This is an absolutely incredible story of Yoshiko Kawashima. She was born a pricess of the emperial family in China in 1907. She became a cross dresser, opium fiend and a Japanese spy.
I found the film "The 12th man" on youtube with English subtitles. The film is about SOE agent Jan Baalsrud's epic escape from the coast of Northern Norway, braving the wild landscape and with the help of the local population he struggles to get to Sweden. If you like this thread you'll love this movie! (Warning: after watching parts of the movie I see the subtitles are very much out of sync)
Was the end-of-cold-war rock ballad "Wind of change" by German band Scorpions actually a CIA psycological operation and written by the agency? As bizzare as it sounds, this podcast series investigates this rumour. Even if you don't belive it I the podcast is hugely interesting and entertaining.
A company of the German Army's formost special forces unit Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) has been disbanded because of the extreme right-wing atitudes of many members. The unit had six non-support companies (Commando and Recon), so is about 100 men is a lot. 48 000 live rounds and 62 kilos of explosives are gone from KSK storage. One has to worry what nazi sympathisers with those skills and so much amunition and explosives can do
I first wrote this piece for the SOE thread, but I think it's natural to post it here too:
There were two Norwegian Special Operations Executive units during WWII, the blargest one was Company Linge (Norwegian Independent Company No 1)
This was the Norwegian branch of SOE that did what the organisation "normaly" did. But there was another Norwegian SOE unit:
Norwegian Naval Independent Unit (NNIP), later re-named Royal Norwegian Naval Special Unit (RNNSU).
To Norwegians the are much better know as the "Shetland Gang" or "The Shetland Bus" because their base was on those islands.
Quite a few Norwegians fled accross the North Sea in small motorized fishing vessels to Shetland and Scotland. Many of them were fishermen or sailors with expert knowledge about the Norwegian coastline and boatmanship. The SOE needed this knowledge to transport agents, weapons and other equipment to Norway and refugees back to the UK. The members of the Shetland Gang did get some agent training, but they were second to none from the start in the most important skills: To "bus" the fishing boats accross the North Sea and navigating the coastline safely. There was very little extra equipment needed, but the fishing vessels had machine guns hidden in barrels on deck.
The weather was a more dangerous foe than the Germans. Crossings had to be done in the winter or in bad weather to avoid detection. The unit lost ten boats and a total of 44 men and most of them drowned. The boats had no military distinctions and the crew were dressed as fishermen.
In 1943 the Germans had strengthened their control of the Norwegian coast. It was decided that the camouflage of using civilian boats was not a big enough advantage, they needed speed, seaworthyness and firepower. Three submarine chasers were given to the unit. After this no boats were lost.
In total the Shetland Bus made more than 200 missions to occupied Norway. 380 tons of equipment was transported to the resistance and 190 agents were sent into enemy territory by this route. Drops from the air didn't reach this volume until late 1944. They also transported refugees to the UK.
My grandfather had an encounter with one of the Shetland Bus submarine chasers. One night he and the rest of the crew of a fishing boat (much like the ones used by the Shetland gang) were going home from a fishing trip. Then they heard a roar from a powerful engine, but they couldn't see the source in the darkness. Suddenly the dark shadow of a larger and much faster boat went past just in front of them. The boat had no lights, so my grandfather knew what they had just seen. The next day they heard about a sabotage attack against a factory in the area.
In 1954 a movie was made about the unit titled "Shetlandsgjengen". The title was changed to "Suicide Mission" for international release. Most of the cast were Shetland Bus veterans, including a captain with 54 missions under his belt.
A scene from "Suicide mission".: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76l4wG4s0Fo
Everyone in this scene play themselves. The skipper is Leif Larsen. "Shetland-Larsen" is the most highly decorated naval officer in WWII. To quote Jeremy Clarkson: " ...in the world." No British naval officer got as many British medals during WWII as he did.
War Cross with two Swords
St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
Norwegian War Medal with three stars
Participation (in World War II) Medal
King Haakon VII's 70th anniversary Medal
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
Distinguished Service Medal and Bar
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Order
Participation in the Winter War Medal
Medal of Freedom (US)
"Hollywood spies" a podcast about Hollywood actors involved with the secret services. There is a lot of fun and interesting information here, but sometimes the woman being interviewed drops the ball. For example the SAS was never a part of SOE. Crhistopher Lee is mentioned. The only source for his involvement with the secret services and special forces during WWII is ..... Christopher Lee.
