by Larry Loftis
“Don’t worry about them” Klemmer, 275.
PVDE Lochery, 3.
“over-zealous Germanophiles” Desmond Bristow, A Game of Moles: The Deceptions of an MI6 Officer, 150.
“devils” Ibid., 151.
“Senhor . . . please show me” Ibid., 154.
up to five PVDE agents Bristow refers to the secret police agents who shadowed him in 1944 as being from the Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado (PIDE). Ibid., 150. The PIDE, however, did not originate until 1945, when it replaced the PVDE.
“Better we see them” Ibid., 156.
November 22, 1940, he flew to Barcelona “The Story of SKOOT,” KV 2/845 (p. 2a); Ian Wilson “Tricycle” memo, KV 2/852.
Calouste Gulbenkian, the world’s richest man Muggeridge, The Infernal Grove, 137. Muggeridge, apparently relying on memory, mistakenly refers to the Avis Hotel as the “Avish.” For background on Gulbenkian, see Neill Lochery, Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939–1945, 11.
The Germans controlled it Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 59.
According to Popov’s memoirs Dusko’s account of his first few days in Lisbon are slightly different from what Ian Wilson recorded in his March 23, 1943, “Tricycle” memorandum, KV 2/852 (p. 456B). Wilson has Popov moving to the Palácio on November 28, before meeting von Karsthoff, and meeting the major at the German Embassy rather than at the Estoril villa.
“Schmidt” code Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 57; Miller, Codename TRICYCLE, 29.
Portuguese physician Cristina Pacheco, Hotel Palácio: Estoril-Portugal: Boletins de Alojamento de Estrangeiros/Boletins Individuais, 1939–1945, 44, 46.
For Axis and Allied hotel preferences, see Pacheco, 49 (Palácio and Atlântico); Miller, 50 (Palácio and Hotel de Parque). While Germans visited the Palácio and Allies the Aviz, the numbers were significantly in one direction. In 1941, for example, 111 Axis nationals visited the Palácio (78 German, 27 Italian, 6 Japanese), while over 1,350 Allied nationals stayed there (779 American, 381 English, 84 French, 34 Norwegian, 23 Dutch, 20 Canadian, 12 Irish, 11 Belgian, 10 Czech). Pacheco, 133. Dusko also mentioned that the Palácio’s manager, George Black, was English. Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 63.
Von Karsthoff was an imposing figure KV 2/845 (p. 6x) (describing him as forty, tall, and thin) and KV 2/849 (p. 177b) (describing him as forty-five, five-foot-ten, and thin). Both reports record his other characteristics.
“being in the company of a domesticated panther” Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 62.
Elisabeth Sahrbach KV 2/845 (p. 6x) and 2/849 (p. 177b). She was listed on the German legation file as a “secretary.” Official embassy staff list, Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa Estado, Serviços de Informação, Biblioteca National, Lisboa.
the major’s mistress KV 2/849 (p. 177b).
Von Karsthoff’s villa In his memoirs, Popov describes von Karsthoff’s residence as: (1) being close to Estoril Casino (p. 57, and again later when he walked from the Palácio to the major’s residence, p. 107); (2) having Moorish architecture (p. 57); (3) including a garage (p. 57); (4) including a salon (p. 57); (5) including interior stairs from the garage; (6) being bordered by a “high stone wall” in the rear; and (7) including a garden and “old pine tree” (p. 146).
“Villa Toki-Ona” and the “Villa Toki-Ana” Popov incorrectly refered to the property as the “Villa Toki-Ana” in one report (KV 2/849, p. 177b), but in his May 2, 1941, debriefing, he correctly identified it as the “Villa Toki-Ona.” (KV 2/847, p. 86b). FBI files also incorrectly refer to the property as the “Villa Toki-Ana.”
“Chalet Toki-Ona” See, e.g., permits filed with the Câmara Municipal de Cascais for improvements at “chalet Toki-Ona, Estrada de Bicesse em Estoril” filed by Dr. Pedro Monjardino on April 5, 1944, and August 19, 1946. On the contruction plans for an adjacent property, the Toki-Ona is cited as the “Vivenda” (Villa) Toki-Ona.
Luís Teixeira Beltrão Plans filed with the Câmara Municipal de Cascais on June 23, 1923. Notice of completion filed May 23, 1928.
an ad appeared O Estoril, November 15, 1936, 3. See also Maria Cristina de Carvalho dos Anjos, O Turismo no Eixo Costeiro Estoril-Cascais (1929–1939): Equipamentos, Eventos e Promoção do Destino, Anexos, Figura 6.
