Great Escapes
Page 18
Crockatt himself wrote an interesting epitaph of his own in the historical record of MI9’s work. His short section on ‘lessons learned’ spoke volumes of his own view about the task MI9 had been set and the extent to which its personnel had had to deal with unexpected obstacles. He set out the ways in which any future escape and evasion organization might benefit from MI9’s experience with the very particular recommendation that ‘an adequate staff for planning purposes of obtaining information likely to help escapers and evaders is allowed at the outset’. It was acknowledged by all three Services and the USA that MI9 had made ‘an important contribution to the war effort’. Many owed their life and liberty to equipment devised and issued by Section Z, but it was also acknowledged in the record that experts with their own workshop to devise and make new equipment would have proved a valuable addition to the organization.
The research behind this book has uncovered not only an immensely significant episode in the history of British military mapping, but has also shed light on a hitherto largely unacknowledged aspect of British intelligence activity in World War II. It has revealed for the first time a remarkable chapter in the production, use and application of military mapping on silk (and other fabrics) and, moreover, it has shown the extent to which the maps contributed to the mission of aiding escapers and evaders upon which MI9 embarked in 1939. To make this contribution to the history of twentieth century cartography, it has been necessary to look closely at MI9 and its role, and to understand the dynamics of escape from prisoner of war camps. It is for others to progress the story through wars which have occurred since 1945 and possibly through the systematic exploration of the extent to which the Germans were aware of, and sought to counteract, the programme.
In the final analysis, the manner in which MI9 executed its escape and evasion mapping programme, for the benefit of those thousands of men captured and imprisoned by Hitler’s regime, has proved to be a quite outstanding cartographic feat and one which needed to be told. It has proved to be one of the unrecognized triumphs both of this nation’s military mapping history and its military intelligence capability operating in a wartime scenario. Who knows what further triumphs might have been accomplished had Crockatt and his team been allowed to proceed unhindered by inter-departmental politics, adequately staffed and funded, and directly supported by the undoubted experience and expertise of the nation’s military mapping organization.
APPENDICES
Appendices 1–9 Maps Known to have been Produced by MI9: A Carto-Bibliography
Introduction
Appendix 1 Fabric maps based on Bartholomew originals (and maps with similar numbering system): extant copies identified
Appendix 2 Fabric maps presumed to be based on Bartholomew originals: no extant copies identified
Appendix 3 Europe Air 1:500,000 GSGS 3982 [Fabric]
Appendix 4 Norway 1:100,000 GSGS 4090 [Fabric]
Appendix 5 [Series 43]
Appendix 6 [Series 44]
Appendix 7 [Series FGS]
Appendix 8 Miscellaneous maps
Appendix 9 Maps produced for the Bulletin
Appendix 10 Decoding a hidden message
MAPS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BY MI9: A CARTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
A detailed description of each of the various escape and evasion series/groups of maps produced by MI9 in the period 1939–45 is given in Chapter 3. The following appendices have been compiled to identify the individual sheets in each series. Each appendix lists the sheets identified from the various historical records investigated and from libraries and museums around the country which have been visited in the course of the research. Bibliographic details are provided for each sheet. Production details are included wherever possible and the various collections holding extant copies of the sheets are identified. Brief and tailored introductions are provided at the beginning of each appendix.
In all, a total of 243 individual maps have been identified and extant copies of over 170 of them have been located in seven libraries and museums and four private collections. It is estimated that in excess of 1,860,000 copies were printed in the five years from the early months of 1940 until production was halted in 1945. The total number of printed copies was clearly boosted by the large numbers of [Series 43] (in excess of one million) which were apparently printed for operational rather than escape and evasion purposes in the run-up to D-Day. Notwithstanding that, it is clear that in excess of three quarters of a million copies of the MI9 maps were apparently produced for escape and evasion purposes.
PRINCIPAL MAP REPOSITORIES
The first stage in compiling this information was to identify the principal libraries and museums in which escape and evasion maps were to be found. The UK’s record set of these maps was held in the Defence Geographic Centre (DGC) but is presently (2015) being deposited in The National Archives (TNA). Access was granted to DGC on the basis of a Freedom of Information request. This set of the maps was the most comprehensive set available anywhere, and yet it was incomplete. This collection does, however, form the core of the detailed map inventory or carto-bibliography that follows.
