The Greatest Traitor by Roger Hermiston

foreigners coming from occupied Europe. Behind a neo-Gothic façade that hid detention and interrogation rooms, and even some cells in the basement, the RVPS hosted officers from MI5’s B Division, who were busy working to separate what they called the ‘sheep’ (genuine refugees) from the ‘goats’ (suspected enemy agents). Although there were few of the latter, all those who passed through the gates of the RVPS could expect rigorous questioning from intelligence officials before their credentials were accepted and their freedom finally granted.
    As the war went on, these cross-examinations proved immensely valuable. Knowledge about Gestapo interrogation techniques, safe houses, couriers and enemy penetrations of escape organisations was carefully indexed and cross-referenced in a central Information Index of intelligence, then made available to Whitehall departments.
    But those interviews also served another purpose – one that was ultimately to benefit 20-year-old George. The intelligence agencies represented at RVPS were on the lookout for prospective recruits, and this regular influx of resourceful individuals from the continent provided them with a rich pool of talent.
    The RVPS first opened its doors on 8 January 1941 and it quickly acquired a reputation as an inhospitable detention centre. Such was its oppressive atmosphere that on 21 February, Major W.H. Churchill-Longman, Commandant of the School, wrote a letter to Colonel Tommy ‘Tar’ Robertson of MI5, saying that the longer-term inmates would ‘become lazy or crazy, or both’ unless they were granted some diversionary activities. In response, officials at the RVPS endeavoured to create a more relaxed, informal environment. Outside of theinterviews – usually conducted one-to-one – entertainment included dance bands, a croquet lawn and a football pitch. Eventually, MI5 allowed a wireless set into the camp. For some detainees, however, the whole experience still remained demeaning and depressing. To be treated with suspicion and, occasionally, a certain animosity after all they had endured to get to a country they admired and for which they hoped to fight, was a bitter blow.
    George, although irritated at having his actions and motives pored over, confronted the situation with relative equanimity. He spent three days answering detailed questions from a young Army intelligence officer, who was particularly interested in the minutiae of his escape from enemy territory. On the fourth day, he was interrupted while watching a showing of The Great Dictator starring Charlie Chaplin and told there was someone on the telephone for him. When he picked it up, he heard his mother’s voice for the first time in over two and a half years. He was to be released.
    With half a crown for his train fare, he set off for the London suburb of Northwood, where Catherine now lived along with his sisters, Adele and Elizabeth. An hour later, in the rain and the dark of a winter’s night, mother and son were overjoyed, finally, to be reunited.

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    Secret Intelligence Service
    A fter the heady adventure of the preceding three years, George settled into a very different rhythm of life. While his mother worked as housekeeper and companion to an elderly lady in Northwood, and his sisters were usefully employed as nurses in central London hospitals, he took time to explore his new environment.
    He was impressed by what he observed of England at war. In his eyes, the virtues of duty, solidarity, forbearance and courage under enemy attack were all clearly visible. He watched and admired the ‘quiet discipline’ of his neighbours, evident in their uncomplaining attitude when queuing for scarce foodstuffs, and also their strict observance of blackout regulations and civil defence measures.
    Such stoicism no doubt reaffirmed his own desire to return to the fray and re-join Holland’s war effort, but that proved far from easy. No letter arrived on his doorstep inviting him to enlist