, and
DAGOBERT
’s Wren managed the occasional letter from her distant post at Peradenyia in Ceylon.
Throughout August 1944
GARBO
relied increasingly on
DAGOBERT
’s network to supply him with information. A signal dated 16 August is typical of one from
DONNY
:
DONNY
on return from south-west tour. Identified
following
units in Bristol area from vehicle markings: 691st Field Artillery Battalion, 184th Medical Battalion and 172nd Engineer Battalion, all belonging to the Ninth US Army, with the markings ‘99A’ in addition to the unit number. Troops have no army insignia, though, from conversations with a soldier, I was able to confirm that the Ninth Army
identification
is correct, though he could not explain the reason for the absence of army insignia. Same contacts said that three more divisions are due to arrive from USA to be put under the command of the Ninth Army.
DORICK
also had a contribution to make, on 23 August:
Urgent.
DORICK
. The entire 59th, rattlesnake, American Division has started to leave Ipswich area, moving toward the south. Other divisions also preparing to leave. Agent is investigating and will send detailed reports as soon as possible.
Three days later
DICK
reported in:
DICK
. Saw many units with sign of white St Andrew’s cross on circular background in red and blue, which I discovered belongs to the 17th US Division, which have been arriving in the Brighton area. Headquarters of this division is in Stanmer Park, about four miles from Brighton on Lewes Road. Have identified following units of this division: 293rd Infantry Regiment, 114th Engineering Battalion.
DORICK
finally sent his observations to
GARBO
on 28 August:
DORICK
. Numerous rumours that entire American army in this area is leaving for south. Troops of the 11th US Division, previously seen in Stowmarket, have left the district. Few troops of XXXIII US Corps seen in Bury St Edmunds. Many troops of this corps left recently for unknown destination. Many convoys of the 17th US Division seen moving south. Advanced units of this division moved south some time ago.
DICK
recently reported arrival in Brighton area of units of this division. Blackwall tunnel, under the Thames, was closed for three days for passage of American troops.