SINGLE CAMPAIGN MEDALS
Camp 020 had a variety of techniques to break agents; 'Blow hot, blow cold' or what would today be called 'Good cop, bad cop', the use of stool pigeons, bugging of cells, and the threat to send them to Cell Fourteen. The horrors of Cell Fourteen were never specified, so each prisoner could use his own imagination for the details; in fact, there was nothing very special about it.
Up to September 1945, Camp 020 processed a total of 480 suspects. Only seventy-seven of these were Germans; in all, there were thirty-four nationalities, with Belgians (68), French (64), Norwegians (35) and Dutch (31) prominent amongst the remainder. There were twenty-nine British; these included Edward Chapman, a criminal who had been in a Jersey prison when the Germans captured the island. He volunteered to work for the Germans and surrendered as soon as he reached England. Stephens’ role was to assess whether he was telling the truth and where his loyalties really lay. As Agent Zigzag he became one of Camp 020's greatest successes. Another British inmate was Duncan Scott-Ford, a sailor of the merchant navy who had an affair with a German girl in a neutral port and was seduced into treason; he was among 'the unlucky sixteen' to be executed. Fifty-five were cleared of suspicion and released. Of those whose guilt was established, a few were prosecuted, the remainder were detained until the end of the war, then turned over to their own countries.
The task of Camp 020 was to establish the guilt of the suspects referred to them and obtain as much information about enemy intentions as possible. Once a spy had been broken, the question arose of whether he should be used as a double agent. Even if co- operative, not all prisoners were suitable. Eleven of Camp 020's detainees became double agents, supplying information to the Germans at the request of their British handlers. This became known as Operation Double Cross and played a strategic role in shortening the war. False intelligence provided by these agents persuaded Hitler that the Normandy landings were only a diversion and the real attack would come at Calais. As a result, he kept two Panzer divisions there when their presence in Normandy during the first few days would have gravely imperilled the success of the whole operation. Another provided false information about where the V1 and V2 rockets were landing, reducing their effectiveness considerably. One was awarded both the Iron Cross and the M.B.E. Their loyalty could not be taken for granted and one of them attempted to escape. Even in 1941 the prospect of a German invasion seemed very real and Stephens was instructed to execute the agents if their recapture by the Germans seemed imminent. According to the official history of MI5, this was the only occasion when the Director of that agency has ever issued instructions to kill anyone.
In November 1944, Stephens took command of Diest, a facility similar to Camp 020 set up in recently liberated Belgium. There was still plenty of work detecting German agents who crossed the lines or stayed behind as the Germans retreated to report on the Allied armies, dealing with traitors in the resistance movements and so on.
Bad Nenndorf
In June 1945 Stephens set up and commanded an intelligence centre at Bad Nenndorf, a spa town near Hannover. There was concern about possible attempts to re-establish the Nazi regime. It was important to confirm that Hitler was really dead and Allied intelligence had great interest in those who had been close to him in the last days. Other targets included war criminals, such as Oswald Pohl, Inspector General of Concentration Camps, the SS soldiers who massacred British POWs in France in 1940, and the Gestapo personnel who executed the recaptured POWs after the 'Great Escape'. Stephens' prisoners included German security and intelligence officers of all levels, from Kaltenbrunner down. Then, as the Cold War developed, his staff detected increasing numbers of spies working for the Russians.
At this time Stephens wrote a book about the work of Camp 020, 'A Digest of Ham', for internal circulation only. The curious title comes from Stephens’ last publication, ‘A Digest of Military Law’, and the location of Camp 020, Ham Common. It was recently republished by the Public Records Office under the title 'Camp 020; MI5 and the Nazi Spies'.
Stephens was awarded the O.B.E. at the end of the war but which, because of the nature of his work, was not published in the London Gazette. Post-war official documents, however, always included the post-nominals after his name.
In 1947 abuses of some of the prisoners at Bad Nenndorf were reported and some of the staff were court-martialled. Stephens, who was cleared of all charges, was unrepentant and described Bad Nenndorf as 'a brutally tough place, for brutally tough people.'
Stephens next turned up at Accra in West Africa. MI5 was responsible for security in the Empire as well as in the U.K. and from the 1940s to the 1960s, MI5 personnel could expect to spend about a third of their working life in the colonies. According to the Gazette, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephens, O.B.E., 'of the Territorial Army' was promoted to the rank of Colonel (London Gazette 26 November 1954 refers). It is believed that from 1954 until his retirement he was commander of the Port and Travel Control Group, an intelligence unit that inspected Warsaw Pact ships that called at British ports. Stephens retired on 23 June 1960 with the honorary rank of Brigadier (London Gazette 26 July 1960 refers).
Character and Personality
Robin Stephens was certainly an interesting personality. In appearance he presented the central casting image of a Gestapo officer himself, with his thick monocle,which gave him the nickname 'Tin Eye', austere haircut and severe expression. He was always sharply dressed and immaculate in his Indian Army uniform. His manner towards suspects was described as terrifying and, although this was to some extent an act put on for interrogation purposes, he had a real hatred of the enemy. His intimidating manner was not confined to the enemy - he was both temperamental and authoritarian and Nigel West, who wrote a history of MI5 around 1980, states that he was widely disliked by his colleagues because of his vile temper and 'Nazi-like behaviour'. However, his secretary reported that he was the kindest boss she ever had. He was a loud, boisterous man and a generous host whose monthly parties in the officers' mess were memorable for good food and a copious supply of drink. His personality comes through strongly in his book; sardonic humour, politically incorrect opinions.
The date of Stephens’ death remains a mystery. Certainly he is known to have predeceased his second wife who died in 1990.
Sold with comprehensive research and a copy of the book ‘CAMP 020 - MI5 and the Nazi Spies; The Official History of MI5’s Wartime Interrogation Centre.’
505 506
KHEDIVE’S SUDAN 1910-21, 1st issue, no clasp, bronze issue, unnamed as issued, good very fine
£180-220
KHEDIVE’S SUDAN 1910-21, 1st issue, no clasp, bronze issue, unnamed as issued, lacquered, suspension slack, nearly very fine
£140-180 507
1914 STAR, with copy clasp (2) (3-7407 Pte. J. Ivison. 2/York: R.; 8888 Pte. J. Yeadon. 2/York: R.) nearly very fine (2) £80-120
John Yeadon attested for the Yorkshire Regiment and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 5 October 1914. He was wounded at Mons and was taken Prisoner of War.
www.dnw.co.uk
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