World War 2 London. Spies. Espionage. Count me in! As a lover of historical fiction and someone always on the lookout for a new historical mystery series, I’m thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour for London Spies by S. J. Slagle.
I’m delighted to say I have a fascinating guest post by the author about the real life exploits of amazing women who worked in military intelligence in World War 2.
Plus…there’s a giveaway with a chance to win a $5 Amazon giftcard.
To enter, click here.
About the Book
Phyllis Bowden, a secretary at the American Embassy, is catapulted into the limelight when the Military Attache is arrested for espionage and her boss, the Assistant Military Attache, assumes the position. The arrest throws suspicion on everyone at the Embassy, particularly the Military Attache’s secretary whose attempted suicide convinces Phyllis to be more curious about what really happened. With bombs still falling on a devastated city, Phyllis begins asking questions but she never imagined the dark underbelly of diplomacy. Entering a shadowy world of cryptic messages, secret rendezvous and dangerous men, Phyllis learns quickly that a safety net doesn’t exist and if she wants to survive, she better figure out the game fast.
Format: ebook, paperback (196 pp.) Publisher:
Published: 9th May 2017 Genre: Historical Fiction
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Guest Post: ‘Women in Military Intelligence’ by S. J. Slagle
Was my cousin a spy?
Women have long had varied positions with the United States military, but not much information has been forthcoming regarding women in military intelligence. What did they do? What sort of intelligence was collected?
While conducting research for a novel loosely based on the wartime experiences of a cousin, I uncovered the stories of three other women who made significant contributions toward the Allied efforts in World War II.
My cousin had, more than likely, been with the OSS, the Office of Strategic Services. My family learned of her involvement with the OSS after she had passed away. She had worked in the Pentagon and gone over to London at the end of the war to work as a civilian contractor with the War Department. She was placed in the Office of the Military Attaché at the American Embassy and later went on to Oslo, Norway when the war was over. Her official title was stenographer, although she was upgraded to research analyst and later intelligence officer when she joined the CIG, Central Intelligence Group, which evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency. Her wartime experiences were cloaked in secrecy during her career and life. She didn’t speak of sensitive topics and took her oath of confidentiality to the grave.
Most people have heard of Mata Hari, but how many remember Claire Phillips, Virginia Hall and Amy Elizabeth Thorpe Pack?
Claire Phillips was never trained in military intelligence. A mother from Portland, Oregon, Claire (Clara Taste) grew up a devout Christian Scientist. An outgoing girl craving adventure, Claire ran away with a travelling circus passing through town. Her mother brought her home, but Claire was an entertainer who loved to sing and dance. She soon signed with a stock company touring the Far East eventually ending in the Philippines. In 1942, Claire witnessed American prisoners of war staggering by on the Bataan Death March and vowed she would try to help the prisoners. Hocking her jewellery, she started the exclusive Tsubaki Club in Manila frequented by Japanese officers and civilians. Claire’s code name in the smuggling business she conducted was “High Pockets” because she carried notes in her bra, notes containing intelligence pried from loose Japanese lips. She used her Manila contacts to smuggle money and medicine to the prisoners of the infamous Cabanatuan Prison, but eventually her time ran out. She was arrested, imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to twelve years in a women’s correctional institution on the island. Rescued when the camp was liberated in 1945, Claire went on to receive honors for her service to the military. “I was an American Spy” was a popular movie made in Hollywood about her. Claire Phillips lived out the rest of her life in Portland.
Virginia Hall Goillot was born in Baltimore. She was university educated with a desire to join the Foreign Service and was placed in the American Embassy in Warsaw as a clerk in 1940. It was during her next assignment in Turkey when she lost part of her leg due to an accident. Still, Virginia continued her work wearing a prosthetic she affectionately named Cuthbert. When World War II broke out, Virginia joined the ambulance corps in France. Making her way to England, she volunteered to serve with British Special Operations, which trained her in weapons, resistance and communications. Virginia became a legendary intelligence officer with the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) and then CIA. Her exploits were well known and she was the only woman to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The “Limping Lady” continued her intelligence work with resistance groups in countries behind the Iron Curtain. Virginia Hall retired from the CIA in 1966.
Amy Elizabeth Thorpe grew up travelling the world with her family and U.S. Marine Corps officer father. Gorgeous and well bred, Amy attracted men like bees to honey. An illicit affair brought about her marriage to Arthur Pack, a British Embassy secretary and when Arthur transferred to Madrid on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, Amy became involved in covert operations such as smuggling rebel Nationalists to safety. When Amy and her husband moved on to Warsaw, she was recruited by British intelligence and began a career trading sexual favours for information. Some say Amy deserves credit with helping to give the Allies the edge over the Nazis with the Enigma cipher machine when she learned crucial intelligence from a Polish diplomat. She and Arthur travelled to New York where she was given the code name of Cynthia. Her cover was a journalist in Washington, D.C. where Amy gleaned information about the Italian Navy’s code and cipher books contributing to British victories in the Mediterranean. In 1942, she worked with Bill Donovan, head of the OSS on her most famous mission. Working with a French press attaché and an expert safe cracker, Amy was able to steal French naval ciphers used to help the Allies in North Africa. She once said, “Wars are not won by respectable methods.”
Wars are won by every method possible and every soldier who helped the Allied powers win in World War II deserves to be credited openly. So thank you to the women in military intelligence. All your exploits are not currently known, but perhaps one day they will be. If not, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Sources
“Claire Phillips: Forgotten Hero,” 1859, Oregon’s Magazine, Sig Unander, January 1, 2016 Virginia Hall: The Courage and Daring of the Limping Lady, http://www.cia.gov, October 8, 2015 “Amy Elizabeth Thorpe: WWII’s Mata Hari, www.historynet.com, June 12, 2006.
About the Author
S. J. Slagle is the celebrated author of the Sherlock and Me series and the Phyllis Bowden series. A teacher and nonfiction writer for part of her career, she taught in Florida, California and Nevada. She also writes western romances as Jeanne Harrell including the bestselling series Rancher, The Westerners and These Nevada Boys with picturesque settings in the wild west of Nevada.
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