The Dennis Wheatley 'Museum' - Dennis Wheatley in World War II: a supplement

'Monty's Double'

One of the pages containing DW's fullest account of the episode

Click on the images to enlarge

Almost as famous in popular World War Two folklore as ‘The Man Who Never Was’, or ‘Operation Mincemeat’, is the story of ‘Monty’s Double’; no doubt in part because they were among the earliest deceptions to be ‘leaked’ to the public, and as both were made into popular films in the late 1950s.

‘Monty’s Double’ was brought into operation shortly before D-Day, and was designed to give the impression that no large scale Allied Operation was imminent.

It involved finding an actor with a visual resemblance to Montgomery, decking him out with medals and making sure he was spotted by German surveillance agents when he was greeted on his arrival at Gibraltar by the Governor. The inference that the Allies wished the Germans to make was that Montgomery was on his way to meet Alexander in Italy; and that with so important a figure out of England, any massive assault emanating from that country was not imminent.

In his published memoirs, DW told the story of how, shortly before the actor in question, M.E. Clifton James, took to the skies, DW was asked as LCS’ Air Force representative to take Clifton James up in an aircraft to check he would not be airsick.

This DW duly did, but what his published memoirs did not disclose was that - in fairly typical fashion - DW decided to mix business with pleasure. Having just bought Grove Place in Lymington, Hampshire - where he was to live happily for some twenty years after the war - DW decided that he wanted another look at it. He tried to get the Air Force plane to fly over it, but when that failed, he had no scruples about arranging for the Air Force to give him and Clifton James a car and a driver, and making a huge detour on the way back to London so he could check out one or two things about his new purchase. And having got there, he sent the driver and Clifton James off into Lymington to have a cup-of-tea while they waited for him.

For DW’s full account of the story, click here.