My name is Joshua Levine and I am an author. Having found your very impressive website, I decided to contact you as I have begun work on a book about Operation FORTITUDE for the publisher Harper Collins. My previous books include ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’ (about the Royal Flying Corps) and ‘Beauty and Atrocity’ (about the Northern Ireland Troubles), as well as various Forgotten Voices oral histories.

It feels like a stroke of good luck finding your website. I have read Christopher Maton’s post, and I agree completely with him, that in many existing books on FORTITUDE, that there has not been enough focus on Tomas Harris, and and not enough stress on the sheer human drama of the events. The reason for this is fairly clear when one immerses oneself in the relevant archive material.  Much of it – for example in the PRO and the the IWM – concerns strategies and tactics, lists of imaginary troops movements, double agents’ wireless messages, but doesn’t paint a picture of the individuals concerned or the atmosphere in which they worked. (There are exceptions, of course – for example the Liddell diaries, and the odd vivid interrogation from a KV file.)

As a result, It seems to me that too much emphasis has come to be placed on the double agents themselves, and not enough on those running them. Men like Harris and Hugh Astor. These were the men who had to do the work, inhabiting their agents’ personas, avoiding the single error that could put the entire system in jeopardy, and serving up a complex deception plan in small pieces. The agents themselves were sometimes just the means of doing so.

It is for this reason that I would like to meet people who knew Tomas Harris (and the other handlers) and who can tell me what their lives and their jobs really consisted of. I have only just begun this search, and to kick it off, I will be meeting Christopher Mills, the son of Cyril Mills later this week. And now, having found your website, I would love to know whether you could point me in the direction of anybody who knew Tomas, and who could paint a picture of him. Or, for that matter, a picture of wartime life in MI5. It would be very interesting to get in touch with Christopher Maton to share thoughts and ideas. I might have a few for him! Please feel free to forward this email to him.

Anyway, congratulations on the website, and I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Joshua Levine

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Chris also says :-

I am also very keen to draw out the “art angle” in the screenplay, both in relation to Tomas’ character and also in relation to the creativity required to “paint the picture” for the German intelligence services—–

And this is Chris’s first contact with me – if anyone has information they would like to contribute towards this screenplay then please contact me, Anita Harris, through my website and I will put you in touch with each other.

Dear Anita,

May I firstly congratulate you on your three excellent web sites  (www.TomasHarris.com, www.AnitaHarrisFamily.co.uk and also the ever growing Tribal Pages Family Tree) celebrating the Harris Family and, in particular, Tomas Harris. Both have been extremely useful to me in conducting my research.

As you now know, my own interest in Tomas Harris began about 6 months ago as I cast around for real-life “historical drama” material for one or more potential screenplays.

My interest in the Second World War in general and D- Day in particular is borne out of my own father’s involvement. He was a young (20 year-old) Royal Marine in charge of three landing craft in the second wave at Sword beach on 6th June.

However, I have been drawn in particular to the use of deception during the Second World War. I do feel that the British often get a poor showing in traditional Hollywood movies because we always appear somehow ‘timid’ in our approach compared to, say, the Americans. Aside from the fact that this is a huge generalization (and often not at all true), the British desire to “play cricket rather than football” was naturally borne out of a deep-seated revulsion at, and desire to avoid, the slaughter of he First World War.

The screenplay that I have partially completed focuses mainly (but not exclusively) on the partnership of Tomas Harris and Juan Pujol and their hugely important contribution to the conduct of FORTITUDE, the cover and deception operation for D Day.

So why does this make an interesting story? There are many, many reasons, aside, that is, from the almost incontrovertible evidence that thousands of lives were saved as a result of their efforts; too many, in fact, to list here. But the most captivating from a “writers” perspective are the extraordinary characters of the main protagonists. Juan – the unlikely Spanish spy. Fantastical, comedic, and certainly lucky, but also highly intelligent. Tomas – enigmatic, likeable, persuasive, but unconventional and hugely creative.

I share Andreu Jaume’s view that the Garbo story, told many times in books, and now in the 2009 documentary (which I have to say I have yet to see
as I am having some difficulty getting access to it) have focused disproportionately on Pujol. They have all underplayed Harris’ role and my intention would be to redress the balance. This is a shame for all sorts of reasons, not least because Harris is such an interesting, intriguing and enigmatic character. The crowd he mixed with during and after the war were also, needless to say, some of the most beguiling characters of the 20th century!

Both are mysterious individuals (with strange and in some cases infamous friends) and there is a lot we will never know about them.

But there is a story in here nonetheless that is crying out to be told. Whilst there are many factual books and documentaries on the subject, very few focus on Harris and very few do justice to the drama of events and characters concerned. To put this right we need to unearth as much as possible about the individual personalities. Not facts and dates, but motivations and emotions. If anyone reading your website can offer any help with this, then I would be very pleased to hear from them.

