The Spy Who Painted the Queen (7 page)
Read The Spy Who Painted the Queen Online
Authors: Phil Tomaselli
L attached to his report a few lines for me. He begs me to ask the Authorities whether he cannot recover his Hungarian Nationality after the War. Please answer me as to this, and I will send it on to him.
I am contenting myself to-day with telling him that I will look after him, and with expressing my personal opinion that his request cannot but meet with a favourable reception, in view of the great services which he rendered us last year.
May I add, to give you the true perspective, that L has already sent in nearly 40 reports, which money will not pay for. L's success has been rapid; as a converted Jew he had the entrée to Pope Leo the 13th's presence, and shortly afterwards to the German Court, and the British Court. Hence he has a number of enemies, who made his life impossible in Hungary.
It is not identified who Thomson's agent was, but there is one fascinating possibility. On the outbreak of war, Thomson had taken on a private enquiry agency run by the theatrical impresario Maundy Gregory to do the most basic work of enquiring about visitors to hotels and running errands. Gregory later became famous as the only man ever to be found guilty of selling honours on behalf of the government to raise money for political purposes. On 13 June 1917, being just within the age range for conscription, Gregory was conscripted and a couple of days later actually enlisted at Windsor. A few weeks later, he tried for a commission in the Intelligence or Secret Services, but was rebuffed by both MI5 and SIS. He claimed, however, as part of his attempt, that not only had he run his enquiry agency on behalf of the authorities, but had received a government grant to do so. The dates don't quite fit, but it is possible that passing on a copy of this letter might have been his final service in this capacity. Whoever it was that copied it or when, there is a note in the file discussing whether De László had received it, reading, âthere is no doubt at all that he did.'
At some point, a further piece of correspondence copied from the German Legation appeared to be a letter addressed to it from Geneva. It was dated 16 July 1917. Clearly marked as âSecret', it read:
I respectfully request you to pass on the following to Frau Gomperz for Ph. A. László, London, Palace Gte, 3:-
âYour report that you have the feeling of being watched makes me beg you before all not to undertake anything more, and to keep perfectly quiet.
After some time of rest and quiet I shall advise you further.'
                With best thanks
One has to wonder whether De László had spotted MI5's shadowing staff keeping an eye on him.
It was only on 24 July that a letter from Madame van Riemsdyk, stating that she was forwarding something âby the ordinary route', was intercepted, probably by the ordinary censorship, as at some point in July they placed all her mail under check for the first time. It was clear from this letter that De László had been communicating with Madame van Riemsdyk by some channel other than the ordinary post â presumably the Dutch diplomatic bag. Now MI5 had evidence it could use in open court of the link between De László and use of the bag, and, if nothing else, a serious breach of the censorship regulations. This would allow them to keep their own monitoring of his mail secret and allow them to prosecute if necessary.
*
  Such was the controversy likely to have been caused if this section of the report came out that it was deleted in the copies later supplied to Messrs Chas. Russell & Co. (De László's solicitors) and in the copies for the use of the Denaturalisation Committee.
T
HE
F
IRST
I
NTERROGATION
T
HE CASE AGAINST
De László was now building up, and on 15 August 1917, he was examined at New Scotland Yard by Basil Thomson, Mr Curtis Bennett and Major Carter of MI5, Lord Herschell, government chief whip in the House of Lords, and Mr Ralph Hughes-Buller, a former director of criminal intelligence in India who was attached to Scotland Yard on âspecial duties'.
