The Little Berkhamsted Spy Ring

Book excerpt: During the Second World War, Mrs Rochford of The Old Manor House, Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, took in a number of male lodgers. Exactly how much she, her family, and other villagers knew about these lodgers is unknown but local gossip was that that they were spies. Who was in contact with her about their arrival and departure is unknown, as is how much she was paid for providing them with full board and lodging. Four lodgers, all men, arrived and departed by car with curtains over the rear windows, sometimes driven by an attractive FANY, a young woman from the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. Locals might also have noticed men arriving at the house on bicycles or in cars, staying for much of the day and then leaving. Several were attracted to the housekeeper's niece who met them in the Five Horseshoes public house. The lodgers would have been seen on walks around the village and in the pub. Maybe they went to the Sunday service in St Andrew's Church. Some would have been seen shopping in Hertford and Ware. Three of the men were Belgian and spoke little English. The other was British and acted as their interpreter. Who were these men? Who were their visitors? Why were they staying at the Old Manor House in Little Berkhamsted? What did they do there? Where did they go to, sometimes for several days, sometimes for several weeks before returning? What had they been doing before they arrived and what did they do after they left? Bernard O'Connor, author of many books on the Special Operations Executive, a top-secret clandestine warfare organisation during the Second World War, has researched the men's stories and provides a detailed documentary history of three Belgian's involvement in secret operations.