AGENT ZIGZAG: Eddie Chapman

I'm not really impressed with MFF I watched a programme about how they would go n the thieve from the bombed out shops, sometimes members of teh public would help them believing that they were salvaging the shop contents.

I supppose you get opportunists throughout the history of time, seems rather rough to steal from victims of bombing tho...

 

He has openly said that the best time to be a criminal was during the war.

 

Funny how the book kind of glosses over this bit and only realy mentions his time in the jelly gang.
Has anyone else read the book? I only "know" the info that is tld there. It starts well enough but kind of gets bogged down towards the end in how his last controller does him wrong. He seems like an interesting character, does anyone know any more about him or his Abwehr controller?

 

slaphead,

If you search the National Archives site you will find a lot of information on Chapman.

Regards
Tom

 

Interesting character no doubt but his exploits tended to be an embellishment and far from reality.

According to official postwar reports he was of little use to British intelligence or to the Germans but such accounts sell books and film rights.

As stated, he had criminal tendencies which seem to be the bedrock for his accounts.

 

This promises to be an interesting Timewatch documentary:

Following on from his hugely successful BBC2 documentary, Operation Mincemeat, based on his book of the same name, writer and presenter Ben MacIntyre returns to the small screen to bring to life his other bestselling book - Agent Zigzag. As part of the Timewatch series, MacIntyre reveals the gripping true story of Britain's most extraordinary wartime double agent, Eddie Chapman. A notorious safe-breaker before the war, Chapman duped the Germans so successfully that he was awarded their highest decoration, the Iron Cross. He remains the only British citizen ever to win one.
Including remarkable and newly discovered footage from an interview Chapman gave three years before his death in 1997, the programme goes on the trail of one of Britain's most unlikely heroes - a story of adventure, love, intrigue and astonishing courage.

It's on BBC2 tonight at 9pm. The following link is from the website of the Security Service (MI5)

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/eddie-chapman-agent-zigzag.html

 

I don't know if the programme would have been to everyone's taste but personally I enjoyed it immensely. I wonder what the immediate reaction was at Bletchley Park after intercepting the "Bobby the Pig" message?

 

Turned out to be better than I thought; good to see the man himself actually speaking!

 

A very enjoyable documentary

I did feel rather sorry for the Norwegian lady
though, I must admit... A cad is a cad!

 

What an absolutely amazing story...thoroughly enjoyed it. Has anyone ever seen the movie mentioned in the program 'Triple Cross' with Cristopher Plummer? I might try and get hold of it if it's any good.

 

What an absolutely amazing story...thoroughly enjoyed it. Has anyone ever seen the movie mentioned in the program 'Triple Cross' with Cristopher Plummer? I might try and get hold of it if it's any good.

The film is worth watching, but remember it is a film, designed to sell and make money, not a documentary.

Regards
Tom

 

I had recorded the program and watched the other afternoon, thought it was very good and it made a change to see and hear the subject on screen.