The MI5 officers who took part (though they seem to have sat silent throughout) were both highly experienced in counter-espionage work. Major John Fillis Carre Carter, born 1882, had joined MI5 on the day war broke out after fourteen years' service in the Indian army and Burmese police. He had seen active service in Waziristan in 1901â02 and had been with the Burmese police since 1905. Like all Indian army officers, he spoke two Indian languages (Punjabi and Pushtu) as well as Burmese and Kachin. He had served in MI5's Investigation Branch since the day he joined and had become head of G Branch in February 1917 when his predecessor, Reggie Drake, transferred to France to run the army's Secret Intelligence Service I(b). Accompanying him was Lieutenant Henry Honywood Curtis-Bennett, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a 38-year-old barrister who had been educated at Radley College and Trinity College, Cambridge, before being called to the Bar in 1902. He had joined MI5 in January 1917 after being recommended for the work by Sir Archibald Bodkin, Director of Public Prosecutions, who was a personal friend. He joined the RNVR and was almost immediately appointed to the Naval Intelligence Division âfor duty outside the Admiralty', a standard euphemism for officers attached to either MI5 or the Secret Intelligence Service.
The usual caution was administered to De László, and Basil Thomson led off the questioning. According to the transcript he did all the speaking on behalf of the authorities. Where direct quotes are given at length, he is ACC (Assistant Commissioner Crime) and De László is PAL:
ACC | Did not a prisoner of war come to your house some time ago? |
PAL | Yes, to my studio, HORN, who escaped from the camp. |
ACC | Did you at once give information to the police? |
PAL | No. |
ACC | Why? |
PAL | It was such a surprise to me for a man I had never seen before to come to me like that. I was painting and my servant girl brought up a letter. I do not usually see people when I am painting, but I went down. The man said âI am a Hungarian officer, and in need of money.' I said âTell me quickly who you are and what you want, for my time is precious.' He said âI am the man who escaped from the concentration camp.' I said âHow could you come to me like this?' He said âCould you not give me some money?' I said âWhat will you do? Why have you escaped?' He said âI have been so long interned; I could not stand it any longer.' I said âNo, I cannot give you money.' But he went on worrying me. I know that in any case I should have to give him up, but I felt that I could not do it immediately. I said âWhere do you live?' and he answered âIn such and such an hotel' (a very good hotel). I said âHow can you live there if you have no money?' He said âI have a certain amount.' So I gave him £1 just to get rid of him, for I felt that if I did not give him anything he would feel it. It came to me so suddenly; it was a psychological moment. He was a Hungarian, and he looked very nice. I felt I could not go and telephone to the Police immediately, and give him up, so that he knew of it, so I said âHere is £1, now go.' |
The letter he had written to me was on hotel paper, but he took that letter with him. I was so excited about the whole thing that he had disappeared with the letter before I realised it. As soon as my sitting was over, about a quarter to one, I went to the Police, and told them the whole thing. | |
I asked the man how he knew my address. He found it in a book; my name is in all the books of reference. | |
I cannot understand him, because I said to him, âYou are an intelligent man; how can you come to me like this, knowing I am a British subject, to put me in a position like this?' | |
He was in a very excited state, so I gave him the money and told him to go away. | |
I am very sorry. I understand now that I did wrong in giving him money, but I beg you to consider the situation. Being a Hungarian subject, I had so many unpleasantnesses. This man came absolutely unexpectedly and I knew I had to give him up. It is not a pleasant thing to see a fellow in that situation, being a Hungarian, and speaking Hungarian (he wrote a very good letter) it would have been very difficult for me to give nothing at all. (László then spoke of the feeling against himself in Hungary, and continued) Now I thought that if I gave that man up, he would let it be known in Hungary after the war that I had done so, therefore, I did not want him to know it. It was very cruel of the man to put me in that position. | |
Then I was unhappy all the afternoon. It was a very unpleasant experience for me, as I did not know what to do and had no address. | |
Before the man left, he said to me âIs there any other Hungarian whom I could see?' | |
He pressed me and, knowing I had to give him up, I said âYes, there is another Hungarian here, whom you could see, a man called de Boyser, the brother in law of Hughes Hughes, one of the Directors of the Musical Department at the British Museum. His wife and brother are Hungarian.' | |
Miss Joyce, and the Baroness van Linden, both of Austrian nationality, are great friends of ours, and they gave me the address of de Boyser, writing it down on that very paper. I could not tell them what had happened, as it would have put me in an unpleasant situation. So I gave the man that bit of paper and said âYou can go there.' | |
These two ladies saw that letter, and I said âIt is an Austrian officer who has come to beg for money.' They looked at the address and said âIt is a good hotel.' | |
I said to my wife in the evening âThat man came to me, and I have to give him up.' | |
As soon as I got to the studio the next morning I told the girl to look for the envelope, as I had not been able to find it the previous night, after the sitting of the two ladies was finished at about 5.30. | |
The girl went down to the kitchen, and found the envelope amongst the rubbish and brought it to me. By that I knew the name of the hotel. |
Thomson then turned to László's letters to his family, asking whether he had a good many relations in Hungary.
