THE SECRET SERVICE

Otago Witness, Issue 3398, 30 April 1919, Page 27 (Supplement)

THE SECRET SERVICE

A GREAT WAR RECORD

LONDON, January 3.

The public insists on having mysteries and sensations, and it will accordingly be very much annoyed to hear from Brigadiergeneral G. K. Cockerill, C. 8., that there is no evidence at all that enemy submarines ever received information of the departure of shipping from British ports. Statements

like this are a rude shock to the romantic conceptions the public has of the war. They are on all fours with the official announcement in 1915 that there was not a single case in England of enemy attempts to poison or interfere with reservoirs in this country. General Cockerill has been head of the Directorate of Special Intelligence during the war, a service which grew from very tiny beginnings—there were, in fact, only four officers when war broke out —to a bureaucracy of 6000. The» first notable step

in the Secret Service was the censorship of British cables, which was put into operation so drastically that there was never any necessity to alter its principles. The work of the Secret Service was, of course, car ried out in strict secrecy, and it is only now possible to lift the veil a little and indicate what was accomplished. The primary duty of the service was *o detect and convict enemy spies. In most cases the arrest of the spy followed quickly upon his entry into the country. Owing largely to this such important operations as

the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the construction of tanks, and the preparation for the Cambrai offensive—all of which were known to numbers of people in this country—were concealed from the enemy. "No act of destruction or incendiarism has been comm;tted by enemy agents in this country. This is the more remarkable," General CockeriJl says, "when the number of enemy aliens at large is considered." The work of the Secret Service was also vital to the satisfactory operation of the blockade and the suppression of enemy

trade. Almost all the evidence provided before the Prke Court in the cases of contraband was forwarded by the Special Intelligence Department, and the value of prizes—including ships and cargoes—dealt with by the court is over £30,000,000. Moreover, enemy remittances to the value of about £70,000,000 have been stopped. General Cockerill estimates that the Secret Service saved the nation something like £200,000,000, besides affording much greater benefit by eliminating speculative contractors from Allied business.

.{Forayth, photo.)

-wCaaoa-- Studio, photo.

Winners of Championship Teams Match, runners-up in Ladies’ Challenge Shield. From left: R. Giiiick, W. Fletcher, R. Johnstone, W. Crimp, D. Parsons.

OTAGO RIFLE ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL PRIZE FIRING MEETING.

From left: Rifleman A. Dippie (winner Quick March Match), xuflemian J. GilLan (winner Presideaat's Match), Rifleman W. Harty (winner Snap Shooting Match).