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NCVA CRYPTOLOG, Pensacola, Florida Fall2010
BOOK RE,VIEW By David H. Hamer. 'The Insider's Travel Guide to 150 Spy Sites in London', Matk Birdsall and Deborah Plisko, Eye Spy Publishing Ltd., London, 2009, 186 pp: UK312.99/US$25.00 fincludes air mail ship-
pingl. ISBN:
918-0-9564530-0-6. Information
at'.
http ://www eyespymag.com/
OK, you're visiting London and need to decide on today's itinerary but your spouse/partner/significant other is tired of the tourism game and the museum scene...here is the answer if you are at all taken with the fact that London has long been, and remains, one of the'spy capitals'of the world.
betrayed secrets that led to the death ofover forly allied agents: and numerous others, who lived and worked in relative obscurity, such as double agents Eddie Chapman and Dusko Popov. But it is the buildings, offices, mansions, dead-drop sites, etc. that make this small guide book unique and allow the
reader/visitor to stroll leisurely through the locales once frequented by the undercover agents of the world. These include MI-6's early locations and that organization's futuristic, fofiresslike current headquarters at the southem end ofVauxhall Bridge over the River Thames. MI-6's 'opposite number' MI-5 is litera1ly that - located on the other side of the river and but a few minutes' walk away. Fictional characters are not excluded: Sherlock Holmes' museum at 2218 Baker Street is right there on Map E lpage 1661. One of my favorites: if you find yourself on Walk #1, Map A fpage 159] make a stop for lunch at Caf6 Daquise fpage 121] despite its French-sounding name it was, and still is, an inexpensive restaurant serving authentic Polish cuisine and was once in fact a favorite watering hole for agents, diplomats and service personael who were among the many Polish nationals who found themselves in temporary exile in London during
WordWarTwo. ODHH2010
Editor's note: Dr. David Hamer serves on the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation's Executive Committee al Fort Meade, Maryland and has contributed previously to the NCI/A CRYPTOLOG. A resident of New Jersey Jbr many years David served formerLy in an intelligence role with Britain's Royal Air
Force.
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A ROTA STORY Continued from page
13
The authors: English writer Mark Birdsall is the Publisher and Managing Editor of Eye Spy, the world's only newsstand-available intelligence magazine, while talented American, Deborah Plisko directs intemational sales and distribution for this immensely popular publication. The two have written a comprehensive street level guide to the myriad sites in London with direct associations with espionage, trickery skullduggery and the full monty f'britspeak' - you may have to look that up!] of the intelligence world as it applies to London. The book is nicely laid out with well-planned walks though areas of the city, some well known and many that will be known by very few. Each is well illustrated with, mostly street 1evel, images of famous, and infamous, locations and accompanied by a detailed route map listing walking distances and the approximate time to be taken...assuming a leisurely walking pace: you may wish to take longerl Your joumey may well be intemrpted by a visit to one ofthe various pubs, cafes, restaurants and other attractions, whose details are included by the authors. Readers will find 'o1d friends' among the characters that appear page after page: some are well-known like Sir Winston Churchill, Woodrow Wilson and Sir William Stephenson [a man
I were safely out on the street. I expected an argument, or at least a show of indignation; but they seemed to understand where I was coming from and ushered a squiming Fluffy and me out the garage door to the street. Under a dim street light I wrote the check (hard to do with a wiggling dog tucked under one arrn, but I wasn't about to let go of him), handed it over, and quickly retraced my route (with a number of checks on my six o'clock) to where Mrs. "H" waited nervously in the car. I had been gone over an hour and she was seriously beginning to wonder if I was going to ntake it back. When she saw me coming with the dog she threw open the door and I unceremoniously dumped Fluffy in the back seat, jumped in the driver's seat and took off.
called'Intrepid']: some less famous, such as Sidney Riley I'The Ace of Spies'] and renegade MI-6 officer George Blake, who
Head.
and
There was a
lot of reiieved dog whimpering and happy
squirming on the way home, and a few tears from Mrs. "H". I can only recall the feeling of relief at not having to explain to the kids why Fluffy wasn't with us when we pulled up to the house.
Author s note: The Rota article in the recent CRYPTOLOG stimulated my memory). I served in Rota from 1971-1975 as DIRSUP Officer Operations Officer, and Assistant Department
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