Others like Stirling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather, Jonny Guitar) has a well documented and very impressive service record in the secret services.
"A surprising discovery was revealed from the war photos: In the middle of Helsinki, which was plagued by the Winter War, stands a man who may be the actor Christopher Lee"
This article is in Finnish only (AFAIK) so you have to run it through a G-Trans.
Now if he really was in Finland, taking part in the Winter War from Nov 39 to Mar 40 as a teenage volunteer, then he would have had some experience of working with irregular forces in war time by the time combat operations started in western Europe in May 40.
"I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
-Mr Arlington Beech
Great find! Here is google Tranlate's version. Apparently Lee was two feet tall ) (I'm guessing meters was somehow translated to feet)
A surprising discovery was revealed from the war images: In the middle of Helsinki, which was plagued by the Winter War, stands a man who may be an actor Christopher Lee
A Hungarian historian came across a picture during the Winter War that no one had paid attention to: In the middle of the picture is reportedly a British actor.
“English Volunteers in Helsinki,” reads the caption of the picture dated March 1, 1940. Lee is suspected to be the fourth man from the left. The SA archive does not have a list of names. In addition, the archive tells HS that the date the picture was taken may have been someone else.
“English Volunteers in Helsinki,” reads the caption of the picture dated March 1, 1940. Lee is suspected to be the fourth man from the left. The SA archive does not have a list of names. In addition, the archive tells HS that the date the picture was taken may have been someone else. Photo: SA-KUVA
Vilma Ikola HS
Published: 2:00, Updated 8:11
SEVEN years ago, the Hungarian János Nácsa browsed the Finnish SA image service. Nácsa, interested in history, was looking for pictures of Hungarians who had served in the Finnish Winter War.
“Volunteer,” he tapped into the search box and clicked the results open.
Pictures of volunteers from many countries appeared on the screen. In one photo, British volunteers posing in long thick coats in Helsinki.
"I remembered Christopher Lee saying he was in Finland during the Winter War."
Is this Christopher Lee?
Nácsa clicked the picture open and took a closer look.
"One man looked the same as Christopher Lee when he was young."
Nácsa, who wrote the blog in Hungarian, published an article about his discovery, but readers had no answers. Now, seven years later, Nácsa and her family live in Finland and have learned the language.
He decided to present his picture puzzle, which he had been thinking about for seven years, on the Facebook group of history enthusiasts.
After comparing the images, the group seemed to agree that Lee himself was most likely in the image.
FINNS know Christopher Lee (1922–2015), who has had a long career as an actor, especially in his role as Count Dracula in numerous film productions, Bond film 007 and the golden weapon as the villain Scaramanga, The Lord of the Rings saga Sarumanina and The War of the Stars Count D. In 2011, Lee was seen in the horror thriller The Resident, directed by Antti J. Jokinen.
Christopher Lee is especially known for his roles in horror films. Picture from the movie Dracula has risen from his grave in 1968.
But what did teenage Lee do in wartime Helsinki?
Lee was one of the British volunteers who came to help the Finns during the Winter War. In the interviews, he has given little detail about his time in Finland.
When Lee visited Finland in 2002 to present the films The Lord of the Rings, he was hosted by Antti Toiviainen, who was then responsible for informing the film distribution company FS-Film in Finland.
After spending the day, Lee told his host about his experiences of the Winter War at Hotel Kämp’s bar counter by the nightcap.
“They were such a group of boys. They went on a bit of an adventure trip and came to Finland with the idea that they will now help the weaker and the smaller, ”Toiviainen recalls Lee.
Lee and his partners ended up somewhere in eastern Finland, where they had been handed their skis. However, it quickly became clear that the British could not ski at all. The end result was apparently thanks to the beautiful idea and the announcement that they are free to go home. Volunteers who lack ski skills seem to have more harm than good.
"That's how he himself said it was a bit like an adventure trip for the boys, which then ended quite short."
