The Hornet's Sting_ The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum - Mark Ryan [57]
Tommy Sneum was the sort of daredevil character who personified the British vision of what would be required when the tables were finally turned on the Germans in mainland Europe, so perhaps it was inevitable that his brilliance would shine into the rival corridors of London’s spy world, reflecting unfavorably on Turnbull’s tentative beginnings in Stockholm.
While SIS kept Tommy away from SOE, they were under a moral responsibility to share with their rivals at least some of the information he had delivered. However, Britain’s established intelligence service didn’t bother to tell the upstarts at SOE that they had recruited Sneum for a covert mission inside Denmark. Even so, SOE were sufficiently impressed by what they heard to swing into action and exert pressure on their own field chief to take advantage. This was just the sort of dilemma Turnbull didn’t want. Sneum had supplied enough information for the Scot to begin creating a secret army under direct SOE control, rather than continuing down his favored route of channelling everything through the Princes. Nevertheless, he had to find an acceptable response to a communiqué from his superiors in London dated 14 July 1941:
On 21 June last, two Danish Naval Lieutenants, pilots in the Air Arm, left Denmark in a borrowed Hornet Moth and flew to this country. As all civilian planes were immobilized in Denmark, they had to assemble their machine themselves. From the information they have given us, the following item is of interest as—if the information is correct—it will be of great assistance to us in carrying out our agreed plan.
Holbaek Battery, equipped with 75mm and 15cm guns and 20mm AA guns, is still manned by 600 Danes under Captain Schou. They are said to be pro-Ally to a man and are ready to revolt if a British landing is made. The 600 men have petrol, arms and 11,000 rounds hidden away. Similar Batteries and similar pro-Ally Danish Garrisons are at Roskilde and Naestved. At the latter, there are also German soldiers, housed in some new barracks, built by the Danes.
I feel we should immediately get to work amongst the Danish garrisons.
Turnbull would not have been pleased to receive what in effect was an order to act on Sneum’s intelligence and have his own people move in on the Princes’ domain. Although Sneum wasn’t mentioned by name here, Turnbull’s highly placed friends, Nordentoft, Lunding and Gyth, would soon have made it their business to discover the identities of these Danish naval lieutenants who had acted independently, and thereby put them all in such an awkward position.
Such ominous political undertones would eventually catch up with Tommy. But for a young man who had stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale, at the moment it simply felt good to be alive in the capital city of a free country. While Denmark and the task ahead would always be at the back of his mind, here was a chance to sample the good life again.
The Wellington Club in Knightsbridge always offered a fun environment, especially after Tommy began an affair with Rosie, the raven-haired manageress. It hardly seemed to matter that she was married because, of course, so was he. Both seemed to sense the romance had long-term potential, although Sneum wasn’t about to be limited to one woman now, not with time so short. No one could have been more exciting or natural than Rosie, but that wasn’t the point. For a confident young man, London was a heavenly playground.
The SIS was initially prepared to turn a blind eye to Tommy’s nocturnal activities, as long as he showed dedication to their cause by day, and stayed away