SPY'S LAST WORDS.

Taihape Daily Times, 20 May 1919, Page 6

SPY'S LAST WORDS.

HUN ARISTOCRATS SHOT IN

LONDON.

EYES B'OUND BY LOVER'S HANDKEKCHIEF.

Whatever Germany may have anticipated from her famous system of espionage during the war. there can be hesitation in saying that, so far as England was concerned,, the results never fulfilled expectations.

"Spv mania 7 ' afflicts every nation in time of war, but the exaggerated rumours which spread like wildfire throughout England in the latter part of 1914 had little or no substance in fact. At that time Germany hardly realised the military importance of the British Empire, and devoted the greater number of her spies, both male and female, to the more pressing problem of France and Eussia. "H" was the first spy of importance to be captured in England. His mission was that of endeavouring to ascertain the disposition of our naval forces; but in the Naval Intelligence Department he met his match. "H" was iried by court-martial —as laid down by international law—and was shot at the Tower of London in 1914. While the last dread rites were being performed "H" remained perfectly selfpossessed, and glanced round intelligently while the straps were being fastened. When all was complete, he leant forward to the assistant provost-mar-shal in change of the execution, and said to him, "Perhaps you would not «are to shake hands with a spy, but will you do so with a German officer?"

"M." was the next German spy to meet his death, although he did so at Brixton Prison by his own hand. A poor, cowardly creature, his death by hanging saved the authorities the trouble of arranging his execution, which was to have taken place a few days later. A BLACKPOOL WAITER, From the time of "Ms" death Germany, became aware that spying on "Stupid England" was not the simple process she kindly imagined. After "M's" death, more elaborate measures of espionage were devised, and for that purpose the German Ministers in South America, had instructions to arrange for Latin-American "neutrals" to come to England and pick ■up what information they could. At the same time, several German naval officers, who, if is thought, were disguised as seamen, managed to smuggle themselves iirfo England, and acted as receivers for the information the neutrals were able to obtain.

In the early part of 1915, when the flower of our Eegular Army had prac- j tically ceased to exist, and the western ! front was being manned by Territorial troops, Germany /had great hopes of successfully invading England before ; the new Armies would be ready to take the field. But to do this, it was neecs- j sary that the British Fleet should be ! outmastered, and to obtain the infor- i ination needful Germany let loose num- ; berless spies , who infested our ports and made things exceedingly uncom- j fcrtable for about six months. . One of the first to be captured was "K", a tall, middle-aged, be-whisker- : ed individual, who was arrested while posing as a waiter in a Blackpool j ihotel. After his trial and condemna- ' tion he was taken to Brixton Prison, \ and remained there until the time came I for his execution. He was taken to the Tower on June 22, 1915. ' A COWAED 'S END. }

"K" was shot the following morning at daybreak in the miniature rifle range at the tower. He broke down badly throughout the night, and cried incessantly, foi bis wife and children, all forgetful of the evil he had done. But when led forth to the scene of execution he recovered himself a little. Before being placed in the chair, he insisted on a solemn farce: nothing would ■ satisfy him but that he must shake hands all round. He thanked them for the kindly treatment he had received while in prison, and went to his death. if not with courage, at least with a certain resignation. A more unsavoury kind of German agent was "T," a Russian, 25 years of age. He shared Casement's fate of being hanged —the only spy so executed. "T's" real crime was that of high treason, for, as a Russion, he was guilty of betraying an ally, and suffered the death of the common felon. A dark. little man. of indifferent physique, he was incarcerated in Wades-

•worth Prison from the time of his arrest, raid gave the impression of being a creature with very little savoir faire, so essential to the successful sqy. He was hanged i Ti the prison at 8 a.m. on July 15, 1915, the military authorities, with two stalwart ser^t.-

majors as representatives, acting as

the instruments of justice. It on July 30th, 1915, that the

Tower of London was the Bcene of one of the grimmest dramas of the whole .of its eventful history. On that morning two' Gcrma?: spies. "B" and "C." were executed within io minutes of each other. THE SPY OF FICTION.

