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Posted by Chris R on May 25, 2009, 10:23 am
HERE'S A NEW WWII STORY!
De-Classified in 2007
Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British airmen found
themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the crown
was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape. Now
obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and
accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the
locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on- the-lam could go for food and
shelter.
=A0
Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you
open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they
turn into mush. Someone in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS) got the idea
of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into
tiny wads and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise
whatsoever.
At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had
perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John
Waddington, Ltd. When approached by the government, the firm was only
too happy to do its bit for the war effort.
=A0
By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the
popular American board game, Monopoly.=A0 As it happened, 'games and
pastimes' was a category of item qualified for insertion into 'CARE
packages', dispatched by the International Red Cross, to prisoners of
war.
Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible
old workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a Group of sworn-to-secrecy
employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of
Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were located (Red Cross packages
were delivered to prisoners in accordance with that same regional
system).
When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they
would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. As long as they were
at it, the clever workmen at Waddington's also managed to add:
1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass
2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together
3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and
French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money!
=A0
British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their
first mission, how to identify a 'rigged' Monopoly set -- by means of a
tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing
glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square.
Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an
estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly
sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the
British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in
still another, future war.
The story wasn't de-classified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen
from Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a
public ceremony.
Anyway, it's always nice when you can play that 'Get Out of Jail Free'
card.
I realize you're all too young for WWII (!).....maybe, but this is still
interesting, isn't it?
=A0**************************************
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Posted by Pogonip on May 25, 2009, 2:53 pm
Chris R wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> HERE'S A NEW WWII STORY!
>
> De-Classified in 2007
>
> Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British airmen found
> themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the crown
> was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape. Now
> obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and
> accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the
> locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on- the-lam could go for food and
> shelter.
>
> Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you
> open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they
> turn into mush. Someone in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS) got the idea
> of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into
> tiny wads and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise
> whatsoever.
>
> At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had
> perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John
> Waddington, Ltd. When approached by the government, the firm was only
> too happy to do its bit for the war effort.
>
> By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the
> popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, 'games and
> pastimes' was a category of item qualified for insertion into 'CARE
> packages', dispatched by the International Red Cross, to prisoners of
> war.
>
> Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible
> old workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a Group of sworn-to-secrecy
> employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of
> Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were located (Red Cross packages
> were delivered to prisoners in accordance with that same regional
> system).
>
> When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they
> would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. As long as they were
> at it, the clever workmen at Waddington's also managed to add:
>
> 1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass
> 2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together
> 3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and
> French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money!
>
> British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their
> first mission, how to identify a 'rigged' Monopoly set -- by means of a
> tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing
> glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square.
>
>
> Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an
> estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly
> sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the
> British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in
> still another, future war.
>
> The story wasn't de-classified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen
> from Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a
> public ceremony.
>
> Anyway, it's always nice when you can play that 'Get Out of Jail Free'
> card.
>
> I realize you're all too young for WWII (!).....maybe, but this is still
> interesting, isn't it?
> **************************************
>
This is a really great, and true, story. Those silk maps are now highly
sought-after collector's items. They were also given to aviators who
might be shot down over enemy territory.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
|
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>
> De-Classified in 2007
>
> Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British airmen found
> themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the crown
> was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape. Now
> obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and
> accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the
> locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on- the-lam could go for food and
> shelter.
>
> Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you
> open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they
> turn into mush. Someone in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS) got the idea
> of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into
> tiny wads and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise
> whatsoever.
>
> At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had
> perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John
> Waddington, Ltd. When approached by the government, the firm was only
> too happy to do its bit for the war effort.
>
> By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the
> popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, 'games and
> pastimes' was a category of item qualified for insertion into 'CARE
> packages', dispatched by the International Red Cross, to prisoners of
> war.
>
> Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible
> old workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a Group of sworn-to-secrecy
> employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of
> Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were located (Red Cross packages
> were delivered to prisoners in accordance with that same regional
> system).
>
> When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they
> would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. As long as they were
> at it, the clever workmen at Waddington's also managed to add:
>
> 1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass
> 2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together
> 3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and
> French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money!
>
> British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their
> first mission, how to identify a 'rigged' Monopoly set -- by means of a
> tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing
> glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square.
>
>
> Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an
> estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly
> sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the
> British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in
> still another, future war.
>
> The story wasn't de-classified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen
> from Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a
> public ceremony.
>
> Anyway, it's always nice when you can play that 'Get Out of Jail Free'
> card.
>
> I realize you're all too young for WWII (!).....maybe, but this is still
> interesting, isn't it?
> **************************************
>