Bom Refúgio, and the Toki-Ona Villa were all one and the same The Cascais municipal public records for building permits, plans, and improvements reveal only one property that matches all of Popov’s requirements—the Bom Refúgio (later, Toki-Ona) on Estrada Bicesse (the street name was changed in 1944 to Avenue Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira). The Bom Refúgio ad indicates several items of Popov’s description: (1) two hundred yards from the Casino; (2) garage; and (3) gardens. A high stone wall (as Dusko describes climbing) and pine trees can be seen today in a Google Earth view of the backyard area. The original blueprints reveal the Moorish architecture and interior stairwell. Sadly, over the last seventy years the property has fallen into disrepair.
Margot Seco de Topete In May 1937, Ms. Topete filed a permit to repair plumbing drains at “Estrada de Bicesse, Guest House Bom Refúgio.”
Venezuelan, Palácio registrations reveal, ed. Hotel Palácio: Estoril-Portugal: Boletins de Alojamento de Estrangeiros/ Boletins Individuais, 1939–1945, 76–77, 116–117.
Associated Press release The Independent, St. Petersburg, Florida, April 18, 1939, 19.
CHAPTER 6 TOO MANY DEVICES
Ilena Fodor Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 59–61; Miller, Codename TRICYCLE, 31.
“stop trying to find” Ibid.
Graham Greene Norman Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene: Volume II, 1939–1955, 174.
two thousand names Ibid., Weber, The Lisbon Route, 272.
November 28, 1940, he transferred to Estoril’s Allied-friendly Palácio “The Story of SKOOT,” KV 2/845 (pp. 2x, 6x).
“Still 5—15 waggons” Ibid.
The major also delivered a questionnaire Ibid. (p. 2a). On December 13, 1940, von Karsthoff cabled Berlin, stating that “Popov is also in need of money.” Five days later Berlin responded, stating that the major was to “refund him his travel expenses.” “Top Secret ‘U’” wireless intercepts catalogue, KV 2/860, sub-file 2 (unpaginated).
new secret ink formula “Report on INTERVIEW with SKOOT,” February 7, 1941, KV 2/845 (pp. 21b, 21c).
“When our troops are there” Ibid.
Maria Helena Barreto de S. Anna “The Story of SKOOT,” KV 2/845 (p. 2x).
December 20, Popov finally acquired a KLM ticket Night Duty Officers Report, KV 2/845 (p. 1x).
on business for the Savska Bank Extract from Report of S.C.O. Avonmouth, December 21, 1940, KV 2/845 (p. 5a); Tar Robertson memo, February 21, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 36a).
Jock Horsfall, Mr. Andrew Night Duty Officers Report, December 20, 1940, KV 2/845 (p. 1x). (Horsfall telephoned from the Savoy upon arrival for further instructions.); extract from Report of S.C.O. Avonmouth, December 21, 1940, KV 2/845 (p. 5a); Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 65.
exceedingly fast Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 65.
St. John Horsfall See www.historicracing.com. Horsfall, who was Britain’s best at Le Mans that year, also placed second at the 1938 RAC Tourist Trophy at Donnington. During the war, Horsfall played a key role in Operation Mincemeat by driving the van ferrying the now-famous cadaver to Greenock, Scotland. On April 18, 1943, Horsfall and Commander Ewen Montagu delivered “Major William Martin” to the British submarine depot at Holy Loch for placement aboard the Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph. Ewen Montagu, The Man Who Never Was, 97–101. After the war, in 1948, Horsfall won the Spa 24-Hour Race, again driving an Aston Martin. The following year he was fatally injured while driving in the BRDC International Trophy Race. Each year the Aston Martin Owner’s Club holds the St. John Horsfall Memorial Trophy Race in England.
ten o’clock . . . room 430 . . . Tar Robertson Night Duty Officers Rep
ort, December 20, 1940, KV 2/845 (1x); Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 66.
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . . . Seaforth Highlanders Nigel West, MI5: The True Story of the Most Secret Counterespionage Organization in the World, 43; Christopher Andrew, Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, 249.
sporting his tartan trews Andrew, Defend the Realm, 14 of photo section.
Winsome Christopher Harmer, at Robertson’s memorial service on October 13, 1995, called him “immensely personable.” Cited in Ben Macintyre, Double-Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies, 37, 364.
twinkling eyes Peter Darling, at Robertson’s memorial service on October 13, 1995, said that Tar had an “unmistakable twinkle.” Ibid, 37, 364. See also Miranda Carter, Anthony Blunt: His Lives, 284 (describing Robertson with “friendly eyes”).
“A born leader” J. C. Masterman, On the Chariot Wheel: An Autobiography, 218–19.
joined MI5 in 1933 West, MI5, 43.
Wireless Board Ewen Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 40. See also, West, MI5, 169; Andrew, Defend the Realm, 255.