Toiviane Lee told the story in a slightly humorous tone. It remained unclear how seriously the young Briton was coming to fight for Finland. Probably the guys had more of an adventurous spirit than a frantic will to fight.
Christopher Lee wrote his name on the Now Supplement chalkboard in 2002.
Christopher Lee wrote his name on the blackboard of the Now appendix in 2002. Photo: MARJO TYNKKYNEN
Read more: Christopher Lee, an actor who died on Sunday, knew the Kalevala and wanted to help Finland in the Winter War
LEE was thus in Finland during the winter of 1939–40. However, the most important question remains: is Lee in the 1940 photo taken in Helsinki?
At least the similarity is remarkable. In addition, Lee was nearly two feet tall, and the man in the picture is significantly taller than his comrades.
After comparing old pictures, it’s best to ask someone who has spent time with Lee other than through the screen.
"Yes, it seemed so clear that the gentleman was back there," Toiviainen says after seeing the picture.
A completely seamless answer is unlikely to be the case
A short video from Forgotten Weapons about the Chinese Type 64 silenced pistol. This gun must have been issued to some Chinese secret agents and/or special forces and is belived to have been used in the Vietnam war.
Might be of interest to some on here who follow Special Forces personnel - the off duty SAS Operator who rescued a number of hostages in Kenya & took out some terrorists along the way (via the DusitD2 Hotel, Nairobi) in 2019 has revealed himself to be Christian Craighead ... aka Obi Wan Nairobi ).
Very interesting N24 - I quite by chance earlier this week watched an episode of a US property / reality TV show called Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles ... one of the real estate agents in it, Josh Flagg, had a grandmother (Edith Flagg) who was the first designer to import polyester as a fashion textile to America. She also fought the Nazis via the underground movement & recalled killing some of them. Her story is truly remarkable. This article gives a bit of an insight as to her:
This is the facinating story about Witold Pilecki, a Polish officer and resistance member. Incredibly he came up with the idea of getting arrested on purpose to infiltrate Auschwitz to gain information about what was going on there and build up resistance groups there to start a rebelion within the consentration camp. Of course he volunteered to do it himself! This was an incredibly brave man.
I only learned of Pilecki earlier this year and was astounded by his story. A new book about him was published a few months ago. I bought it but haven't read it yet.
I can only read the headline inthe link, but it looks like I disagree with him. The eastern European countries were in effect occupied by them for about 50 years. Not long after they got their freedom back the countries asked to join NATO to safeguard against it happening again. If Russia chose to see this as the West taking "their" countries and interpreted that as threath to them I don't see that as NATO's fault.
Comments
Podcast: https://spystories.podbean.com/e/mary-bowser-ep20/
Podcast: https://spystories.podbean.com/e/yoshiko-kawashimi-ep22/
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-bonds-q-is-a-woman-in-real-life-reveals-mi6-head-a7547926.html
I found the film "The 12th man" on youtube with English subtitles. The film is about SOE agent Jan Baalsrud's epic escape from the coast of Northern Norway, braving the wild landscape and with the help of the local population he struggles to get to Sweden. If you like this thread you'll love this movie! (Warning: after watching parts of the movie I see the subtitles are very much out of sync)
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Z_2v064IcI8&feature=emb_logo
Full film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=74&v=eskVCfiLl3o&feature=emb_logo
A movie about this mission staring Chris Evans was made last year:
Trailer: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=red+sea+diving+resort&&view=detail&mid=0F1EAFBE1169F06ACA960F1EAFBE1169F06ACA96&&FORM=VRDGAR
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqystIYoJ6o
https://crooked.com/podcast/wind-of-change-episode-1-my-friend-michael/
A BBC long read
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/entries/3662a707-0af9-3149-963f-47bea720b460
Forgotten Weapons video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=76&v=7Bgb4SGTgDY&feature=emb_logo
There were two Norwegian Special Operations Executive units during WWII, the blargest one was Company Linge (Norwegian Independent Company No 1)
This was the Norwegian branch of SOE that did what the organisation "normaly" did. But there was another Norwegian SOE unit:
Norwegian Naval Independent Unit (NNIP), later re-named Royal Norwegian Naval Special Unit (RNNSU).
