MI5 in the Great War

by Nigel West

  Then came a letter dated 24 February written on the same kind of note-paper as the fourth, containing a secret message beginning; ‘In the absence of AE’ signed Hahn. The letter was posted in Deptford. The bureau concluded that this second agent would be using his own name and posting in his own district. Reference to the Aliens Register brought to light the existence of John Hahn. The shop was raided and evidence connecting Hahn with the writing of the two last letters was found. Hahn was arrested on 24 February and gave a reference to Muller. The next day Hahn’s wife called at Scotland Yard, gave Muller’s address, and said he might be connected with the trouble.

  Muller was arrested on 25 February and much incriminating evidence was found in his rooms. Four of the marked stamps were found on him. In May, Hahn made a written confession of some value to the bureau. Muller, he said, had received a fortnight’s instruction at Antwerp; by means of photographs he had been taught to recognise the silhouettes of British ships, and he had had to learn his code by heart. His chief object in coming to England was to obtain precise details of Lord Kitchener’s armies. His repeated visits to Rotterdam were made with a view to learning the course followed by steamers, and to give information concerning the ships, etc. met with at sea.

  Muller’s cover was business in the tinned goods line; he got Hahn to write two letters so that his own handwriting should not appear too frequently. He offered Hahn a post in the German service and told Hahn that the password ‘Have you seen Matilda?’ would get him past any sentry in the German Army. Muller had been promised German nationality; he had received 2,000 francs for some special service and his life had been insured for 16,000 marks.

  The Special Intelligence Bureau ascertained that Muller had sent abroad information correct on the whole and applied to no fewer than eight different authorities for testimony as to the value of his information. The arrest of three German agents had been carried out within a space of six days. It was eminently desirable to suppress all notice of the arrests until after a certain date; the Cable Censor was warned to stop any mention of them in the press cables to America and the British press received like warnings. On 1 March, it was arranged to transfer the three prisoners to the Tower of London for greater secrecy.

  The question of how to try the cases caused difficulty. At first it was decided to try them by court martial but the nationality of Küpferle, an American, and of Hahn, technically British and with the immemorial rights of a British subject, caused difficulty, political in the one case, judicial in the other. The case of Muller could not be separated from that of Hahn. On 16 March, however, the Defence of the Realm Act was amended to give the civil court power to inflict such punishment as might have been inflicted had the case been tried by court martial; to recognise the right of a British subject to trial by jury. And on 23 March, Regulation 56A was issued giving effect to the amendment. The three prisoners were therefore treated as British subjects and tried in the civil court under DRR 56A. The charge against all three was that of attempting to communicate information with a view to helping the enemy. Part of the evidence was taken in camera but the cases generally were tried and the sentences were by law promulgated in open court.

  Küpferle’s defence was that he had been asked by an American named Reilly (real name Ruehle) to collect information for the press and to forward it to Leibacher. An attempt had been made to get Leibacher and Ruehle to come over and give evidence in Küpferle’s favour but they refused. Instead, three affidavits attesting to Küpferle’s innocence were received from Holland from Leibacher, W. H. Muller and Verfuerden. Küpferle was tried on 18 and 19 May, but he committed suicide (before the trial was completed) on the 20th after making a written confession that he had spied on behalf of the Fatherland.

  Muller and Hahn were tried on 2 June. Hahn was condemned to seven years’ imprisonment. Muller was sentenced to be shot; his appeal was dismissed and the judges upheld the sentence which was carried out on 22 June. Mrs Hahn was not allowed to leave the country until December 1915. On 13 April 1915 a communique had been issued to the press stating briefly some of the facts regarding Küpferle, Muller and Hahn and thanking the press for its loyal co-operation in suppressing all mention of the arrests. At the same time special facilities had been granted to an American newspaper correspondent, who had been helpful with the case of Küpferle, enabling him to send his copy to America in time to show that he was not indebted for it to the British press.

  Thus the names of the prisoners were known to the world and subsequently the sentences. But Muller being a very common name, it is possible that he was not identified by the Germans for at least one attempt was made, later on from America to ascertain clearly which Muller had suffered the penalty.

