The Brits truly have a nice way to tell a fascinating story in a slow and very entertaining way. Mr. Michael might have saved american, british but also german souls at once. This is a very special gift in WW2. Thank you, sir.
Absolutely one of the best real stories I came across. Video of good quality and a good depiction of what happened. From a Maltese man who loves history and culture.
I've watched this three times now. What an unbelievable story! An incredibly well done documentary too. Kudos all around, from the narrator to the director and every member of the crew.
@@funkyalfonso Thanks for that info. I've just managed to acquire a v.good condition second-hand copy of his book "Operation Mincemeat". It cost me nothing more than a book I already had and wasn't intending to read again. I found it in one of those book exchanges in a disused phone box stacked with second hand books (about 100 yards from my front door). I had already seen this video about 3 years ago and was very pleased to find the book itself. It goes into much more detail than (of necessity) the video does. For example, all the depressing details of the man who actually was (Glyndwr Michael), before he did himself in and became the man who never was, and the part Sir Bernard Spilsbury played in the deception. There's also some amusing stuff about the St.Pancras coroner, Bentley Purchase. It's good to discover what the author looks and sounds like, now that you have mentioned it.
What a brilliant piece of storytelling. It has got everything, romance, tragedy and triumph over adversity. And it is all about a made-up story within a story. A masterpiece. I don't think Fleming could have done it better.
I intended to add to my comments below that I am one who should also be grateful to the Late Michael GLYNDWYR (aka Major MARTIN) as my father also took part in the invasion of Sicily and if it hadn't been for this wonderful gentleman, I may never have been born. RIP.
I think I should thank Major Martin for my Life ?My father was on part of the invasion force and survived Thank you Major Martin if it were not for you I may have never been born
+Peter Fairhurst Unfortunately, there are an increasing number of ignorant cunts around these days. BTW, my father also took part in the invasion of Sicily.
Joe Francis Well while such sad bastards are insulting people who couldn't give a damm, they are leaving people alone who may get upset. If ingonarance is bliss this guy's in paradise.
Peter Fairhurst Fucking dumbos like you cannot seem to get over the fact that you don't grieve over ppl who never existed. Your irrational stupidity should give you diarreha every time you express it just to remind you of your own lack of brain application. Oh and your son probably is an arse just like his father. And spoiler alert: one day he'll die. Another spoiler: once the last person who knew him dies it will be like he never existed at all you self important ridiculous exponent of mankind.
My Uncle (Monty's Desert Rats) took part in the Sicily landings and later Anzio in 1943. I may not have met him had it not have been for this fantastic subterfuge . I knew him for many years after the War and he was one of the first in the UK I knew to have a TV, and regularly visited him to watch "Sunday Night At The London Palladium"
The late American radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey used the on-air tagline "...and now the rest of the story." As a teenager I remember seeing the film ( The Man who Never Was) broadcast on the telly, and often wondered about it. Now 50 years later, I know the rest of the story. Thank you
So happy to have found this show. I tried to read the book, but it was written in a way that didn't work for my learning difference. I'm so glad I "get" this show. I love it. Thanks for the upload!
Thanks....... My dad got dysentery in Sicily. And so missed being consigned to Bomber command, and so survived the war and helped make me. A very tenuous link to mincemeat ;-)
I read Montagu's The Man Who Never Was 50 years ago. It has always been my favorite WWII story. This filling in of the holes, and corrections of what had to be covered up is wonderful. So satisfying!!!
This story, and Pattons inflatable 'army', are two of my favorite WWII stories. The extraordinary efforts put into making this operation absolutely believable are fascinating to me!
Likewise. I read the book when I was in grade school in the 50s and the images it described were very well replicated in this documentary. And too, the inflatable army has always been a favorite ruse of WW2. Unfortunately, there are only a few photos and the same short film clips we've all seen. It's a shame that none of the decoys seem to exist anymore. I imagine that the rubber would have dissolved by now but it could have been conserved. And I for one, would love a blow-up Sherman Tank or Deuce and a Half in my driveway.
