Being interested in both the history of Aberbargoed, and the two world wars, Ive been meaning to ask if anyone knows the story of a certain Glyndwr Michael?...during the Second World War, when plans were being made to land in Sicily in order to then, jump over to Italy, and so giving the allies a second front against the German axis...but they needed to make the Germans think we were landing a huge force via Greece....the idea was to place a corpse, with information regarding the false landings with dates and times just off the Spanish Coast... A body still attached to a failed parachute, appearing to be from a downed aircraft knowing it would beach in Southern Spain..then hopefully in to German hands. The fictitious Major William Martin, carrying an identity completely fabricated by the powers that be...was to be the floating dead man with the briefcase attached to his wrist, carrying the sensitive information...an operation grimly called OPERATION MINCEMEAT. When everything was ready... They then needed a body....this is where Glyndwr Michael comes in to the story...he is registered as born in or near Aberbargoed, his father committed suicide when he was 15, and his mother died in 1940.... Glyndwr was 34 when he died... He was found dead, apparently from drinking rat poison in what appeared to be suicide, in 1943.. He was found in a warehouse at kings cross station, but was soon itentified as Glwndwr Michael from Aberbargoed South Wales. Sooo, it was agreed that his body was the exact copy of the fictitious Major Martin and was then transferred inside a canister on to a submarine heading for Spanish waters...where he was promptly pushed in to the sea. Operation Mincemeat was a complete success, fooling the Germans in to thinking Greece and Sardinia was the destination for the landings, and Major Martin was then buried in Huelva, Southern Spain.... It was agreed in 1943 that his true identity would never be revealed, but in 1996 I think it was, an historian came across it, and it has now been made public knowledge...it was then that Glyndwr Mixhaels name was then added to the grave in Spain...and I think its also on the war memorial in Aberbargoed, but Ive never looked so not 100 % sure....... Has anyone heard of any of this?....or know anything about Glyndwr or his family...where they may have lived etc etc????
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 20:16:58 +0000
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