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  On 6 February 1915, among a number of Dutch postboxes used by German agents in England, were Richard Sanderson, Postbox 417 in Rotterdam, and Dr Brandt, in Dordrecht. These addresses were put on check on 9 February and on 27 February it was reported from Holland that a Mrs Schwartz, 38 Coptic Street, London, and a Mrs Wertheim of Hampstead, exact address unknown, lodged German agents, and on 10 May it was said that Mrs Wertheim was visiting Mrs Schwartz.

  On 28 May 1915 Ernest Maxse, the British consul-general in Rotterdam, forwarded to the Foreign Office a report supplied by the French military attaché coupling Sanderson, of 72 Provenierstraat in Rotterdam, with W. Muller, of the Hotel Weber in Antwerp, H. Blanken, Wolfshoek 7b in Rotterdam, and Brandwijk & Co, 106a Bingleystraat, Rotterdam.

  Sanderson, who represented the tea merchants Bjarks & Leming, was engaging young Dutchmen to travel in tea and sending them to Southampton, London, Cardiff and Hull to obtain news of the sailings of ships. Letters were to be addressed to Blanken and to Brandwijk: wires were to be sent in a certain code. Brandwijk’s connection with Sanderson (alias Hilmar Dierks, alias de Boer) of Loosduinschekade in The Hague, was confirmed by Marius Hoogendyk, a Dutch sailor who gave the address Ipers Schiedamschedyk 33, as the postbox for letters.

  Mr Maxse’s report was the ultimate source through which, suitable detective methods having been applied, several German agents were arrested in England.

  In all, fifteen people were dealt with in this double group of cases: seven men were executed as spies, one woman was sentenced to many years’ imprisonment; three men and one woman were interned under DRR 14B; one man was imprisoned for a long term; another for six months; one was sentenced to three months’ prison and eventually deported.

  Haicke Marinus Petrus Janssen, aged thirty-two, landed at Hull on 13 May 1915. He carried a passport issued on 1 April and on arrival he wired to Hilmar Dierks for funds. He spent a week in Hull, then went to London and on the 23rd arrived at Southampton, whence he despatched five telegrams purporting to order different kinds of cigars, but in reality conveying information re the movements of ships, to Dierks & Co., from 24 to 28 May inclusive. After Janssen’s arrest it was discovered that he had come to England in February to receive a medal for lifesaving at sea, and that he had visited Cardiff, Hull and Edinburgh besides.

  Willem Johannes Roos, a sailor who had served in the Dutch Navy, landed at Tilbury on 14 May with a passport dated 13 April, went to Newcastle on the 15th, and thence to Edinburgh. He wired to Dierks & Co. from Edinburgh on 17, 18 and 30 May. Orders were issued for his arrest and he was traced to Aberdeen and Inverness, and was arrested in London on 2 June.

  A search of telegraphic money orders brought to light payments of £10 and £20 made to Haicke Janssen on 19 and 31 May respectively and of £35 made to W. J. Roos on 25 May, the remitter in each case being Dierks & Co. These were found in the search of Janssen’s room: various telegrams to and from Dierks & Co.; a communication from Dierks & Co. dated 9 March 1915; green and white trade cards issued by the firm; a descriptive trade-book of Dierks & Co.; a price list of the brands of cigars supplied by Dierks & Co., this list contained some letters and figures which were interpreted as code; a copy of Jane’s Fighting Ships 1915; samples of different brands of cigar
s; eau de Cologne and custard powder and a bottle of liquid gum; various pens, nibs and a mapping pen.

  There was besides a list of the addresses of various firms of tobacconists in Southsea and Portsmouth supplied by Stubbs & Co. Mercantile Offices in Gresham Street, and a letter from the same firm introducing Janssen to their branch at Plymouth.

  Found in the search of the effects of Willem Roos were a cigar stocklist signed Dierks & Co.; a cigar stock list with printed heading Louis Dobbelmann, 106 Hoogstraat, Rotterdam; a number of plain memorandums and letter headings printed in the name of Dierks & Co.; a copy of Pearson’s Magazine for May 1915 containing an article by Fred T. Jane, illustrated with photographs of different types of British warships and the names of several of His Majesty’s ships written in pencil in the margin; various hotel bills showing the itinerary of Roos; a box of custard powders; a pen and seven nibs; a few cigars but no samples of different brands; and a communication from Janssen giving the address of the hotel at Hull from which Janssen was writing.

