Previous

Next

(3)

DEADLY DUEL

After an inauspicious start — being treated as a mere magician who should be entertaining on the stage not making a fool of himself in the fighting arena — Jasper Maskelyne was given the bizarre task of confronting the Imam of the Whirling Dervishes. Or so Fisher would like us to believe.

The Imam had warned that any troop movements across his territory would trigger a jihad. To avert a military crisis, Prince Hassan arranged a meeting between Maskelyne and the Imam in Damascus. Hassan was aware of Nevil Maskelyne's secret work with Lawrence of Arabia in the First World War. (Nevil, Jasper's father, sent three trained magicians into the desert to foment rebellion against the Turks. This mission , ‘recorded’ in White Magic, is not mentioned in reputable sources.)

Jasper Maskelyne’s encounter with the ageing Imam soon developed into a deadly duel of tricks. The English conjuror courageously matched and then surpassed the fraudulent holy man. Maskelyne performed a gun trick and pretended to fire a bullet through the palm of his hand; the Imam responded by forcing a spear through his own stomach. This sham disembowelment made use of a gimmicked belt.

Impressed by Maskelyne's magical abilities and fearing exposure as an imposter, the Imam allowed the British safe passage through Syria. Or so the ludicrous story goes...

My uncompromising theory is that this masochistic duel never took place. The ghost-writer of Magic Top-Secret with Maskelyne’s approval concocted this nonsense. Fisher came along thirty-five years later and built upon the earlier fabrication. Further discussion of this fictional episode can be found in the section Confessions of a Ghost-Hunter.

ARCHIVAL EVIDENCE

When Maskelyne first arrived in Egypt, he was not sent on a magical mission to Damascus. On the contrary, he was immediately put to work as a camouflage officer. A secret report on Middle East Camouflage in the Archives provides solid names, dates and details:

“CAMOUFLAGE EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

The first Unit of this kind to be formed in Middle East was “CAMOUFLAGE EXPERIMENTAL SECTION RE ME” which was formed on 11 Mar 41 and installed in two huts at WINGATE BARRACKS, ABBASSIA, under the Command of Capt. J. MASKELYNE, RE.

The Camouflage Experimental Section did good work but had a short life as it was disbanded and the personnel absorbed into the DEVELOPMENT WING of Camouflage Training and Development Centre.”

WORK OF CAMOUFLAGE EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

SUNSHIELDS

Quick release canopy for making AFVs look like ordinary wheeled transport. Worked out from an original suggestion by General Sir Archibald WAVELL.

STATIC DUMMY TANK

A collapsible Dummy Tank made of canvas on a M.S. rod framework. It can be carried nine to the 3-ton lorry, and can be lifted by two men; replacing the old wooden type of Tank which scarcely stowed three to the vehicle and required about 12 men to lift.

FIRE RESISTING CREAM

A by-product of experiments in search of a fire-proofing compound for garnish and fabrics. This is a paste of soap, flour or asbestos shred, and water. It is remarkably effective, in some respects superior to standard fire-fighting suits. Above all it provides at negligible cost an emergency means of dealing with fires in places where full fire fighting apparatus is not available.”

This last entry is a reference to Maskelyne's fireproof paste. Rare photographs of Maskelyne's fire demonstrations , taken from his wartime album , are reproduced below:

(Add the fire photos )

The official document includes an important list of thirty camouflage officers that were trained in England and sent to the Middle East Force in 1941. Lt. Colonel Barkas, Major Ayrton, Proud and Sykes all appear. Halfway down, at number 16, is Capt. J Maskelyne, RE (Royal Engineers). It confirms his arrival date was 10 Mar 1941. In brackets it says : now transferred to Welfare. This almost certainly means Maskelyne was transferred to entertainment duties. (The date is not specified. However, Maskelyne was performing large scale shows for army personnel by late 1941, if not earlier. A cartoon in The Sphinx, January 10th, 1942 refers to Captain Jasper Maskelyne compering a successful revue at the Opera House, Cairo.)

Another significant name is Captain R. J. E. Morrison. This overlooked officer may be the key to the Alexandrian decoy mystery.