Rick Blain. I seem to have known about the Man who never was for a very long time. I guess it would have been from 'the release' of 1976, that covered Ultra, Enigma and Bletchley Park? It may have been the same release from which I learned about Gen Patton and FUSAG. First US Army Group - who filled the lanes of Somerset and Dorset, the airwaves above southern England and held the undivided attention of the Abwehr and Adolf Hitler, but who never existed. The Army that never was? There aren't many stories like this one and fewer still that were successful, but in total, they made a massive difference to the outcome of so many aspects of WWII
Once the U.S. entered the War the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade gave up its balloons so the rubber could go to the war effort. I've always wondered if any of this rubber went to Patton's imaginary army. It would have been fitting to put some tank-balloons in the Parade after V-J Day.
I came a little bit later. My dad was refused for military service for diabetes so....he joined a civilian construction crew building temporary landing strips, on islands & other places, all 5-11, 120 lbs of him. I was born after he came back !! well, Glynn Michael, the Allies appreciate your contributions!. I've read this story but this is great! Oh leave the Rachmaninov .
Thank you so much for sharing. I have so much respect for people who did their best in the war no matter what. I love to hear war stories. I'm not sure what my dad did during his military service....he has always refused to talk about it. Thank you
@Ric Rovey Britian had broke the code in 1941, they did not tell the public and sent there boys off to die, they knew every thing the germans were saying, churchill declared war not germany.
@@allenschmitz9644 World War Two in Europe began on 3rd September 1939, when the Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. It involved many of the world's countries. The Second World War was started by Germany in an unprovoked attack on Poland. As prime minister (1940-45) during most of World War II, Winston Churchill rallied the British people and led the country from the brink of defeat to victory. He shaped Allied strategy in the war, and in the war's later stages he alerted the West to the expansionist threat of the Soviet Union.
Reminds me of my Father"" The Interminable explanation to find the Morgue.Or get hit by a Bus"" .That is Daddy his part in the War Engineer( Lagonda Parts for Spitfire) on Inspection.
I have a copy of The Man Who Never Was by Ewen Monatgu. I got it when I was in grade school (the publisher was Scholastic Book Service), for maybe 50 cents. (It costs a bit more now.) I remember being fascinated, even at my young age, at the details they all attended to to make sure the Germans would be fooled. I've reread it several times since then, and continue to be amazed. These guys were so, so clever!
Everyone knows the story. But to find out the name. I had a beloved uncle, now passed, who hit the beach at Sicily. I was born in 58 and might not have met Uncle Roy if not for poor Glyndwr Martin. He is a hero.
Simply incredible. Even a man who felt he had nothing to live for gave his life so thousands who might have died lived. It is appropriate he be given that recognition.
@@jonhohensee3258 Don't spoil it for the deluded. There are aspects of this operation that are still 'classified', we can't be sure of our facts. We must remember that we are dealing with operators who use deception as a way of life. Are these really the sort of people any of us should 'trust'?
As a child, one of the first books I ever bought myself was through the educational system Scholastic Book Club, which provided juvenile literature to school children. My teacher thought the book was too advanced for my age group but took the order anyway: The Man Who Never Was. It was ostensibly a true story, but I never believed that it was true. Thanks for the film.
I read that it is now thought that Glyn Michael did not actually commit suicide. It is thought that as he was homeless, he would stay in empty warehouses and abandoned factories for the night. Bread crusts laced with rat poison had been placed throughout the buildings to keep the rat population down. Glyn Michael was starving and ate them, unaware that they were laced with pioson.
Thanks that would make sense he was probably coming to London or Liverpool wherever he died to get work because I'm sure there was work available and I doubt it that time if it was realistic he would have killed himself there would have been opportunity for someone like him with the shortage of manpower so that would make sense that somehow he inadvertently got a hold of some tainted bread he might have even thought someone put it out for him like people do when they give the homeless food and he might have ate it accidentally and the person putting out the food came back to put out the crust and realize he made a mistake and they just said oh well he committed suicide so the poor guy didn't go to prison for leaving the poisoned bread looking like it was edible in a bag that would make so much sense one moment of inattention can do so much harm
in the movie "The Man Who Never Was" (1956), the young man died in his parents house due to a non-disclosed illness. MI5 agents requested the body from his parents for the ' war effort '. Due to the extreme secrecy, they could not tell them why or what would happen to him. The parents ultimately agreed. It is one of the best WWII movies I have watched.