Both were representatives of the stype more closely associated with the spy likely to succeed in obtaining

valuable information. The two men had been working in conjunction with each other, and it was thought to be in keeping with tfie eternal fitness of things that they should die in the same chair from the bullets of the same firing party, in the rifle range j where their predecessors had paid the I last penalty. "B" was one of the most valuable spy captures we made. A handsomelooking man of about 30 years of age. six feet high, he approached very nearly to the spy of fiction in. that he remained absolutely cool from the time of his arrest until his career ended. Taken to Wad'osworth Pri'son to await trial, he caused the authorities much perturbation [by jliis /attempts at suicide. On one occasion he nearly succeeded in bleeding himself to death by forcing his arm through the window of his cell. The crash of the glass roused the guard. Bleeding profusely, "B" was found standing in his cell, a large hole in the window testifying to his desperate efforts to escape .justice. ' B" took his condemnation at the : subsequent court-martial very coolly. ! He gave no trouble afterwards, and ! went to his death on July .'>() with a | calmness which was. perhaps, not altogether assumed. \ "0" had treated his captors with : the typical arrogance cf the Prussian ! officer from the time of his arrest; he exuded insolence to the last. Coining j into the rifle range he was smoking a 'cigarette and unconcernedly puffed at it while the preparations for his execution went on. Ordered to seat himself I in the fatal chair, he took a last puff at his cigarette, held it up in his I fincers, and then, with a supreme ges-

tare as of indifference ai:d contempt to everything the earth held, threw it upon the floor, and sat in the chair without another word. As the straps fastening his legs and arms in the chair were being buckled his face momentarily twitched—that was all. Little further time was wasted by the military police in charge. The

eyes of the condemned man were tightly bandaged, his chest bared ]to the cold morning air. The order to fire rang out, and with the burst of flame from eight rifles one of Germany's most trusted spies had terminated his earthly career. "B" and "C" were both aristocrats, well-educated men able to speak many languages, and cf a type to pass muster in any society. They ;werc thoroughly 'au fait' with the Wcsi End of London and their capture put an end to what might have proved an exceedingly dangerous state of . affairs, "C" in particular constituted a grave menace to this country; he had mixed willi many well-to-do people in London and undoubtedly acquired much important knowledge of our naval an<?

military preparation, information, it may be said, which he was unable To | got through to Genu any. ■ Throughout the war Germany has doubtless employed many curiouSj looking specimens of humanity, but it I is doubtful if any mere freakish type | was employed than "Z," executed on : September 10, 1915 CAUGHT IX THE ACT. j "Z" was an elderly man probably ; about 60 years of age. sft. loin. j'„ . height, and so cross-eyed that the j glasses he wore merely accentuated the ! disfigurement. A slow-speaking, cur- ! iously dliberatc type of man, he pro- . bably gained a certain amount of inj formation owing to his utter lack, of j resemblance to preconceived notions J of a spy. j He was caught in the act, and, like a wise man, made no fuss. He took | everything connected with his court--1 mar'ial and subsequent condemnation to death very much as a matter of

j course. While in Wandsworth Prison Ih e caused the authorities no trouble ! whatever, and on being taken to ihc j Tower of London the day before his j execution, merely exhibited a certain ; amount of anxiety to know -where he . was SGing.

"You will soon know," the A.P.M. grimly told him. Like all the other spies executed at the Tower, "Zf spent his last night on earth within its time-hallowed precincts. Led forth in the dim grey of a September morning, he listened unmoved to the reading of his sentence of deatn He wore his glasses right up to the time of the bandaging of his eyes. When the sergeant-major in charge told him to remove them, he carefully took them off. glanced regretfully at them with his cross-eyes, and handed them over and went to his dcTath with great composure. Quite one of the most picturesque personalities among the captured spies was "F" a dagger little Peruvian. A very chirpy individual, only sft. 4in. in height, "F." came to England at the instigation of one of the German Ministers in South America, ostensibly as a commercial agent. When arrested he had in possession a most elaborate Set of false papers. Smartly dressed, able tn mix in good society, he nevertheless proved value-

less to Germany, because none of his information got out of the country. He wa s incarcerated in Wandsworth Prison, and was taken ro the Tower to be shot on the day following, September 11. 1915. For reasons connected with certain of his accomplices, the sentence was not carried out for another seven days However, at daybreak on September 17, 1915. "F',' paid the supreme penalty, the miniature rifle range, again being the scene of the execution. The little Peruvian went to his death with a fair show of indifference; he walked to the chair quite bravely, and asked the

sergeant-major as a great favour not i to have his eyes bandaged no"r to be ' strapped to the chair. However, his ' request was not, acceded to.

