Having laid deception plans to deceive the enemy on the location of the planned invasion, LCS also laid deception plans with regard to its timing.
One of these involved making the Germans believe that Montgomery was in Italy in the days before the invasion - and that it was therefore not imminent, when in fact he was in Britain.
To achieve this, LCS came up with the idea of finding someone who looked like Montgomery, and passing him off as the General. They looked through lists of actors and found a suitable candidate in M E Clifton James, a small part actor.
Montgomery helped train him up, and a few days before D Day he was flown down to Gibraltar as 'Montgomery', and received with full military honours.
As well as being involved in the general planning, DW was involved in a last minute flurry. It had not occurred to the members of LCS that James might not have flown before, and might become dreadfully airsick, blowing his cover. DW was instructed to lay on a plane and take him up for a flight. To his relief, James was not airsick.
Intelligence later revealed that this plan, like Mincemeat, was entirely successful.
Clifton James wrote up an account of his days as Montgomery in 1954, and played himself in a highly popular 1958 film rendition of the episode.
References: 'The Deception Planners' pp 191-3
Phil Baker p 422.
Craig Cabell pp 221-222.
