The Man Who Never Was is a 1953 book by Ewen Montagu about the World War II Operation Mincemeat. Montagu played a leading role in the 1943 scheme to deceive the Germans about the planned Allied invasion of Sicily. The scheme entailed releasing a dead body just off the coast of Spain, where strong currents caused it to drift ashore in an area where a skilled German secret agent was known to operate. The corpse was to appear to be the victim of an airplane crash, the non-existent Royal MarineCaptain (ActingMajor) William Martin, who had letters in a briefcase that hinted at a forthcoming Allied invasion of Greece and Sardinia, rather than the obvious target of Sicily.
In 1950 Duff Cooper, a former cabinet minister who had been briefed on the operation in March 1943, published the spy novel Operation Heartbreak, which contained the plot device of a corpse – with papers naming him as William Maryngton – being floated off the coast of Spain with false documents to deceive the Germans.[1] The British security services decided that the best response was to publish the story of Mincemeat. Over the course of a weekend Montagu wrote The Man Who Never Was (1953), which sold two million copies and formed the basis for a 1956 film.[2][3] The security services did not give Montagu complete freedom to reveal operational details, and he was careful not to mention the role played by signals intelligence to confirm that the operation had been successful. He was also careful to obscure "the idea of an organised programme of strategic deception ... with Mincemeat being presented as a 'wild' one-off caper".[4] In 1977 Montagu published Beyond Top Secret U, his wartime autobiography, which gave further details of Mincemeat, among other operations.[2]
Montagu, Ewen (1954). The Man Who Never Was. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company.
SourcesEdit
Aldrich, Richard J. (September 2004). "Policing the Past: Official History, Secrecy and British Intelligence since 1945". The English Historical Review. 199 (483): 922–953. doi:10.1093/ehr/119.483.922. JSTOR 3490693.
Ezard, John (29 October 1996). "Mystery Warrior Identified". The Guardian. p. 6.
Foot, M. R. D. (2004). "Montagu, Ewen Edward Samuel (1901–1985)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31458. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Montagu, Ewen (1996) [1953]. The Man Who Never Was. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-55750-448-7.
August 29, 2023
never, book, never, 1953, book, ewen, montagu, about, world, operation, mincemeat, montagu, played, leading, role, 1943, scheme, deceive, germans, about, planned, allied, invasion, sicily, scheme, entailed, releasing, dead, body, just, coast, spain, where, str. The Man Who Never Was is a 1953 book by Ewen Montagu about the World War II Operation Mincemeat Montagu played a leading role in the 1943 scheme to deceive the Germans about the planned Allied invasion of Sicily The scheme entailed releasing a dead body just off the coast of Spain where strong currents caused it to drift ashore in an area where a skilled German secret agent was known to operate The corpse was to appear to be the victim of an airplane crash the non existent Royal Marine Captain Acting Major William Martin who had letters in a briefcase that hinted at a forthcoming Allied invasion of Greece and Sardinia rather than the obvious target of Sicily Montagu s work formed the basis for a 1956 film by the same title Contents 1 Background 2 References 3 Offsite links 4 SourcesBackground EditIn 1950 Duff Cooper a former cabinet minister who had been briefed on the operation in March 1943 published the spy novel Operation Heartbreak which contained the plot device of a corpse with papers naming him as William Maryngton being floated off the coast of Spain with false documents to deceive the Germans 1 The British security services decided that the best response was to publish the story of Mincemeat Over the course of a weekend Montagu wrote The Man Who Never Was 1953 which sold two million copies and formed the basis for a 1956 film 2 3 The security services did not give Montagu complete freedom to reveal operational details and he was careful not to mention the role played by signals intelligence to confirm that the operation had been successful He was also careful to obscure the idea of an organised programme of strategic deception with Mincemeat being presented as a wild one off caper 4 In 1977 Montagu published Beyond Top Secret U his wartime autobiography which gave further details of Mincemeat among other operations 2 References Edit Macintyre 2010 pp 310 311 a b Foot 2004 Ezard 1996 p 6 Aldrich 2004 pp 930 931 Offsite links EditMontagu Ewen 1954 The Man Who Never Was Philadelphia and New York J B Lippincott Company Sources EditAldrich Richard J September 2004 Policing the Past Official History Secrecy and British Intelligence since 1945 The English Historical Review 199 483 922 953 doi 10 1093 ehr 119 483 922 JSTOR 3490693 Ezard John 29 October 1996 Mystery Warrior Identified The Guardian p 6 Foot M R D 2004 Montagu Ewen Edward Samuel 1901 1985 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 31458 Subscription or UK public library membership required Macintyre Ben 2010 Operation Mincemeat London Bloomsbury ISBN 978 1 4088 0921 1 Montagu Ewen 1996 1953 The Man Who Never Was Annapolis MD Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 55750 448 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Man Who Never Was book amp oldid 1172788409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