The next most significant collection in terms of its size is that to be found in the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. The British Library Map Library holds part of the Waddington company archive. This company was enlisted by MI9 as the first printers of the silk maps. The company also manufactured many of the items (board games and playing cards) used to smuggle the maps into the prisoner of war camps. Smaller, but no less important, collections of the maps were found in the Intelligence Corps Museum, the Macclesfield Silk Museum, the Cumberland Pencil Museum and in a number of private collections. Sadly the collection housed in the Imperial War Museum was not available for public access due to a lengthy re-cataloguing and refurbishment programme. However, an online check of their holdings revealed no map which was not held elsewhere.
KEY TO LOCATION OF EXTANT COPIES IN THE TABLES THAT FOLLOW
1 Defence Geographic Centre (DGC): this is the UK’s record collection of military maps and is destined for deposit in The National Archives
2 The National Archives (TNA)
3 British Library Map Library (BL)
4 Intelligence Corps Museum (ICM)
5 Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum
6 Macclesfield Silk Museum
7 Cumberland Pencil Museum
8 Private collections (for reasons of confidentiality and security, no detail about private collections is disclosed)
PREPARING THE CARTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY
The lack of standard cartographic information provided a challenge in the compilation of a carto-bibliography. It is also worth reflecting on the current state of carto-bibliographic practice. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Edition 2 (AACR2) are in the process of being superseded by Resource Description and Access (RDA) but this is in the very early stages of implementation in the USA and is even further behind in the UK. More importantly, it does not, as yet, contain guidance for maps, although some map librarians in North America are understood to be working on what will eventually be the new version of Cartographic Materials: a Manual of Interpretation for AACR2. In an attempt to ensure that the form of the carto-bibliography presented here will be of value to professional map librarians and archivists, the instructions in the Manual have been adhered to in so far as is possible and, additionally, advice has been sought from map librarians/archivists in both The National Archives and the British Library. It has been important to ensure that the data fields described are capable of being captured into an automated map catalogue system in the future.
The solution to the challenges posed by MI9’s lack of adherence to usual cartographic identification procedures has been to utilize the standard cartographic technique of showing in square brackets [ ] any information which does not appear on the printed maps and which helps to identify the maps. The series number and series title, for example [Series 43] and Series GSGS 3982 [Fabric], have been rendere
d in this form to aid identification. The orthography of the original maps is retained in the bibliographical entries which follow.
PRINT DATES
Some of the differences between the D.Survey card index and the Waddington list (see Chapter 3) relate to the print dates ascribed to the maps. This was potentially a significant research issue since it was important to construct a carto-bibliography which contained print volume figures which are as accurate as possible. Where the dates ascribed to print dates are only days apart, these have been regarded as the same task, with the Waddington date probably representing the placing of the order by the Ministry of Supply, on behalf of MI9, and the War Office date probably representing the receipt of the stock from the Waddington company. Where the dates ascribed are months apart, these have been regarded as separate tasks and the print volumes are listed as separate tasks. While every effort has been made to resolve the differences, this has not proved possible in all cases.
PRINT MEDIA
Wherever possible, the print medium of each map has been described. This information has been derived either from the existence of an extant copy (silk, tissue or man-made fibre/MMF) or from the records where the medium is usually listed as paper or fabric. Occasionally, the records divulged further information on the nature of the paper being used: the abbreviations used were ML (Mulberry Leaf paper), MLS (Mulberry Leaf Substitute) and RL (Rag Lithographic paper).
APPENDIX 1
Fabric maps based on Bartholomew originals (and maps with similar numbering system): extant copies identified
The maps listed in Appendix 1 are an amalgam of those escape and evasion maps which are based directly on the maps of John Bartholomew & Son Ltd of Edinburgh, together with some maps which utilized a similar numbering system but which are clearly not based on Bartholomew maps. They have been combined in one appendix for ease of reference. Part 1 of the appendix contains a detailed geographical description of each map. The entries are tabulated under the column headings: sheet number, geographical co-ordinates, date, geographical coverage, scale, dimensions (length × width), detail (of colours), and notes. The few dates which appear have been taken from the date of the boundary information in the map legend: in general, however, the escape and evasion maps are not dated and do not carry their own production details.
Part 2 of the appendix contains details of the production information. The first column shows the sheet number and indicates whether it was produced singly or in combination with another sheet. The second column indicates the medium on which the map was printed. The first part of the entry denotes the actual medium of the extant copies: tissue, silk or MMF (man-made fibre). The second part of the entry denotes the information derived from the print record: paper or fabric. The third column indicates the size of the print run and the fourth column indicates the print or despatch date. In all cases, this detail has been derived from the print record. The final column indicates the location of extant copies of the sheet.
