Have you ever met a real spy?
Ammo08
Missouri, USAPosts: 387MI6 Agent
I have. Mr G. was one of our scoutmasters for many years. During WWII he worked for US Army Intel in Sweden monitoring the Germans and their allies. He was picked for the job because of his education and fluency in German and some other European languages. He told us he spent most of his time working with the British because they had been there longer and knew the area better. He viewed the British as far superior to the Americans in this cloak and dagger stuff.
He spent a lot of time listening to their radio transmissons, watching ships and just listening to the activity in the streets. He said the Swedes would sell anything to anyone for a price. Mr G. said it was very disturbing sometimes to be sitting in a bar or cafe right next to uniformed German soldiers. He said everyone played nice just not always friendly.
He told us that to travel between England and Sweden they had to fly certain routes and pre-arrange things so that they weren't shot down.
He also said that the Norwegians and Danes were not happy with the Swedes for what amounted to helping the Germans
He constantly told us of his admiration for the British and their operations. After the war he spent time in the Far East watching China crumble.
He spent a lot of time listening to their radio transmissons, watching ships and just listening to the activity in the streets. He said the Swedes would sell anything to anyone for a price. Mr G. said it was very disturbing sometimes to be sitting in a bar or cafe right next to uniformed German soldiers. He said everyone played nice just not always friendly.
He told us that to travel between England and Sweden they had to fly certain routes and pre-arrange things so that they weren't shot down.
He also said that the Norwegians and Danes were not happy with the Swedes for what amounted to helping the Germans
He constantly told us of his admiration for the British and their operations. After the war he spent time in the Far East watching China crumble.
"I don't know if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or imbeciles who mean it."-Mark Twain
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
Comments
Stockholm and Zurich must have been someting during the war.
Mr G. never called himself a spy, but for all intents and purposes he was. I'm sure we will never know about the deep undercover people or how many oif them never made it back.
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
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I have met a couple of SEALs and they both were short guys! Surprised me, but they were very fit and could easily have pinned my 6'2" self down.
I threw something their way, specifically because she was too fishy for my tastes :v
the Pittbull on a string , the casio divers watch or the Balaclava.
Apparently he was a Falklands vet and a very close friend of Andy McNab. Also large parts of his life had been used for scenes in the Bourne movies.
I've met a few SAS. My unit was to provide fire support for an operation they were planning, so we trained and worked the scenarios for a week. Basically a shed-load of fire-power, plus guarding the two Chinooks. The operation never actually went ahead and we were all gutted not to have been a part of something so out of the ordinary. Anyway, what I noticed was how small and wiry they were. There was one big guy who had hit the weights a bit, but otherwise - 5'8" to 5'10" and twelve stone tops. At that time I was 6' and pushing 16st. I was fit but had done weights etc, and had to lose two stone to get to just under 13st when I joined the army to meet entry requirements. These guys were all smallish, but seriously strong and fit. They mocked up some doors and a killing house out of sandbags and the sides of trucks and just went through it all day, every day. Then some of them paired off for runs or weights when they'd finished!
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Later, out of the army and contracting for a while I met some CIA guys in Iraq and Afghanistan. These guys were really funny. They dressed like war-zone camera men - all khaki and pockets! Low slung guns and aviator glasses. They told everyone they couldn't tell them who they worked for, which was really funny because then they would drop heavy clues and even refer to their bosses in Langley! Great stuff!
Maybe they were a decoy!?
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Didn't really know the significance at the the time.... but it was David Spedding (who later became Sir David, the head of M16
During a college exursion an other member of SOE spoke to us, but on another subject. He was the official historian of the Norwegian SOE so he would be very interesting to talk to, but I had to catch the bus.
About the post about the man who was a spy on Sweden during the war: The Swedes were pretty pro-German until the nazis lost the battle of Stalingrad. At least the upper classes were, the father of the current king of Sweden was pro-Hitler. Lucky for Sweden he died before his father and was never crowned.
Yep, my tours of Northern Ireland were mid/ late nineties. And these MI6 chaps were pretty Tarquine and Perrigrin types.
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The hostess was the wife of a retired British army officer who had worked on one of the British sovereign bases on the island
The English man introduced me to several American guys who seemed to be having having a great time
I asked him who they were and he told me they were on the base to maintain some of the American-made equipment used there
Later on in the night he sidled up to me when no-one was watching and said "You realise those men were spies, of course?"
I wished I'd hung out with them more!
The second interesting character was not strictly a spy but I'll throw him in to the mix
In 1981 the US Secretary of State Alexander Haig visited Australia and part of my job involved checking out a Chev Monte Carlo temporarily imported by his security chief
This guy was a great story-teller and boasted that he could kill a person using just a pencil
i work in afghanistan for ISAF/NATO, ive worked in southern afghan and now at HQ ISAF , they dont advertise who they are, but they have a certain way, and i had to brief a few , about my depts role here,
and answer questions they had,
run by Kent police the scenario was a Euro star train was hijacked and driven about 7k under
the sea,with hostages ,and Kent had to deal with it,there was all sorts there
but when the spooks turned up in a fleet of artics with their kit they got on with the
intel part but nice guys it was then handed over to the Hereford lads to deal with and as the secret
agent says none of them was over 5 9 tall and they where all good lads from the TYNE and CLYDE
but i did drop an agent off in a car park in the middle Kent at 2am and it was like the films
you flashed (headlights) at the collection vehicle, and then drove upto each other to offload your passenger
until out of the blue a marked police traffic car pulls up to see whats going on
then all the arguments broke out ,who are you what are you doing ect cant say reply blah blah
so to see the STATE at work was very interesting if not worrying
Lovely story. Thanks so much for sharing. I imagine this is what the true world ofg espionage is like.
Sounds rather like the plot to John Gardner's Death is Forever (1992).
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I agree.
We'd never know ( if he was a good one). So if we have met one and remembered
He must have been a bad one.