Then of course the story needs to be played out on the screen. Any help with that would also be gratefully accepted!

More than anything I think that the wider “deception” story is a great lesson in the differences that a single individual can make in the face of a global crisis. In a way it is humbling to know that your great uncle probably did quite a lot to keep my Dad, and those like him, alive!

Chris has carried out major research over the last 6 months since he first heard of Tomas Harris and Juan Pujol and their grand deception plans to deceive the Germans into thinking the D-day landings would occur in Calais instead of Normandy, resulting in the beginning of the end of WWII. Chris has kindly supplied me with the following information some might find very informative.

I have, however, put a fair amount of effort into background research, having been made aware of the Garbo/Tomas Harris partnership about 6 months ago. I am sure you will have tracked these sources down but in case it helps at all, I list them below. Most of them are prepared from the archive material now readily available at the National Archives so that cuts down the work required.

In no particular order (except the order I read them) the sources I digested were:

Ten Days to D Day – David Stafford. (Mostly about other things but brings the Garbo role in D Day to life)

Operation Garbo – Juan Pujol and Nigel West. (Obviously Pujol’s own account, which has been criticized by some as lacking “impartiality”, e.g. the way he completely writes his wife out of the story. But Nigel West’s sections are excellent. For example the account of how Pujol was tracked down by West in 1984, more than 30 years after he (with Tomas’ help) had faked his own death. Inspiring stuff!).

Bodyguard of lies – Anthony Cave Brown. (Written in the 60′s and 70′s, before a lot of the detail had come out, Cave-Brown only mentions Garbo in passing. But his wider account of the deception campaigns of WWII, and their origins in WWI is very entertaining. It says on the cover that “there is enough material here for 20 espionage novels”, but I think there is enough for a 10 episode mini series for sure. In fact I have already sketched out the ten programmes I would make from it….).

The Double Cross System – JC Masterman. (He was the Chairman of the 20 Committee that ran the double cross agents. So he knows what worked and what didn’t. He was a great cricket fan and my favourite quote is “If SNOW [an earlier agent] was our WG Grace, the GARBO was our Don Bradman”. High praise indeed).

Garbo – The Spy Who Saved D Day – Tomas Harris and Forward by Mark Seaman. (The official MI5 record of the Garbo case, compiled by Tomas Harris shortly after the war. See below for further comment).

A Climate of Treason – Andrew Boyle. (Mostly about the Cambridge 5 spy ring, but contains some affectionate commentary on Tomas Harris).

Fortitude – The D Day deception campaign – Roger Hesketh. (He was in charge of the implementation of Fortitude, so he should know! Again an official record, written for historical accuracy rather than entertainment, so there is a LOT of detail that will distract from the interesting stuff. But it is interesting to note that time and time again he refers to the fact that all the physical and wireless deception, on which so much was thought to depend, achieved almost nothing compared to the double cross agents Garbo and Brutus. He more or less says, forget everything else we did (inflatable tanks, dummy landing craft etc), Garbo and Brutus won the day).

Anthony Blunt – His Lives – Miranda Carter. (Again about the Cambridge Spies, but mentions Harris in 12 separate sections)

My Silent War – Kim Philby. (As above, although I haven’t got to this yet).

In amongst all of that was, of course, Anita’s excellent websites, which added some much appreciated colour to he whole story. There is also the 2009 documentary by a Spanish Director Edmon Roch, which I haven’t managed to get a copy of yet.

As far as the National Archives are concerned, most direct searches for Tomas Harris/Garbo will take you back to the official MI5 account of the case, Tomas’ own account – Garbo – The Spy Who Saved D Day. This is a fairly factual account, as of course it was bound to be, being written by a professional MI5 case worker and intended as an official record. It is, however, a must read account of course. Some of the more touching personal stories come at the end of the case, e.g. when Pujol visits his German Handler, Kuhlenthal, in Madrid.

There are also the more recent releases from Guy Liddell’s wartime diaries (head of MI5 counter Espionage section) but I think Mark Seaman has done a good job of researching those and include all relevant material in his forward to Tomas Harris’ book.

I have also prepared (but haven’t yet actioned) a list of National Archive files that I intend reading through over the next few weeks (time permitting). Most deal more generally with the WWII deception campaigns (such as Bodyguard, Fortitude and the wider work of the London Controlling Section),

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View more information here about this Tomas Harris Art Exhibition which is being organized by Andreu Jaume, who grew up in what was the home of Tomas Harris at Camp De Mar in Andratx Mallorca, which to  this day has changed very little.