  A comparison of the two cigar lists supplied by Dierks & Co. to Janssen and Roos showed that they were practically identical except that the one in the possession of Roos was fuller; it contained under the heading Mexico, code letters for a number of British ports on the eastern and north-eastern coasts. These were appropriately missing in Janssen’s code. Roos admitted that he had been a sailor in the Dutch Navy. The pretext given by both men was that they were travelling for a firm of cigar merchants. It was ascertained that neither of them had called on any tobacconists in the places where they had stayed.

  Willem Roos, in registering, had declared that he was travelling for the firm of Mr L. Dobbelmann, cigar merchants of Rotterdam. This was a genuine firm. Being interrogated, he did not mention the firm of Dobbelmann, but stated that he was in the employ of Dierks & Co., cigar and provision merchants, who gave him £35 to come to England. He admitted knowing Janssen quite well, who he said had no connection with Dierks. Janssen, on the other hand, stated that he was the only traveller employed by Dierks, and denied that he knew Roos. Being confronted with Roos he recanted partially. Both Janssen and Roos wrote from prison to their wives to apply for help to 38 Mechelsche Steenweg (Chaussee de Malines) and it was afterwards learned that Madame Roos, who lived in Ghent, had received a pension which was paid by the Discontogeselleschaft through the Algemeine Import and Export Bank of The Hague.

  The papers found on the men were submitted for testing to a chemical expert. His tests brought up secret writing on the cigar lists. These had an odour of scent and the writing flashed up in a manner characteristic of scent. Gradually the expert reached the conviction that a fixative in the form of talc powder had been used with the scent.

  Janssen was tried on the charge of having collected and communicated on various dates to Dierks & Co. at Den Haag information regarding the disposition of certain of HM ships and the movement of certain of HM’s forces at or from Southampton. Willem Roos was tried on the charge of having collected and communicated information of a like nature regarding ships and forces respectively lying in the Firth of Forth and stationed near Edinburgh. Major Drake gave evidence as to the code and interpretation of the telegrams. Evidence of experts in the cigar trade proved that Dierks & Co.’s price lists were unintelligible or at least unusual. Per contra expert naval evidence proved that the information sent abroad by both men was approximately correct and most valuable to the enemy. They were found guilty and sentenced to be shot. The sentence was carried out on 30 July.

  After the court martial and before the sentence had been confirmed, Janssen gave some information with regard to spy methods. All the addresses that he gave were however, already known to the bureau. He stated that the British had failed to discover two of the codes and that telegrams and letters of interest passed the Censor daily. Further he said that one method of smuggling messages was by slipping them down the back of a book between the binding and the leaves. Janssen also cautioned the British against women spies.

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  Georg Breckow (or Breeckow) was born in Germany in 1884, son of a Russian landowner who had failed and gone to live at Stettin. Breckow at some time of his existence served in the Cuirassiers. For three years he was employed in a big export business and then went to America where he earned a living as a pianist. He never became naturalised in America and in June 1914 he returned to Germany.

  In March 1915 he was engaged by the German Naval Intelligence Bureau at Antwerp to act as imperial courier between Germany and America, but he was sent first to England with messages. Captain Schnitzer or Schmitzer gave him a forged passport made out in the name of Reginald Rowland from the particulars of the passport belonging to a man of that name. The real Reginald Rowland had in March deposited his passport a few hours with the police in Berlin.

  Breckow was given an address for his correspondence and told to sign his letters George T. Parker. He was sent in to Holland and there Dierks supplied him with papers and cards of the firm of Norton B. Smith, New York. A genuine firm dealing in scrap-iron and other metals existed at New York under the name of Morton B. Smith. Breckow also received £45 for delivery to Mrs Wertheim and a letter from Mrs Hohwedell, the wife of a photographer in Stettin, for delivery to Robert Carter, an Englishman, residing at Southampton.