[ THE HIRELING. j ' ; E V provided rather a pathetic example of the man corrupted by German gold. To this day our authorities ' cannot imagine why he should have ( sacrificed himself to Germany's despie- '■ able spy .system other than for the j large sums of money Germany's South i American Ministers were offering ' people willing to go to England and

spy. . "F_" himself had no animosity against this country; be acknowledged

that he deserved his death. Ancthev very phlegmatic individual —a true Teuton —was "G." One of Germanyfs professional spins. He was a man about 32 years of age, about sft. Gin. in height, and of very smart appearance. Tins :;.;ut frequented the West End of London a great deal and was thought to have been the receiver of information obtained from female accomplics. He. too. spent the time pending his execution in Wandsworth Prison, from which he was taken on October 18, 1915. "X" wa.s the assumed name of an extremely dangerous character, very well known about the West End of London, where lie was arrested in a famous restaurant in company with a female accomplice. "X" was a great dandy and ail'ected the mannerisms and haunts of the man about town. To this day his erstwhile acquaint-

anccs of whom he had many, inquire about him, blissfully unaware that the man was a Germany spy. His forte was the acquisition of naval information, and for this purpose he employed women, one of whom he \\'a s dining with at the time of his arerst < He acted with great bravado at the time, but, in company with the woman, was placed in confinement in Pentonviile Prison. A spick-and-span man, 30 years of age, sft, loin., i„ height, with quite a distinguished air. "X" created a more than passing interest at his subsequent trial at the Old Bailey. He was Sentenced to death and his female accomplic to 10 years' penal servitude THE LOVE RELIC

On October 25, ]..’il.”i, “2\'.-" was iakml in :1. taxi—cnb fl‘.:)m 7f"'-::i':*»""“;. I’z'i.~';)l)

to the Tower to await liis execution on the morrow. On leaving the condemned cell ho handed to the militaryescort a lady's small silk handkerchief with fancy embroidery—doubtless a relic of some past love affair—with the request that, it should be fastened over his eyes instead of the ordinary bandage. _; • #fsi

"X" look the reading of the sentence of death very well, but while in the chair collapsed at the last moment. It is doubtful whether he did not die of heart failure before the bullets of the firing party entered his bared breast. At heart he was unquestionably an abject coward.

The following day another spy was . shot. This was "V." a well-dressed man, about 40 years of ago. a thorough cosmopolitan speaking several | languages, who probably had been in j the German Secret Service, for a good many years. "VV was only about sft. 4in in height, but he was H man of very good appearance, who was only tiapped because of his indiscretions with regard to his letters. "V" accepted the sentence of death with complte stoicism, and before being placed in the ohair would insist on shaking bands with the party in the rifle range. But then he gave the whole game away by saying: "I only diil my duty; the same as you are doing yours." Probably the greatest coward of all was "P" the last spy to be shot. He was a young man, 24 years of age, about oft. sin, in height, and of very . poor physique, and provided a sorry example of the corruptive effects of German gold. Throughout Ms trial. and imprisonment he acted with the most abject lack of courage, and was desperately anxious to say or do anything to save his own wretched skin.

• A man of indefinable nationality, he spoke English with no appreciable foreign accent. The reading of his death sentence the following morning showed the man at his worst. He went into hysterics, screamed for his wife, and called curses upon his Maker. While on the way from the condemned cell, to the miniature rifle range some glimmering thought that he might convince the inexorable instruments of justice of his British nationality must have struck his disordered brain, for he. suddenly made a pitiful attempt to sing "Tipperary"

Forcibly placed in the chair he struggled violently and succeeded in tearing the bandage from his eyes, all the time shouting and screaming that God had deserted him, that his wife should be brought to him, and that he was not a German. However, the bullets of the firing party put an end to his miserable life and he died as h" had lived, a craven coward, a true type of a man who had sold everything for gold."