Twenty Committee Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 48. Commander Montagu was a member of the XX Committee and “survived through” to the 226th and last meeting of the Committee on May 10, 1945. See also West, MI5, 170.
“We had in him” J. C. Masterman, The Double-Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945, 56.
interviewed and vetted “The Story of SKOOT,” KV 2/845 (p. 13b), item 6.
New Year’s Eve party Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 71–72; Miller, 7.
The ideogram had been inherited See, e.g., H. Montgomery Hyde, Room 3603: The Story of the British Intelligence Center in New York During World War II, 18, 21; F. W. Winterbotham, The Ultra Secret, 39; Malcolm Muggeridge, Chronicles of Wasted Time: Vol. 2, The Infernal Grove, 122; Ewen Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 32; H. Montgomery Hyde, Secret Intelligence Agent: British Espionage in America and the Creation of the OSS, 3; Anthony Cave Brown, C: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill, 1, 224–25; Keith Jeffery, The Secret History of MI6, 1909–1949, 328.
internal phone directory Malcolm Muggeridge, Chronicles of Wasted Time: Vol. 2, The Infernal Grove, 122.
Menzies reputedly could draw checks On one occasion, Menzies drafted a check for £500 on an account at Drummond’s, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, signed it simply with “C,” and the check was honored. Cave Brown, 227.
Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the SD, began to use “C” Heinz Höhne, The Order of the Death’s Head: The Story of Hitler’s SS, 215, citing the untranslated dissertation of Heinrich biographer Schlomo Aronson: “Heydrich und die Anfänge des SD und der Gestapo 1931–1935,” Inaugural Dissertation of Faculty of Philosophy in the Free University of Berlin, 1966, 96–97.
no less than fifteen hundred times Cave Brown, 2.
the power behind the throne Ibid., 14.
James Bond’s “M” Cave Brown, 10. On January 29, 1964, Menzies said to Anthony Cave Brown: “Ian Fleming tells me that I am James Bond’s ‘M.’” The official Ian Fleming/James Bond website states that Fleming’s boss at Naval Intelligence, Admiral John Godfrey, was Ian’s model for “M.” Fleming’s biographer, John Pearson (who worked with Fleming at the Sunday Times), however, stated that this was not the case. Unlike the Bond/M relationship, Pearson noted, Commander Fleming and Admiral Godfrey were close friends. Strangely, Pearson believed that Fleming’s mother was more likely Ian’s model for M. John Pearson, The Life of Ian Fleming, 175–76.
Stewart Graham Menzies’s background Ibid., 16.
Edward Impey Ibid., 31, 33.
would demonstrate leadership in every circle Nigel West, MI6, 77 (German, cricket, steeplechase, Beagles, “Pop”); Cave Brown, 39–41 (French, captain of house, “Pop”).
“power to amuse” Cave Brown, 39, quoting Martin Green, Children of the Sun (New York: Basic Books, 1976), 116.
transferred to the exclusive Life Guards Cave Brown, 41, 43; West, MI6, 77. When Stewart’s father died, his mother remarried Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Holford and Stewart shortly thereafter transferred into his father-in-law’s regiment of the Life Guards. Cave Brown, 42–43.
the Battle of Ypres West, MI6, 77.
Military Cross Ibid., 78.
“One man out of a thousand” Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 74–75.
“You have too many devices” Dusko Popov, interview with Alan Road, “Double-Agent Popov and the James Bond Affair,” Observer, May 13, 1973, 31; Miller, 8.
“You have the makings of a very good spy” Dusko Popov, interview with Jonathan Braun, “Superspy Dusko Popov: The Real-Life James Bond,” Parade, May 19, 1974, 27; Miller, 8.
CHAPTER 7 PASSION AND ADDICTION
“an absolute crook” Ian Wilson memo, August 18, 1944, KV2/859 (p. 972B).
Montagu . . . second thoughts John Marriott memo, KV2/845 (p. 31d).
“I cannot help” William Luke memo, February 13, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 31b).
killing a rogue double agent On January 16, 1941, MI5 Section B chief Guy Liddell recorded in his diary that agent SUMMER “must be eliminated.” Guy Liddell diaries, KV 4/187.
asked him to meet with Popov again Major Tar Robertson “SKOOT” memo, January 1, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 9a).
“I found him a most charming person” Lieutenant-Commander Ewen Montagu memo, January 2, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 10a).
Foster Brown Ibid.
“Over the question of money” Tar Robertson memo, January 2, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 11a).