  Rowland landed at Tilbury on 11 May, came to London and got in touch with Mrs Wertheim. On 20 May he went to Southampton and saw Carter and tried to induce him to return to Germany apparently under cover of an American passport. Both Carter and his landlady suspected Rowland’s motives and after some exchange of letters Carter broke off relations. Rowland then joined Mrs Wertheim and together they stayed at Bournemouth from 22 to 25 May. He went to Ramsgate with a Dr Tullidge from 28 to 31 May. From Bournemouth and Ramsgate he sent information to the Germans.

  Under the check on Dierks & Co. the Censor forwarded from Holland a telegram of 30 May 1915, announcing the despatch to Reginald Rowland, c/o Societé Generale, Regent Street, London, of £30 on account of Norton B. Smith & Co., New York. Rowland was arrested on 4 June. By his German accent he had aroused suspicion on two occasions; owing to his handwriting and correspondence, his letters were stopped by the Postal Censor, who submitted a letter dated 25 May and a second dated 2 June, on the grounds that they appeared to emanate from a German who wished to live on the coast and to take photographs.

  The letters were signed George T. Parker and posted in London. After Rowland’s arrest they were identified by the handwriting as being his work. They were then tested and found to contain naval and military information, some of it concerning Scotland, references to Bournemouth, to a lady accomplice and to ‘Lizzie’ in secret writing. A batch of newspapers which was intercepted after Rowland’s arrest contained a reference to a journey in the north.

  Among other articles in Rowland’s possession there was found a receipt for a registered letter addressed to L. Wertheim, Inverness. This apparently on 9 June, was connected with the references to ‘Lizzie’ which had at first been interpreted as a code name for the Queen Elizabeth. The Chief Constable of Inverness was wired to – he had already sent in a report regarding the lady to the Metropolitan Police – and replied that she had returned to London. She was arrested on the evening of 9 June. Also among Rowland’s effects were found hotel bills establishing part of his movements; cards of Norton B. Smith and a letter showing that he represented the firm; Jane’s Fleets of the World, 1915; a phial of lemon-juice; pens and a tin of talc powder: a code resembling in its general features one used by Haicke Janssen and Willem Roos. This code was written on a sheet of rice paper and concealed in the case of Rowland’s shaving brush. He explained the lemon-juice by saying that he used it after shaving – an excuse which was also put forward by Ernest Melin. Rowland had received in all £110 from the Germans.

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  Louise Emily Wertheim, whose maiden name was Klitzke, was by birth a German Pole, and became by her marriage with Bruno Wertheim a British subject. For three years se
parated from her husband, she was in England when war broke out and procured with the aid of a relative at Hampstead and of a Hampstead doctor a passport to enable her to visit her mother in Berlin. She did not however leave until October when she went on visits to Amsterdam and there met an old friend named Dr Brandt. She returned to London in November and put up in Coptic Street.

  In December 1914 Mrs Wertheim again went to Amsterdam to nurse the wife of an old friend named Moritz Lietzau. While there she arranged with Dr Brandt to correspond with him in a kind of family code. She returned to London at the end of January and introduced herself to Miss Gertrud Elizabeth Brandes.

  Miss Brandes, of 62 Hammersmith Road, was the sister of Mrs Lietzau, and thence forward Mrs Wetheim made her headquarters at that house. But she would frequently go away for two or three days together without giving an address. Subsequently it was ascertained that she had visited Folkestone, Margate, the Isle of Man, Fishguard and probably Ireland and Holland during these absences.

  In about Whitsuntide she called on an American lady named Miss Knowles – Macy at 33 Regent’s Park Road – and induced her to go with her to Scotland. On 28 May they reached Edinburgh and Miss Knowles having no passport was told to get one and returned for good to London. Mrs Wertheim went to Dundee from 28 to 31 May and on 30 May drove to Carnoustie and Arbroath. She spent from 1 to 3 June in Inverness and there aroused suspicion by ordering a motor to drive to Cromarty. The Chief Constable was warned; he called at the hotel and noted irregularities in Mrs Wertheim’s signature, interviewed her and practically obliged her to return to London. On 3 June he reported the matter to the Metropolitan Police. Mrs Wertheim returned on the 3rd and next day deposited her Scottish luggage with Miss Knowles.