To Norwegians the are much better know as the "Shetland Gang" or "The Shetland Bus" because their base was on those islands.
Quite a few Norwegians fled accross the North Sea in small motorized fishing vessels to Shetland and Scotland. Many of them were fishermen or sailors with expert knowledge about the Norwegian coastline and boatmanship. The SOE needed this knowledge to transport agents, weapons and other equipment to Norway and refugees back to the UK. The members of the Shetland Gang did get some agent training, but they were second to none from the start in the most important skills: To "bus" the fishing boats accross the North Sea and navigating the coastline safely. There was very little extra equipment needed, but the fishing vessels had machine guns hidden in barrels on deck.
The weather was a more dangerous foe than the Germans. Crossings had to be done in the winter or in bad weather to avoid detection. The unit lost ten boats and a total of 44 men and most of them drowned. The boats had no military distinctions and the crew were dressed as fishermen.
In 1943 the Germans had strengthened their control of the Norwegian coast. It was decided that the camouflage of using civilian boats was not a big enough advantage, they needed speed, seaworthyness and firepower. Three submarine chasers were given to the unit. After this no boats were lost.
In total the Shetland Bus made more than 200 missions to occupied Norway. 380 tons of equipment was transported to the resistance and 190 agents were sent into enemy territory by this route. Drops from the air didn't reach this volume until late 1944. They also transported refugees to the UK.
My grandfather had an encounter with one of the Shetland Bus submarine chasers. One night he and the rest of the crew of a fishing boat (much like the ones used by the Shetland gang) were going home from a fishing trip. Then they heard a roar from a powerful engine, but they couldn't see the source in the darkness. Suddenly the dark shadow of a larger and much faster boat went past just in front of them. The boat had no lights, so my grandfather knew what they had just seen. The next day they heard about a sabotage attack against a factory in the area.
In 1954 a movie was made about the unit titled "Shetlandsgjengen". The title was changed to "Suicide Mission" for international release. Most of the cast were Shetland Bus veterans, including a captain with 54 missions under his belt.
A scene from "Suicide mission".: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76l4wG4s0Fo
Everyone in this scene play themselves. The skipper is Leif Larsen. "Shetland-Larsen" is the most highly decorated naval officer in WWII. To quote Jeremy Clarkson: " ...in the world." No British naval officer got as many British medals during WWII as he did.
War Cross with two Swords
St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
Norwegian War Medal with three stars
Participation (in World War II) Medal
King Haakon VII's 70th anniversary Medal
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
Distinguished Service Medal and Bar
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Order
Participation in the Winter War Medal
Medal of Freedom (US)
Others like Stirling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather, Jonny Guitar) has a well documented and very impressive service record in the secret services.
Podcast: https://www.spymuseum.org/multimedia/spycast/episode/hollywood-spies/
https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/helsinki/art-2000006597563.html?utm_campaign=hs_tf&utm_term=4&utm_source=tf-other&share=2a5ec2ea985f717176ae7ecda57a11f4
This article is in Finnish only (AFAIK) so you have to run it through a G-Trans.
Now if he really was in Finland, taking part in the Winter War from Nov 39 to Mar 40 as a teenage volunteer, then he would have had some experience of working with irregular forces in war time by the time combat operations started in western Europe in May 40.
-Mr Arlington Beech
A surprising discovery was revealed from the war images: In the middle of Helsinki, which was plagued by the Winter War, stands a man who may be an actor Christopher Lee
A Hungarian historian came across a picture during the Winter War that no one had paid attention to: In the middle of the picture is reportedly a British actor.
“English Volunteers in Helsinki,” reads the caption of the picture dated March 1, 1940. Lee is suspected to be the fourth man from the left. The SA archive does not have a list of names. In addition, the archive tells HS that the date the picture was taken may have been someone else.
“English Volunteers in Helsinki,” reads the caption of the picture dated March 1, 1940. Lee is suspected to be the fourth man from the left. The SA archive does not have a list of names. In addition, the archive tells HS that the date the picture was taken may have been someone else. Photo: SA-KUVA
Vilma Ikola HS
Published: 2:00, Updated 8:11
SEVEN years ago, the Hungarian János Nácsa browsed the Finnish SA image service. Nácsa, interested in history, was looking for pictures of Hungarians who had served in the Finnish Winter War.
