The Hornet's Sting_ The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum - Mark Ryan [147]
Mr Thomas C. Sneum, who during the German occupation of Denmark was able to escape to England and later was parachuted into occupied Denmark again in order to take an active part in the Danish resistance movement, was known by everyone who cooperated with him under those circumstances to be an exceptionally composed, resourceful and steady man—even in the most difficult situations. He even gained the respect of the German occupation forces for those qualities, and the Germans expressed their recognition of Captain Sneum as an efficient and dignified adversary to the principal Danish liaison officer.
Chapter 45
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
IT IS FAIR TO SAY that the Danish seamen sent back to Copenhagen as SOE agents were not of the calibre of Thomas C. Sneum. Even Ronnie Turnbull later said: ‘My boss, Commander Hollingworth, seemed more interested in quantity than quality.’ Some of the new agents were no more mindful of security than Sigfred Christophersen had been, others even less so. The worst culprit in Denmark itself was Hans Henrik Larsen, who parachuted back into his native country in February 1942. Soon after his arrival, he began to drink heavily and started to boast to strangers about his activities. By spring, he had been identified in resistance circles as a dangerous liability. The final straw came when Larsen, codenamed ‘Trick’, was ordered to escort a Swedish girl who was wanted by the Danish police to safety. He simply refused to comply. London approved his liquidation.
In a communication from Stockholm, Ronnie Turnbull reported what he described as the ‘rather gruesome story’, which he later likened to the murder of Rasputin. It involved ‘L’ tablets—the poisonous capsules that agents in the field were expected to swallow in order to avoid capture and interrogation. Larsen, explained Turnbull, was invited to a party and
came in as usual in an inebriated condition and was very easily persuaded to accept a vermouth and water in which one L tablet had been dissolved. ‘Trick’ gulped it down and was given two more tablets in similar drinks. After the third glass, he merely complained of sleepiness, and went home. The next day he was still very much alive, although he admitted to a slight headache. His would-be assassins were totally bemused, and decided they would have to find a less subtle way to kill him. Eventually, Larsen was driven to remote countryside, ostensibly to identify a future dropping point for parachutists and supplies. There, in the wilderness, he was shot dead.
Hollingworth was furious that the original execution had been bungled. These were ruthless times, and any threat to security had to be eradicated efficiently and quickly. SOE even launched an inquiry into why ‘Trick’ hadn’t been dispatched more promptly. The investigators were stunned to discover that their agents had failed to distinguish between the lethal ‘L’ and mere knockout pills. But Hollingworth was even angrier that agents had sought to use their ‘L’ tablets to do the job in the first place. They had been prepared to sacrifice their own means of suicide, leaving themselves vulnerable to interrogation if caught.
On 22 March 1943, MI5 gave Major Geoffrey Wethered the task of investigating penetrations into both SOE and SIS. He therefore took over responsibility for finding the traitor among the Danish in England from his predecessor, a Major Blunt. On 9 April, Wethered gave an account of events that would put a new question mark against Sneum’s loyalty, particularly in relation to Mogens Hammer and the wave of SOE agents sent into Denmark the previous year, known as ‘Table Top’:
Major Blunt took me round this morning to meet Spink and Hollingworth (SOE). We discussed the TABLE TOP leakage, and the following points of interest emerged:
. . . Hollingworth referred to an SIS agent named SNEUM, who had escaped to this country in late [sic] 1941 and had been