ULSTER STATE DOCUMENTS

Otago Witness, Issue 3590, 2 January 1923, Page 48

ULSTER STATE DOCUMENTS

SPY’S DARING COUP. LONDON, September 20. The spy worked with tlie utmost caution. For two years he wormed his way into the confidence of his superiors at the northern police headquarters. His parents live in Belfast, and he is a Roman Catholic. Although an unknown civilian, he was able to obtain an appointment as clerk in an office where many secret papers are kept. The Sinn ]£ein emissary first of all secured a post in the Military Adviser’s office in Victoria Barracks, where he obtained firsthand information of the movement of troops and all proposed raids on Sinn Fein. A MOST DISCREET SERVANT. Tho spy played to perfection his part as a harmless clerk. His superiors came to regard him as a most discreet servant. He apparently took not the slightest interest in the conversations that went on around him, and professed himself disinterested in the matters discussed by the secret service men who were constantly in and out of the office. When General Solly Flood was appointed Chief of the Ulster Farces a special Secret Service Department was set up. There was difficulty in securing a staff, and, believing that the spy wa s a reliable man, the authorities transferred him to General Flood’s office. It was just what the man wanted. Sir Henry Wilson’s plans and various police files were kept in the office, and the “confidential clerk” had access to them. When all his arrangements were complete, the spy, who had also been sworn in as an Ulster “Special,” asked for a day’s leave, which was granted. He immediately bolted with the plans, leaving by steamer for England. There was some comment when he did not turn up after his leave, and later it was discovered that all the plans had vanished.