“Volunteer,” he tapped into the search box and clicked the results open.
Pictures of volunteers from many countries appeared on the screen. In one photo, British volunteers posing in long thick coats in Helsinki.
"I remembered Christopher Lee saying he was in Finland during the Winter War."
Is this Christopher Lee?
Nácsa clicked the picture open and took a closer look.
"One man looked the same as Christopher Lee when he was young."
Nácsa, who wrote the blog in Hungarian, published an article about his discovery, but readers had no answers. Now, seven years later, Nácsa and her family live in Finland and have learned the language.
He decided to present his picture puzzle, which he had been thinking about for seven years, on the Facebook group of history enthusiasts.
After comparing the images, the group seemed to agree that Lee himself was most likely in the image.
FINNS know Christopher Lee (1922–2015), who has had a long career as an actor, especially in his role as Count Dracula in numerous film productions, Bond film 007 and the golden weapon as the villain Scaramanga, The Lord of the Rings saga Sarumanina and The War of the Stars Count D. In 2011, Lee was seen in the horror thriller The Resident, directed by Antti J. Jokinen.
Christopher Lee is especially known for his roles in horror films. Picture from the movie Dracula has risen from his grave in 1968.
But what did teenage Lee do in wartime Helsinki?
Lee was one of the British volunteers who came to help the Finns during the Winter War. In the interviews, he has given little detail about his time in Finland.
When Lee visited Finland in 2002 to present the films The Lord of the Rings, he was hosted by Antti Toiviainen, who was then responsible for informing the film distribution company FS-Film in Finland.
After spending the day, Lee told his host about his experiences of the Winter War at Hotel Kämp’s bar counter by the nightcap.
“They were such a group of boys. They went on a bit of an adventure trip and came to Finland with the idea that they will now help the weaker and the smaller, ”Toiviainen recalls Lee.
Lee and his partners ended up somewhere in eastern Finland, where they had been handed their skis. However, it quickly became clear that the British could not ski at all. The end result was apparently thanks to the beautiful idea and the announcement that they are free to go home. Volunteers who lack ski skills seem to have more harm than good.
"That's how he himself said it was a bit like an adventure trip for the boys, which then ended quite short."
Toiviane Lee told the story in a slightly humorous tone. It remained unclear how seriously the young Briton was coming to fight for Finland. Probably the guys had more of an adventurous spirit than a frantic will to fight.
Christopher Lee wrote his name on the Now Supplement chalkboard in 2002.
Christopher Lee wrote his name on the blackboard of the Now appendix in 2002. Photo: MARJO TYNKKYNEN
Read more: Christopher Lee, an actor who died on Sunday, knew the Kalevala and wanted to help Finland in the Winter War
LEE was thus in Finland during the winter of 1939–40. However, the most important question remains: is Lee in the 1940 photo taken in Helsinki?
At least the similarity is remarkable. In addition, Lee was nearly two feet tall, and the man in the picture is significantly taller than his comrades.
After comparing old pictures, it’s best to ask someone who has spent time with Lee other than through the screen.
"Yes, it seemed so clear that the gentleman was back there," Toiviainen says after seeing the picture.
A completely seamless answer is unlikely to be the case
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrLv_2Lf2rU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYo-ziwOAWQ
https://www.iol.co.za/news/eish/suspected-british-agent-called-james-bond-found-in-polish-cold-war-archives-6cba76fa-eb4d-52c1-a439-137fc98268b9
The bloke must have stones like a dump truck!
He's just started a profile on Instagram if it's of interest: https://www.instagram.com/christian_craighead/
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIXX2E0bpC4
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7546273/Million-Dollar-Listings-Josh-Flagg-shares-story-Edith-Flagg-survived-Holocaust.html
I think it's really nice seing more members contribute to this thead.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=609&v=R_6ARLOgsbA&feature=emb_logo
I've been trying to live my life so that in the hour of my death I would rather feel joy, than fear.
—Pilecki after the announcement of the death sentence,