All about Eddie Chapman, keep it brief for those who havent read his story. MOD declassified his role in the war and an interview with him in '93 4 years before his death and could now be shown.
Left home at 17, hated his alcoholic father
joined the guards
went awol
fell in with gangsters in soho
discovered a talent for blowing safes and robbing odeons
became wanted on 40 charges of robbery and burglary
fled to scotland and got caught on first job there
jumped bail
fled to jersey
jumped out of a window when out with his gf, still got caught
sent to prison for 2 years followed by 20 in england
Germans invade jersey, he writes a letter from jail offering to help them
gets sent to spy school, breaks his teeth on practise chute jumps, gets a new gold set from the germans
ordered to blow up mossie factory
signs contract for 150,000 marks but death penalty if he betrays them
lands in england with £900 and explosives kit, immediatley contacts authorities and tells all
Bletchley park already know all about him, he becomes a double agent for wiping his record clean and keeping everything he gets from germans
British set up fake explosion at factory and simulate damage with paint and papier mache, fake a news story and let a german recon plane through to photograph damage
Germans fall for it, think he is a hero
British love him for hoodwinking germans
He gets bored and enters occupied europe through lisbon on a ship
germans tell him to blow up the ship with a bomb disguised as coal for £20,000
he gives bomb to ship captain and tells him to take it back and report it
Despite ship not reported lost, Germans love him and Hitler awards him Iron cross ( only brit to get one)
Gets a luxury house, yacht and whatever he wants in Norway,mingles with gestapo and higher echelons
Germans send him back to report V1 impact sites for £100,000
He immediately reports back in and tells the germans their rockets are overshooting, most now hit kent countryside
War ends, he goes back to crime
Gets fired but has his record cleaned
More to the story, but the documentary kinda painted him as a hero. I reckon he was just a greedy opportunist crim myself. He saved a lot of lives, and played a part in the war, can't dispute that
