Perhaps the most spectacular accounts of RSS involvement were in connection with the spies, or agents as they came to be called, who arrived here with various objectives.  These could be used to pass information back to Germany, or carry out sabotage or, at least in the early stages, to spread rumours and alarm and despondency in an attempt to demoralize the population.  Later reports on bomb damage and the range of the V bombs were required.

Among the first 21 spies to arrive in September 1940 were 4 by dinghy, 2 by parachute and some by fishing boat.  In addition several arrived amongst the large number of genuine refugees, which flooded in during the German occupation of Western Europe.  Among these first agents, often badly trained and prepared, were 5 Germans, 3 Cubans, 2 Danes, 2 Norwegians, 1 Swiss and 1 Belgian.  Not all arrivals were enthusiastic or competent.  Some gave themselves up as soon as possible and some were easily caught because of their ineptitude, but few came without our prior knowledge due to radio Morse intercepts made by our Radio Security Service.  Many who tried to avoid capture and please their masters did so because their families were held as hostage. Out of some 120 illicit entries nearly 30 were made into double agents working on our behalf unknown to the enemy.

They were given cover names and at least four, code-named Tate, Zigzag, Tricycle and Garbo, were of great value.  Many of the others were half-hearted, perhaps coming over with refugees and not prepared for undercover work.  In fact some of the deliberately infiltrated persons, by boat or air were pitifully ill-trained, with a poor knowledge of customs and language.  The imperial money system of £.s.d was one stumbling block.  For instance when one would-be spy was asked for 10 and 6 for a rail ticket he offered £10 and 6 shillings and was soon apprehended.  Papers were often badly forged and in several cases a real give-away because ID numbers were put on documents by the Germans when these numbers had been acquired by them from our first double agent, a Welshman called Snow.  Snow, real name Alfred Owens, had been in contact with the Abwehr pre-war while on business in Germany and was trusted by them.  However after a while we came to doubt which side he was really on and he was interned for the duration.  This was the rule with any spies who had acted for us but for various reasons we could no longer use.  When the arrival was arrested and either refused to co-operate (or if the press got to know about it) he was executed.

Otherwise the Germans, who might learn of his arrest, would be suspicious if he just disappeared and obviously we couldn’t use the man in this case.  In Wandsworth or Pentonville jails 17 were executed either by hanging or firing squad according to whether they were civilian or military.  Only one arrival escaped the notice of the RSS and that was Ter Braak, a Dane, who ran out of money, and, not being able to contact his German Control, must have got so depressed that he shot himself, to be discovered in a Cambridge air-raid shelter.