Just Finished Reading: Spynest – British and German Espionage From Neutral Holland 1914-1918 by Edwin Ruis (FP: 2012) [239pp] 

Spies are apparently the second oldest profession but the kind of espionage we easily associate with World War Two was very new during the Great War. Part of the problem was, it seemed, that “Gentlemen do not read each other's letters”. So, what is a covert organisation to do? Hire, use or otherwise acquire people who are most definitely NOT gentlemen to do the dirty work for you. In both the case of the Germans and the British, and indeed the Dutch who kept an eye on both parties as they operated in their country, they employed conmen, swindlers, thieves and, when required, prostitutes. Very few of these would be considered ‘professional’ spies in the modern sense. What we now regard as such is a surprisingly modern arrival. 

Needless to say, such people were anything but reliable – either they simply took the money on offer and ran or reported back with completely or partially fabricated ‘information’. They were, as a class, either practically useless or positively harmful. Such activities couldn’t really last and, after much trial and error, a more professional organisation – on all sides began to emerge using military and ex-police as operatives although a thief or professional burglar still had their uses. 

The Dutch position was an interesting one. Unlike in the Second World War Holland remained unoccupied and neutral. They knew that their neutrality was somewhat fragile and made great efforts to neither antagonise the Central Powers or the Triple Entante. They did, however, have their favourite. It was considered that Germany posed the greater threat to their sovereignty despite a sometimes-adversarial history with Great Britain. In both cases they made a simple deal – share your findings with us (the Dutch) and don’t use violence on our streets and you can do as you please (within reason). The British accepted the deal with pleasure, the Germans were much more reluctant and suffered for it. It was over the war period a difficult balancing act – especially as both the British and Germans used Dutch nationals in their endeavours to spy and counter-spy on each other but the alternative was far more dangerous. They had Belgium, their next-door neighbour, as an example of what might happen if their neutrality went up in flames. 

As I knew almost nothing about Great War espionage (or, to be honest, the role of Holland in the war) this was often a most interesting read. A few things surprised me including just how amateur espionage was in the early years of the war. The other thing that really struck me was the number of spies executed in England – by firing squad at the Tower of London no less!  - for often very minor spying activity. What was clear from the outset was that Germany wasn’t very good at the whole spying game and their efforts generally fell flat (as they did by and large in the re-match 20 years later). The Brits, eventually, go their act together although overall espionage didn’t (apparently) account for very much in the end. A fairly quick read and (often) quite the eye-opener. More on this subject – from those involved – to come. Recommended for those interested in early espionage and who like reading around the edges of the World Wars.