Leaving bread out for the rats while everyone is starving and on rations during a war, pretty sure the rats were the last problem on the list in those times.
@@philmcdonald4778 They wern't. There is eveidence that they spirited away the body from the grave for futher examination, which leads to the question of who was the man in the grave. A derilict diying of rat poision would definitly not pass as a Royal Marine Officer. As with any intelligence you check every thing you can think of, then take a guess
"Last night I dreamed a deadly dream, Beyond the Isle of Skye. I saw a dead man win a fight, And I think that man was I" Great film. Saw it as a teen in the '70s in B&W and it's stayed with me all these years.
this doc is masterful at celebrating the dark absurdity of the extreme violence of those times. It's no wonder the Greatest Generation is so tight lipped about their memories of this time.
Three salient points were left out which are notable: 1) [... The body was placed in the canister, which was filled with 21 pounds (9.5 kg) of dry ice and sealed up. When the dry ice sublimated, it filled the canister with carbon dioxide and drove out any oxygen, thus preserving the body without refrigeration. The canister was placed in the 1937 Fordson van of an MI5 driver St. John "Jock" Horsfall, who had been a racing champion before the war. Cholmondeley and Montagu travelled in the back of the van, which drove through the night to Greenock, west Scotland, where the canister was taken on board the submarine HMS Seraph. ... On 19 April Seraph set sail and arrived just off the coast of Huelva on 29 April after having been bombed twice en route. After spending the day reconnoitreing the coastline, at 4:15 am on 30 April, Seraph surfaced. Jewell had the canister brought up on deck, then sent all his crew below except the officers. They opened the container and lowered the body into the water. Jewell read Psalm 39 and ordered the engines to full astern; the wash from the screws pushed the corpse toward the shore. The canister was reloaded and the submarine travelled 12 miles out where it surfaced and the empty container was pushed into the water. As it floated, it was riddled with machine gun fire so that it would sink. Because of the air trapped in the insulation, this effort failed, and the canister was destroyed with plastic explosives. Jewell afterwards sent a message to the Admiralty to say "Mincemeat completed", and continued on to Gibraltar. ...] This helps clarify any questions of further decomposition after the body was held in refrigeration from Jan 28 to April 17 and finally discharged into the sea April 30. 2) [... Once the briefcase arrived in Madrid, its contents became the focus of attention of Karl-Erich Kühlenthal, one of the most senior Abwehr agents in Spain. He asked admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr, to personally intervene and persuade the Spanish to surrender the documents. Acceding to the request, the Spanish removed the still-damp paper by tightly winding it around a probe into a cylindrical shape, and then pulling it out between the envelope flap - which was still closed by a wax seal - and the envelope body. The letters were dried and photographed, then soaked in salt water for 24 hours before being re-inserted into their envelopes, without the eyelash that had been planted there. The information was passed to the Germans on 8 May. This was deemed so important by the Abwehr agents in Spain that Kühlenthal personally took the documents to Germany. On 11 May the briefcase, complete with the documents, was returned to Haselden by the Spanish authorities; he forwarded it to London in the diplomatic bag. On receipt the documents were forensically examined, and the missing eyelash noted. Further tests showed that the fibres in the paper had been damaged by folding more than once, which confirmed that the letters had been extracted and read. An additional test was made as the papers - still wet by the time they returned to London - were dried out: the folded paper dried into the rolled form it had when the Spaniards had extracted it from the envelope. To allay any potential German fears that their activities had been discovered, another pre-arranged encrypted but breakable cable was sent to Haselden stating that the envelopes had been examined and that they had not been opened; Haselden leaked the news to Spaniards known to be sympathetic to the Germans. ...] These revelations only proved Spanish authorities were busted big time and the Germans were on their way to being duped. 3) [... Montagu continued the deception to reinforce the existence of Major Martin, and included his details in the published list of British casualties which appeared in The Times on 4 June. By coincidence, also published that day were the names of two other officers who had died when their plane was lost at sea, and opposite the casualty listings was a report that the film star Leslie Howard had been shot down by the Luftwaffe and died in the Bay of Biscay; both stories gave credence to the Major Martin story. ...] Seeing as it has been said Goebels scoured The Times daily, this last one would be particularly an effective part of the ruse. Operation Mincemeat - Wikipedia en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat
@The Infidel Thanks for the added info. people. So many things could have gone wrong with this deception. It's a miracle that the Germans bought it, and so many young men's lives were saved because of this. Imagine, a poor lonely soul who committed suicide, along with some skilled British guys, managed to save thousands of lives, and young men got to return home and have families. What an amazing, trippy story.
