Wwii spy may have been one of us !

[ninadiva]

Revealed...mission to save spy in high heels

A BRITISH agent almost compromised Second World War intelligence operations when he was arrested while dressed as a woman.

By: Cyril DixonPublished: Thu, May 23, 2013
0Comments
Clarke dressed as a man and, right, as a woman in photographs taken by Spanish police in 1941

Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke was in possession of military secrets when he was held by Spanish police en route to deliver a vital message to the Allies’ Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East.

Clarke’s penchant for drag led to his arrest in Madrid in 1941.

London spy chiefs were mortified when “he was arrested in a main street dressed – down to a brassiere – as a woman”.

They ordered British diplomats to escort him to the Gibraltar border and hand him over to Allied troops while ensuring the Spanish never knew he was a spy.

The tale of the spook in a floral dress and high heels emerged in newly declassified Government files at the National Archives in Kew, south-west London.

Arthur Yencken, our man in Madrid, telegrammed the Foreign Office. He told how Clarke was posing as a Times journalist but worked for the Joint Intelligence Bureau and had “intimate knowledge of military secrets and plans of the Naval Intelligence”.

Mr Yencken wrote: “The police interpreter who helped the interrogation informed a member of my staff that he stated he was a novelist and wanted to study the reactions of men to women in the streets.

“His luggage contained another complete set of women’s clothes, a war correspondent’s uniform and a notebook with a number of names of people in London in it.”

Clarke also later told another diplomat: “He was taking the feminine garments to a lady in Gibraltar and thought that he would try them on for a prank. This hardly squares with the fact that the garments and shoes fitted him.”

He was taking the feminine garments to a lady in Gibraltar and thought that he would try them on for a prank
Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke
Mr Yencken continued: “The Germans will certainly make the most of it. Either way, I need hardly point out the damage this incident will do to us and the Times here.

“Jokes have already begun about the editor of the Times masquerading as a woman.”

Sir Alexander Cadogan, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, replied, telling Yencken that if Clarke was released he should get him to Gibraltar by the “quickest means”.

Two days later Yencken confirmed Clarke was free and would be escorted by His Majesty’s Consul to Gibraltar.

[Shirley Anne]

certainly looks like he was well practised at dressing.

[Tracii G]

Secret agent CD.LOL

[Kate Simmons]

The British seem to have a penchant for dressing in ladies clothes as per Monty Python and Benny Hill, et. al. which is totally cool. My question would have to be why did they wait 72 years to declassify it?

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

I just hope all of our covers aren't blown! LOL!

[Beverley Sims]

But, to be caught wearing a bra as well.
Oh! the shame.

[Charlotte Haynes]

Some mugshots they are...The chair as a prop, and the handbag are both nice touches...
C

[ninadiva]

Personal life [edit]

Clarke is described as a charismatic, charming and theatrical character with a streak of creativity, a personality reflected in the escapades of his life and career. His self-deprecating humour and work ethic made Clarke a popular figure within the army, where he was considered to have odd "old world" habits and "an uncanny habit of suddenly appearing in a room without anyone having noticed him enter". Clarke was considered to possess an "original intellect", and to have odd habits, but was never seen as eccentric (a trait that was frowned on within the army establishment).[4][52] Despite having middle-class origins, he aspired to the fringes of the upper-class establishment, in his words: "one of those in the inner circle, watching the wheels go round at the hub of the British Empire at some great moment in history."[4]
Now, I don't think I shall ever return [to Egypt], but in my heart of hearts I still wish it well, for I have found much happiness there.
Dudley Clarke[53]
From his time in Egypt during the First World War, Clarke fell in love with the country and he returned there as often as possible. He had a great respect for the inhabitants, writing that they had "the endearing qualities of humour and fortitude".[53] Another particular love was film. In Cairo, during the Second World War, he was a regular at the cinema, a location that suited his photographic memory and preference for working at night; he often conducted meetings there. Films influenced his work in other ways, for instance in the inspiration he took from Northwest Passage to name the US Rangers.[4][43]
Clarke was inventive as well as frugal. While at flight school in Reading, and without any money to fund his recreation, he built "an apparatus composed of a bootlace, a lanyard and some straps off my valise, by which I am enabled to turn out the light without getting out of bed".[4]
The incident in Madrid, and Clarke's love of theatrics, raised awkward questions about his sexuality. His arrest was somewhat hushed up at the time, which may have raised more questions than it prevented. There is no indication that Clarke was homosexual.[27][28] He was involved in two bad relationships with women. In 1922 he met a Slavic woman called Nina in Wiesbaden, but she disappeared after Clarke smuggled currency to her friend in Bulgaria. Then in the late 1920s a woman in Sussex, who "meant everything in the world" to him, refused an offer of marriage. He often claimed to hate children and never married. Despite this Clarke was known for having beautiful female acquaintances, to whom his friends referred as "Dudley's Duchesses".[52]
Source : Wikipeadia.

Papier-mache horse carcases, a ship camouflaged as an island and tanks made from garbage are just some of the strangest disguises reportedly used during wartime. One British intelligence officer caused embarrassment to his political masters through his penchant for dressing up as a woman, according to official papers made public today.

Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, a ‘key figure in British intelligence’ in the Middle East in the Second World War, set alarm bells ringing in Whitehall when he was arrested dressed as a woman.

Files released publicly by the National Archives reveal that Lt Col Clarke told Spanish police he was a novelist and had “wanted to study the reactions of men to women in the streets” after he was detained in Madrid.

The spy who was on his way to Egypt in October 1941, undercover as a war correspondent for The Times - when he was stopped by officers after being spotted “in a main street dressed, down to a brassiere, as a woman” - according to correspondence by British embassy staff to London.

When the British consul visited him, they found Lt Col Clarke “unconcerned” by the potential political fallout of his arrest but instead offered a different story, claiming he had been taking the clothes to a woman in Gibraltar and had put them on as a “prank”.

“This hardly squares with the fact that the garments and shoes fitted him,” the embassy noted wryly.

The Spanish police treated the incident as a “homosexual affair” and released Lt Col Clarke with a fine but German intelligence believed it was a “first class espionage incident” which they were determined to exploit publicly.

“I need hardly point out the damage this incident will do to us and The Times here,” the embassy warned superiors back in Britain. “Jokes have already begun about 'the editor' of The Times masquerading as a woman.”

The correspondence also revealed the contents of his suitcase: “His luggage contained another complete set of women’s clothes, a war correspondents uniform and a note book with a number of names of people in London in it.

“Also papers and a roll of super fine toilet paper which particularly excited the police who are submitting each sheet too chemical tests.”

The potential for embarrassment was considered so great that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was informed, and instructions were sent to get Lt Col Clarke to the safety of Gibraltar as quickly as possible.
Source : The Independent.co.uk

[MsJanessa]

Nice outfit and she looks lovely in it. particularly like the gloves