BADEN-POWELL THE SPY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 198, 21 August 1929, Page 3

BADEN-POWELL THE SPY

HAIR-RAISING EXPLOITS AFTER MILITARY SECRETS HIS BEADY EESOUBCE. CLEVER CODE MESSAGES. Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout movement, has led a life of adventure as exciting as that of Colonel T. E. Lawrence, the hero of Arabia, writes H. L. Chisholm in the Melbourne Argus. Many are the countries in which he has acted as a scout in the British Secret Service, and wonderful has been his success. As long ago as 1909 he was able to recount to British officers the extent of Germany ’s plans for the invasion of Britain. He described th e place where the Germans intended to land their forces and what they intended to do on reaching Britain. News of what he had said travelled to Germany, and he received a swarm of abusive letters. “You are a brown-paper general,” said one of them; “and if you think that by your foolish talk you can stop us from coming, you are not right.” That, at any rate, proved the accuracy of his information. Wonderful Cipher Maps. Baden-Powell was a master of the art of making secret maps. Immediately he had mapped out a position, he incorporated it in some sketch, where it was apparent only to those who knew the key which he had employed. At one time he drew a fort, noting the calibre, position, and nature of the guns. Then he concealed it in the markings of a butterfly’s wings. On another occasion a shaded ivy leaf conveyed the information that in the neighbourhood of a certain fort there were patches of ground which were immune from the fire delivered from tho fort, and in w r hich the geographical configuration of the earth allowed men to be mustered in safety. Sitting down to draw a fort which was surrounded by a triangular ditch, he plotted the positions of the machine-guns, the howitzers, the quick-firing, disappearing guns, and the size of the other cannon, nor did lie neglect the searchlight with which the position was equipped. When he had finished, those inspecting the work saw a stained glass window, depicting heraldic arms complete with motto and crest.

Hidden in a Moth’s Head His learning seems to be more diverse than that of the editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. One system of defences was shown —or rather, buried—in the drawing of a moth’s head “magnified six times,” a phrase which was really an intimation that the scale used was 6 inches to the mile; In this fashion he went about with a sketch-book*, drawing plans of fortifications and anything else of interest, and converting them into drawings of various objects which would not arouse suspicion. If necessary, they were shown to officials and other people, who were perhaps asked whether they had seen a certain butterfly in the district. They could not tell him that they had seen one, and even if they could, what did it matter? But not all his sketches contained military secrets. He has found tha; his ability to draw allows him to remain in certain places which are nominally forbidden ground. Once he went to discover the methods of transport used by troops in certain mountainous country. After reaching the site of the manoeuvres by night, he began to make a picture of “Dawn Among the Mountains.” Officers came to see why he was there, and, after inspecting his work, became confidential, showing him their maps, explaining the plans of the action, and making themselves generally useful to him by telling him a great deal of what he wanted to know. Shamming Dfflunkemiesfl Before the Great War word reached Britain that the Germans had invented a new machine-gun. Its capabilities were unknown, and two others who had sought the information had succeeded only in getting themselves arrested. Baden-Powell was entrusted with a mission. He stayed with some German officer friends and went to various gatherings, both military and civil, with them, but when they were going to a rifle range he was politely requested not to accompany them. He went alone.

The position was surrounded by a high fence guarded by two sentries. He wandered into the neighbourhood of the reserve, and lay down on the grass well away from the entrance. From there he could listen. The rapidity of the cracks which accompanied hits on the iron target gave him a good inkling of the rate of fire and accuracy of the gun. Still he was not satisfied. When the sentry’s back was burned he made a rush for the fence, and found a loose board which allowed of a good view of the happenings inside.

Suddenly the sentry turned, and saw the figure at the fence. He rushed back. Baden-Powell hastily replaced the plank, and when the soldier reached him he found an intoxicated man profuse in his offer of a share of the half-bottle of brandy which was in his hand. The sentry took his “catch” to the end of the beat and thrust him away. Baden-Powell, who had carefully spilled half the contents over his clothes to give the required odour, went home very pleased with himself. “The Dodger”

A new fort had been lluilt in Turkey, and he had to obtain an insight into its armament and construction. He went off to the site before dawn, hoping to gain the required information without having to worry about the sentries. Things were going well when he spied a man creeping round a neighbouring sandhill. He immediately assumed that he was a member of the guard who had set out to capture him, and began to dodge him. For a time he succeeded, b|ut soon he saw thb stranger coming near in the same manner. To his surprise the intruder showed anxiety to hide from him. The pair then recognised that they were mutually afraid of each other. Both were engaged upon the same work, but for different Governments. That night they met in BadenPowell’s friend’s bedroom and compared notes. Then they went to, Malta, where the Englishman showed I the other the two guns which then guarded the harbour entrance and| other obviO)U> batteries. The spy

went home to Italy thinking what a simpleton he had encountered. The sequel came a few years afterwards. The Italian had by this time been placed in charge of a large arsenal in one of the colonies, and the Briton desired to discover what arrangements had been made to mobilise the .natives as a reserve force, and the means available for arming them.

The arsenal was built on the side of a rapidly flowing river. BadenPowell called on his friend, who showed him the sights of the town. He hit upon the idea that the river would furnish means of lighting the barracks, and he convinced the official that he should suggest the enterprise to his superiors. He offered to work out an estimate of the cost of the scheme, and he was shown through the arsenal. In it he saw galleries full of well-kept arms, with the names of the various tribes, and the number of men available for service, posted in various places. And as he walked through with pencil and paper, making calculations for the work which he had proposed, his celluloid shirt cuffs became note-paper sufficient to mark the details which he had sought.

One of the European Powers had a new field gun, which was undergoing secret trials in one of its colonies. The only means which Baden-Powell had of finding out anything about the cannon was by being a passenger on a train which stopped at the site of the trials for half an hour. On the train a dejected farmer entered the compartment in which Baden-Powell was travelling, and the pair fell into conversation. When the engine pulled its carriages into the station where the tests were being carried out, he stepped out of the train to pass the time. To his delight, a battery of the new guns w r as just outside the station. He hurried off to sec them, but a corporal of the guard saw him and rushed across, and sent him back to the carriage. Not to be outdone, BadenPowell used his field-glasses. In the middle of the investigation he found the view obscured, and on lowering the glasses found the corporal gazing at him. He had been caught.

The farmer returned, and told him that the corporal had telephoned to the terminal station that a German spy was in the carriage, and that he would be arrested when the train reached that point. The farmer said that at the next stop he was getting dut, and he advised Baden-Pow’ell to do the same. Ho could then catch the early morning train and thus escape. Baden-Powell replied that as an Englishman he had nothing to fear, and that ho would go on. There was a station between the one at which the farmer left him and the terminus. At this Baden-Powell said good-bye to the train. Next morning he passed through the station where the commandant had been waiting for him on the previous night.