De László replied that yes, he did, and corresponded with two brothers and a sister through Holland. When he was asked about his loyalty, he said:
I cannot explain what the feeling is, because they behaved so very badly at home. Everything is exaggerated. My pictures, one of which is known world-wide, have been taken down from the Museum. A little while back I had a letter from my brother to say that this picture, which I painted for the Government and sent to the Pope, has been reinstated, but amongst the pictures in the Foreign Section. Now I thought that if I gave that man up, he would let it be known in Hungary after the war that I had done so, therefore I did not want him to know it. It was very cruel of the man to put me in that position.
Asked about friends in Europe he had painted he replied:
I stayed three times with the German Emperor â I was first invited in 1889 â I painted nearly all the Princes. Now I have no correspondents except my own people. I have great friends in Holland, in the Hague Madame van Riemsdyk and others are great friends of mine and the letters go through them to Hungary.
Asked whether he wrote to friends in Italy he said he had some but did not write to them, only to friends in the USA and to his family in Hungary. He did not correspond with friends in Spain, visited France for five months every year and had no friends in Switzerland. In Holland he was great friends with the van Riemsdyks and confirmed that Madame van Riemsdyk was the sister of the Dutch foreign minister, but that he himself wasn't related to her.
Thomson then turned to the use of the diplomatic bag and the questions became tougher:
ACC | I suppose that it is on account of her relationship to the Foreign Minister that you occasionally have had the advantage of sending letters through the Legation Bag? |
PAL | Yes. I have not sent many letters that way, but Madame Riemsdyk wrote to me at the beginning of last year that I could get letters that way, because she knows how attached I am to my people. She asked me if I would go to Mr van Swinderen, whom I knew a little, and he promised to send letters for me, but I have not sent letters that way any more than probably five times at the most. In August of last year I went to see Mr van Swinderen and while I was there someone rang him up on the telephone and I heard him say âO, about those letters â they do not like it at the Foreign Office.' After he had finished speaking on the telephone I said to him âThat means you do not care about forwarding my letters.' He replied âI will send this letter for you, and any others you forward to me, unless you hear from me to the contrary.' However I never sent him any letters after that. |
ACC | I suppose you got letters from Madame van Riemsdyk by the same route? |
PAL | Yes, and I wrote to her twice not to send me any more letters through the Dutch Minister because the authorities did not like it. When I was staying in Holland we became great friends. I have painted the du Toits, Lewis van Lowden. I know her brother-in-law. He is a director of the National Museum in Amsterdam. |
ACC | But you were writing to her by the ordinary post pretty often? |
PAL | Yes. But I have not done it more than four or five times through the Dutch Minister, and I wrote a letter to her every month. |
ACC | But since you were writing to her almost voluminously by the ordinary route, why should it be necessary to send other letters through the Minister's Bag? |
PAL | In the beginning of the war I asked her if she could help me to get letters. Then she offered to send letters this way, because they arrive sooner. She simply said, âI have the opportunity through my brother, to send you letters quicker, through the bag.' |
ACC | You were writing practically once a fortnight? |
PAL | It happened now and then that I was lucky and received three letters in succession, which were forwarded to me: one from my sister one from a great nephew of mine and one from my brother, so I answered within a week. |