Part 1: geographical description of the maps
1Bartholomew print number 311 appears in SW corner of some copies. Some copies have no sheet number
2Known also to exist at larger scale with no sheet number
3Contains two ground photos and a sketch map
4Also marked B2 in top margin
5Bartholomew print number A40 appears in NW corner of some copies
6Bartholomew print number B39 in SW corner of some copies
7J3 and J4 also known to exist with geographical areas reversed, scale reduced to 1:1,500,000 and different insets, i.e. J3 with insets of Sicilia and Sardegna; J4 with inset of part of Corsica
8Based on Rome meridian, 12°27'7.1" East of Greenwich
9Relief shown by hachures
10Relief shown by layers
11Contains detailed goings information to guide escapers across border into Jugoslavia
12Note same title also used at Appendix 8. Relief shown by layers
Total = 59 sheets (15 of which are not Bartholomew’s specification)
Part 2: production details and location of extant copies
* this copy is not marked A but is identical in all other respects to those which are so marked. Assumed to be the sheet called Double Eagle in the records.
† refer to Appendix 8 for details of this map.
Total number of copies produced = 348,570
APPENDIX 2
Fabric maps presumed to be based on Bartholomew originals: no extant copies identified
These are maps which are assumed to have been produced based on Bartholomew maps but for which neither extant copies nor related records have ever been found. They represent either gaps in the assumed sequential numbering system, sheets which are mentioned on adjacent sheet diagrams or, in one case, a sheet which was seen at an Antiques Fair but details were not noted. In cases where the sheet number has the prefix 9 followed by an alphabet letter, it could be that these are identical or similar to sheets which carry simply the alphabet letter and are listed at Appendix 1. It has not, however, been possible to prove this hypothesis to date.
Sheet number Known details
E Europe 1/2M
H3 none
J believed to cover Italy
L1 none *
M covers Darfur
T7 none
T8 none
U6 none
U7 none
U8 none
Y3 none
9B 1:2,350,000 Germany†
9C 1:2,350,000 France†
9D 1:2,350,000 France (SECRET) †
9F/G 20 miles to 1 in. = 1:1,267,200 Norway/Sweden†
9H 20 miles to 1 in. = 1:1,267,200 Spain/Portugal†
* reported as sighted at map fair but no other details noted
† probably minor variants of sheets listed under only an alphabet letter at Appendix 1
Total = 16 sheets
APPENDIX 3
Europe Air 1:500,000 GSGS 3982 [Fabric]
Escape and evasion versions were produced of seventy-four sheets in the Europe Air, 1:250,000 scale, series GSGS 3982. They were, however, reduced to 1:500,000 scale and were, therefore only one quarter the sheet size of the original series: as such, they were often referred to as ‘miniatures’ or ‘handkerchief maps’. With the exception of the scale factor, no other details were changed. As a result, the font size of place and feature names appears very small, although still legible, and the detail is dense. The sheets were produced sometimes singly and sometimes in combination, but it has not proved possible to identify the various combinations. Additionally, one sheet, N33/9, was produced at 1:375,000 scale. Four irregular sheets were also produced at the scale of 1:420,000 in a block centred on Arnhem (‘Dutch Girl’): these do not carry sheet numbers but are rather marked as sections 1–4. They are listed in a separate table at the end of this appendix.
Where extant copies of the maps have been discovered, these have been used to confirm sheet-lines. The sheet numbers and titles have been extracted initially from the print record and spellings, including the use of diacritic marks, have been confirmed against extant sheets and/or the map index.
*sheet N33/9 is identical in specification to sheets in GSGS 3982 but does not carry the series number. Its scale is 1:375,000 and it is of marginally greater geographical extent than the other sheets in this series.
ML tissue = Mulberry Leaf paper; MLS = Mulberry Leaf Substitute; RL = Rag Litho
Total number of map sheets = 74
Total number of copies printed = 35,100
Dutch Girl: scale 1in. = 6.56 miles (approximately 1:420,000)
Total number of copies printed = 8,221
APPENDIX 4
Norway 1:100,000 GSGS 4090 [Fabric]
Escape and evasion versions of thirty-three sheets of Norway, 1:100,000 scale, series GSGS 4090, were produced on silk. Thirty-one sheets were monochrome and two were printed in four colours. The original maps were based on the Oslo meridian and the conversion factor to Greenwich was, therefore add
ed to the operational series. The sheets are in a block to the north of Oslo and adjacent to the Swedish border. They are all single-sided: none appears to have been produced in combination. This Appendix provides individual sheet details, sheet number, sheet title, geographical extent, date of the original Norwegian map, print date of the GSGS paper series and sheet dimensions. The final column indicates the location of the extant copies of the sheets which have been found. No details of the volume of the print runs have ever been discovered.