To what extent did the SD, Abwehr, Wehrmacht undertake intelligence-gathering 1935-1939 against the UK? I have read that pre-war there was not very much money available to do so. One snippet I found in research though was that in 1936, a "German Agent", Baron Robert Treeck, leased a house, Luckington Manor immediately adjacent to Sir Stewart Menzies’s house, Bridge’s Court, Luckington, England. In September 1939, Treeck vanished, and the house and its contents that were left were placed under the control of the Custodian of Enemy Property. Schellenberg post-war claimed that he had knowledge of ten suspected companies or individuals that worked in the British interest in Berlin, other than the ‘Black Orchestra’ that centred on Canaris. He was particularly suspicious of a possible German in England. "Opel Limited" had he thought a "European Representative" who was one "Hartmann" and living at Luckington Manor which was where the possible Abwehr agent Treeck was living. In fact the "Hartmann" was a British automotive dealer, Captain Frederick W. HARTMAN, RNVR, WW1 pilot. I assume that the SD were suggesting that Treeck and "Hartmann" were connected and that the latter was gathering information for the SIS in London. The fact that there was a mistake and other misinformation that I have discovered leads to me to think that Berlin's pre-war intelligence on the UK was limited in scope and interest. Can anyone dispute this please?
Sir Stewart Menzies was of course "C", and head of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Intelligence gathering on UK pre-1940
Graf von Schwerin
The MI5 had a file on 'Graf von Schwerin' whom they said was the Military Intelligence chief for England, as he visited England for four weeks just before the outbreak of war. I assume he was an Abwehr officer, but what was his full name and was the allegation correct?
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101stDoc
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I do not remember any specific incidents, Germany had a few roosters in the henhouse prior to 1940. In 1939 there were Abwehr agents in England looking for airfields, docking areas, factories and warehouses et al. But 1940 was really the "year of the spy"...or the "year of the spycatcher". 
After war was declared, the "enemy alien" registration was done, and those that were suspicious were tailed by MI-5. Perhaps the PRO may have some interesting info (if there's anything declassified that is).
Doc
After war was declared, the "enemy alien" registration was done, and those that were suspicious were tailed by MI-5. Perhaps the PRO may have some interesting info (if there's anything declassified that is).
Doc
The Druid?
I have a fascination about enigmas and one-off events in military history. Therefore I found it amazing reading when I went from cover to cover about the book 'THE DRUID', about the supposed only German agent never to have been caught and turned/executed.
For those not in the know about the allegations, Codename THE DRUID was a Welsh Nationalist.
For those not in the know about the allegations, Codename THE DRUID was a Welsh Nationalist.
Last edited by Oracle on Sat Jan 17, 2004 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.