I dont understand? Most of what he said is in the documentary. If you cared so much about the subject You should have written a book or something rather than quote me wikipedia!
This has the be the most depraved... Disgusting... Naughty... And Underhanded thing done by the British during World War 2. But it was BRILIANT... And I love it!
mr6johnclark "All's fair...", I believe the saying goes. I can't speak for the poor man who'd ended his life in that disused warehouse, but personally I think I would have been honored to have had my corpse used to misdirect the Axis forces. Insofar as a dead man could be 'honored' by such a role, that is. Aw, hell, you know what I mean. As for 'depraved and underhanded'... no. Compared with the sins of the Axis during the war, this is hardly a blip on the scope.
*"Last night I dreamed a deadly dream, beyond the Isle of Sky,* *I saw a dead man win a fight, and I think that man was I."* - from the movie "The Man Who Never Was"
This is a quite apt quatrain from "The Ballad of Otterburn", a poem about a battle won by the Scots in 1388, preserved in a 16th century manuscript: Child Ballad No. 161, Round Folk Song Index No. 3293 "19. But I have dream'd a dreary dream, Beyond the Isle of Skye; I saw a dead man win a fight, And I think that man was I."
blookyblops and the tinfoil hat gang Well, us scheming assholes helped to save the free world. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of British and commonwealth people who gave their lives in WWII (including my uncle Leslie) ..... you're welcome.
In due time I saw "The Man who never was". I think they claimed it was based on a true story, but I didn't know the true story... up to now!... Very interesting and enjoyable... Thanks for the documentary and the upload. Shared on Google+
Frank Brand Yes, funnily enough on some casualty lists for Dasher , but not on others, the name Martin appers. It has often been questioned how the picture of the body, the only one known, could have ever have been passed off as a fit young Royal Marine officer.
Thank you. Not just an intriguing and entertaining story, but deeply moving as well. Puts some of the humanity back into the hugely inhuman activity of war.
Brains over brawn will always triumph, one of the best documentaries i have ever seen, i just find it so hard to believe just how thick the German top brass really were, well they were compared to MI5.
if there was no MI5 there would be no united kingdom with the democracy and economy there is today, we owe so much to mi5, even now the brave heroes still hold on to secrets
@@dbkarman that's bollocks. it is know that the capture and decrypt of enigma delayed the end of the war by 2 years. germany had already lost. it was a matter of time. it was completely impossible for the axis to win.
I'm 3 and a half years late to the party and didn't know this amazing story, so well told. Loved the presenter coming out of the sea fully clothed, rolled up trousers and a hat. Saw that with my lovely father so many times. So proud to be British.
This was exciting, humorous, and touching. What a great story. Did you catch the lovely lady almost saying those 'bastards' and then catching herself and saying 'Germans'. I like that the other woman would not tell what she did during the war. To this day she's still on top of her game. That's class.
As a student of WWII, enjoyed every second of the video, which I accidentally stumbled upon. While the story has the authentic stamp of Ian Fleming , the presentation by Ben seemed like visuals from Fredrick Forsyth! Thank you Ben for the wonderful video.
Military service usually ends at death. His military service began after he died. One man changed the outcome of WW2. Saved countless lives. And achieved this while he was dead.
Amazing tale. I really hope that unfortunate young Welsh man, Glyndwr Michael, was rewarded in heaven or a better life in reincarnation, if either such thing exists. I am glad the British government finally recognized him and had his real name put on the gravestone, including the fact that he had served as Major William Martin -- for indeed, he had.