January 3 Popov left England for Lisbon on January 3, 1941 (KV 2/845, p. 13b), but did not check into the Palácio until January 7 per Palácio registration records. It appears that Dusko stayed four nights at the Aviz before moving to Estoril.
he rang von Karsthoff The MI5 “Report on INTERVIEW with SKOOT” has a slightly different account of Popov’s arrival, stating that Dusko called von Karsthoff the following day, and arranged for a rendezvous “at 4 or 5 p.m. in the German Legation.” Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 90–91; “Report on INTERVIEW with SKOOT,” February 7, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 21b); Miller, Codename TRICYCLE, 51.
“a friend of the major’s cousin” Ibid.
the major left for Paris “Report on INTERVIEW with SKOOT,” KV 2/845 (p. 21b).
every foreign guest Cristina Pacheco, ed., Hotel Palácio: Estoril-Portugal: Boletins de Alojamento de Estrangeiros/Boletins Individuais, 1939–1945, 34–35, 39–40.
lawyer Dusko Popov January 7, 1941, Palácio registration, Arquivo Municipal de Cascais.
information was considered too general Tar Robertson “Memorandum to S.I.S. re TRICYCLE,” March 16, 1941, KV 2/846 (p. 69a).
“I’m sorry I behaved” Popov, Spy-Counter-Spy, 91; Miller, 51.
“entertain SKOOT” Tar Robertson memo, February 9, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 23a).
the more pleased he would be William Luke “SKOOT” memo, Febrary 12, 1941, KV2/845 (p. 27a).
He requested navicerts February 5, 1941, telegram from Guy Deyris and corresponding memo from Tar Robertson on February 10, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 25a).
Where are planes of the Botha type German questionnaire (translated February 6, 1941), KV 2/845 (unpaginated).
“slightly wrong positions” Ewen Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 58; Tar Robertson “SKOOT” memo, January 10, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 14c); J. C. Masterman, The Double-Cross System, 83, 96.
“I thought you had realized” Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 59.
Writing as “John Danvers” Original envelope and letter (with translations and developed ink) at KV 2/845 (group entry at p. 34a). See also Popov’s three cover addresses at KV 2/846 (p. 69a).
he and Luke left for Scotland “TRICYCLE’s Itinerary,” KV 2/846 (p. 58A).
“I have come to the conclusion” William Luke “SKO
OT” memo, February 23, 1941, KV2/845 (p. 38a).
Popov’s physical attributes John Marriott “Description of TRICYCLE” memo, March 11, 1941 (p. 61); Tar Robertson “Description of TRICYCLE” memo, March 12, 1941 (p. 61A).
Dusko’s lifestyle “TRICYCLE’s Itinerary,” KV 2/846 (p. 58A).
Major Isham William Luke memo, February 27, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 44d).
Friedl Gaertner First meeting (William Luke memo, February 28, 1941, KV 2/846, p. 45a); age and background (William Luke “TRICYCLE” memo, March 7, 1941, KV 2/846, p. 50a); “TRICYCLE, BALLOON, GELATINE” memo (undated, unpaginated), KV 2/862 (sub-file 2); plan and pitch to the Germans (“GELATINE” memo, KV 2/849, p. 214h); dates with Popov (“TRICYCLE’s Itinerary,” KV 2/846 (p. 58A). In his memoirs, Popov misremembered meeting Friedl (whom he referred to as “Gerda Sullivan”), thinking they had met at the New Year’s Eve party, Spy Counter-Spy, 72–73.
Friedl Gaertner’s note of March 1, 1941 KV 2/863 (file 1).
Menzies’s brother’s sister-in-law Nigel West, MI6: British Secret Intelligence Service Operations, 1909–45, xv, 208; Anthony Cave Brown, C: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill, 306.
passion that had become addiction Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 83.
CHAPTER 8 DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON
full understanding of the escape plan William Luke “TRICYCLE” memo, March 5, 1941, KV 2/846 (p. 47J).
A revolver Ibid.; William Luke memo, February 24, 1941, KV 2/845 (p. 41A).
“jolly little thing” Nigel West, Seven Spies Who Changed the World, 13.
TRICYCLE Two authors have parroted a tabloid version of why Dusko’s code name was changed—that he fancied “three-in-a-bed” sex. See, e.g., Ben Macintyre, Double-Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies, 68 (“He was rechristened ‘Tricycle.’ This may have been, in part, a reference to Popov’s insatiable appetites and his reputed but probably apocryphal taste for three-in-a-bed sex.”); Ben Macintyre, Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love and Betrayal, 116 (“It was said that Dusko Popov, a rather louche Yugoslavian agent, had been named ‘Tricycle’ because of his taste for three-in-a-bed sex.”); Christopher Andrew, Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, 253 (“Codenamed TRICYCLE because of his fondness for three-in-a-bed sex, Popov became . . .”).