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New information : added 1st May 2010:

• Madaline Tribe (Tomas’s wife’s sister) was 103 in 2007 and living in a nursing home in the Guildford area. It will soon be known if Madaline is still alive or not (but she would be 105/106 now) . Contact has been made with Madalines daughter and we are currently awaiting a response. Thank you Morlin Ellis for this wonderful information.. Guildford is my home town, so maybe Madalines daughter lives very close by. What a small world…  The family tree will be updated with this new information shortly…

New information : added 24th Feb 2010 :

• Tomas Harris’s sister in law, Ella Powell (née Ellaline Alice Webb) is buried in Ladywell & Brockley Cemetery in Kent. She married Harold Alfred Powell and died in 1978.
• I have received a copy of the 1911 census report, which shows Ernest campell Webb at 36, Alice Elizabeth at 38, (married for 12 years), Ella at 10, Ivy at 7, Madaline(Madge) at 6 and Hilda (Tomas’s wife) at 1 year old. Alice was born in Kent, and the cemetry report shows that Ernest, Alice, Ella and her husband Alfred are all buried in Kent.
• I have also discovered the date Hilda and Tomas were married as I have a copy of their marriage certificate in my possession (10 august 1931, in St Marlebone, London)

Andreu Jaume, from Mallorca is writing Tomas Harris’s biography, and hopes to make contact with them (or anyone who knows them) on the off chance that they may be able to help in some way with his reasearch for his book, which may be titled ‘The Lives of Tomas Harris’

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A new documentary about the flamboyant Spanish double agent who duped Hitler in a British secret service plot which ensured the success of the Normandy landings.

Joan Pujol García, who was awarded the MBE for his efforts, was known by the British codename Garbo and the German codename Arabel.
He had a key role in the success of Operation Fortitude, the deception operation intended to mislead the Germans about the timing and location of the invasion of Normandy towards the end of World War II.

The false information Pujol supplied helped persuade German intelligence the main attack would come in the Pas de Calais, resulting in a decision to withhold troops from the area around the Normandy beachhead. The son of an…. READ MORE

………….   His MI5 case officer was a Spanish-speaking intelligence officer Tomas Harris who is buried here in Majorca where he died in a car crash in 1964.
Garbo’s information to the Germans included fictitious tales throughout the war….. READ MORE
Extract from the MAJORCA Daily Bulletin – 21st April 2010

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Garbo – Known by the Germans as Arabel, and by the British as Garbo, the Spaniar was one of Britains most successful double agents in history, responsible for perpetrating the greatest fraud of the Second World War and helping make possible the D-Day landings… The film/documentary will be showing at the International film Festival in San Francisco in May

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Tomás’s Goya print collection, part of it now available for study in the British Museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings  and his two volume Goya Prints and Lithographs (Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1964) have made a major contribution to the understanding of Goya’s etching and lithographic techniques, and have greatly increased the general appreciation of that part of the Spanish artist’s work.

Not knowing anything really about Francisco Goya and his methods of engraving, I found this story (Goya’s Ghosts) very informative and interesting. The film actually shows in quite a bit of detail how the copper plates were made, how the engravings were etched, and how they were then processed to create prints. A very complex looking process I see .. 

Click Image to Read more about Goya’s Ghosts, and view the TRAILER

Goya’s Ghosts was made in 2006, (click link to view the Goya’s Ghosts Trailer ) directed by Milos Forman,  and starring Javier Bardem,  Natalie Portman, and  Stellan Skargaerd as Francisco Goya (the Spanish painter initially favoured by Royalty).    Goya is targeted by the Spanish Inquisition after he had painted a young girl whom the church views as a heretic.  The story is described by Netflix as a true epic, by the Oscar winning director Milos Forman.  Years later, the young girl is released from the dungeon and requests Goya’s help in finding the daughter she bore while imprisoned.  (I have read elsewhere that the story is not true, but is based on true historical facts).  All the same an enjoyable movie.

Other links  that may be of interest :-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goya’s_Ghosts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Goya

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Read the full story here :-

–>>>>  Tomas Harris and his 3 tapestries

The above tapestry (one of three) was made at the Royal Factory in Madrid, and now resides at the Museo de Sevilla, in Spain.

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D13848

Anglo-Spanish Exhibition

As an art dealer, Tomas Harris, half Spanish, half English, specialised in Spanish paintings.

As an Artist, who has lived and travelled a lot in Spain, he is much influenced by that country. Because he won a scholarship to the Slade School of Art in London, his art training has been British.

At the private viewing of his latest paintings on show at the Lefevre Galleries in London, many Spanish and Latin American personalities were present.

Actor John Mills with his wife, Haley Bell, who wrote the play “Men in Shadow” in which her husband is now acting. They look at the Tomas Harris painting of St. John and the Madonna after Grumewald.

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