Fleming was stealing other men's thunder. The idea of a false flag , leaving a corpse supposedley by accident, with information was an acient idea. As for the identity of Major Martin, the only known photo of the corpse shows someone who very obviously was not a young fit Royal Marine, bear in mind the need to convince a Pathologist. There is a fesiable case that Major Martin was a casualty from HMS Dasher, a Woolworth type escort carrier that has been sunk by an acidental explosion in the Firth of Forth in March 1943, you have every trace ans sign that a pathologist would be looking for in an 'Aircraft Accident' victim. Not least, some but not other casualty lists of the Dasher show a man called Martin.
LH: Not really Montegue in particular was obbsesive about detail, why he was such a good Judge. Documents released since this film was made show that the level of detail needed to convince not a Spanish patholigist but an expert , sceptical German pathlogist was heavily disscused. This was considered to be the weack spot of the plan.
Only the British could make such a documentary, altogether serious and with a great sense of humor. As Chamfort said: "Rien ne saurait être plus grave que la légèreté." (Nothing could ever be as serious as lightness.)
The British are great people. I hope they get to keep their identity for future generations. I love Churchill speeches during ww2 " what kind of people do they think we are"
@alanrtment porter Churchill, "this food should go to hartier stomachs", caused the great Bengal famine where 15 million Bengalis died, in one year...we hated Churchill and Great Britain...but now your our colony.
You mean the Sikorski’s part? I agree but mind you, these are the secret service operations which means that we know the things we need to know and we will never learn the truth.
@Delon Duvenage I think they had researched the currents in that part of the Atlantic which itself was carefully chosen and I am reasonably sure that the skipper of the sub was careful choose a time when the breeze was blowing onshore. This usually starts happen after a hot afternoon. You can add this to the long list of dumb mistakes Hitler made.
@Delon Duvenage Sounds quite reasonable and somewhat complicated. However the fewer people aware of any such scheme the less likelihood of leakage. So think I. I read about Major Martin years ago and if my memory serves me it was about the location of the D Day landings. However my memory is not what it was.
Yes when the movie was made, a lot of the details were still covered by the official secrets act and so they had to make stuff up. Glad we now have the true story. Still a great movie though.
Hell no. The thing about those movies was their understatement, and very much closer relationship with reality. Hollywood always has to make things bigger, louder, more action. The only combat shots in the movie are a collage of rapidly changing shote denoting the invasion compressed into aboout 10 seconds. The same with Sink the Bismarck. Great movie. Forget that it is not in color. Just imagine you are seeing a 1940s newsreel (some of which are actually in the movie at the start) Hollywood was not so bad just after the war because they had a lot of veterans working all aspects on set, and they also knew a lot of their audience had been there and would not have accepted grandiose and extravagant deviation from. A trio of movies sort of capped that era, The Longest Day, Tora Tora Tora and A Bridge Too Far. It sounds like Saving Captain Ryan was pretty close, but I have not seen it.
I remember watching the movie The Man Who Never Was when I was a teenager. Also read a book about this as well. Can't remember the title. This one man saved thousands of lives. He was a hero in his own way.
Still renowned Secret Service . Although a recent Documentary On ISRAEL Sowed their silicon valley cyber spying installation They said they had All Electronics on the Planet under control . they could shut down any country TOTALLY Defence Hospitals police administrations travel water electricity THERE IS NOTHING THAT DOES NOT USE SOME FORM OF Cell control!. Terrifying. NO MORE TALK OF THIS . I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON TO HAVE SEEN THIS ON RU-vid???????
Its through people like these and Alan Turing that britain and our allies won the war,it was brains not brawn that was the difference between us and the Germans.If the Germans had been led by someone with a ounce of intelligence things would have been different,we owe these people a great deal of thanks for the lives they saved,makes me proud to be British.
I am British and ashamed that we instigated the most evil empire in the world and slaughtered over 300 million people so we could plunder their countries.
Tony- au contraire- Obviously the Germans WERE led by someone with a LOT of intelligence, or they would never have been able to make war so effectively for so long! BUT it was intelligence put to such hugely evil ends !
Top drawer video. I knew about Operation Mincemeat but I didn't realize how detailed and difficult it was. Loved how the narrator's actions mirrored the actions he was describing. First-rate presentation
Amazing. Even a deceased person could contribute to the war effort. RIP Major Martin. You certainly deserve a George Medal or a CBE. And why not a knighthood?