Francis Knox does not appear on this list. This significant omission confirms my theory that Fisher invented him.

The next list gives names of 22 officers who joined the camouflage unit from other units in the Middle East and includes Lieut. B. Robb.

Finally, there is a longer list of the lower ranks attached to Camouflage. This includes sergeants, clerks, draughtsmen, drivers and female secretaries.

DUMMY HONEY

(Show page from wartime album with photos of Maskelyne's redesigned dummy tank.)

In Magic - Top Secret, Maskelyne claims the Americans sent over combat crews to test out their lend-leased 'Honey' tanks. This was around April or May 1941. Maskelyne claims he met one of the American crews involved.

This notion of covert American forces operating in Egypt eight months before Pearl Harbour is intriguing. Could there be a kernel of truth to this story?

I ran the idea past American Army expert, Jonathan Gawne who replied: "I would doubt that actual combat crews were sent. However , I would think it highly likely that advisors and technicians were sent. This is a normal thing when new items are sent to a foreign country. Not just to train the men on the new tank, but to see how it holds up under combat and report back. ...It may well be that one or two of them were in a tank when it went into combat so see how it actually fared, but I would seriously doubt an entire American crew... Roosevelt may have wanted us in the war, but he could not afford such a blatant ' first move'.  If an American crew were captured, it would pose a major propaganda victory for the Germans."

Gawne also pointed out that the Americans would have difficulty adjusting to the British fighting methods and the unfamiliar radio jargon. He also thought it likely that there were more trained British tank crews on hand than actual working tanks. Shortage of men  was therefore not an issue.

However, Maskelyne's account in Magic - Top Secret anticipated these political risks: "Everyone saw to it that no Honey was captured or knocked out where the enemy could get it, and no US dead were left where they could be identified. Possibly they wore other uniforms ? I would not know. None were captured or properly identified, though I should think the Axis had their dark suspicions."

Maskelyne also says the Americans were amazed at how underequipped the British Army was. The shortage of tank transporters was particularly worrying. "They didn't understand how Britain ever won any wars. I don't myself."

There could be another element behind the 'honey' tank story. According to Thaddeus Holt , Dudley Clarke in April//May 1941 launched a disinformation campaign: "Exaggerated stories were published in the press about the arrival of an American team to train British crews in the use of new American tanks, as were photographs of a new model tank transporter against a desert background (it was in fact the only such vehicle in Africa)." Presumably, Clarke was hoping to dissuade Rommel from advancing too far.

Clarke's confidential report included the significant phrase "based on an element of truth."

I interpret this as confirming that a small group of American tank specialists were indeed sent out .

Magic - Top Secret's claim that American tank crews operated clandestinely as combat units in North Africa is thought-provoking but remains uncorroborated. However, there is strong evidence that American tank advisors and technicians were present. And Magic - Top Secret's comment on the lack of tank transporters is factually accurate.

GANG MASTER

Fisher's account of Maskelyne's 'Magic Gang' needs to be treated with radical scepticism. He invents their dialogue, fabricates their activities, and tampers with dates. The gang members are fictional constructs, though one or two may be drawn loosely from real people. For example, Fisher must have based his pacifist Punch cartoonist, Bill Robson, on the real Punch cartoonist, Brian Robb. Magic-Top Secret also states that Maskelyne chose "Rob (sic) of Punch , an artist whose name is known to thousands."

After the war, Robb taught at the Royal College of Art. Fisher’s fictional character, Robson, also became “a teacher of fine arts at a London university.”

Brian Robb illustrated Barkas' memoirs and also published his own set of witty cartoons about the desert campaign. Robb worked with Ayrton on the implementation of the Alamein deception plan in October 1942.

(Insert some of Robb's amusing cartoons)

Later, Fisher loses control of his Robson creation when he introduces the real Brian Robb into the narrative. This absurd cloning blunder exposes Fisher's sloppy technique.

Sadly, I doubt any independent version of the group's activities will ever be found. Those who worked closely with Maskelyne, whoever they were, have almost certainly passed away. Searching for survivors, based on the names provided by Fisher, would be a fool’s errand. He claims Maskelyne (and Knox) recruited five men from seventy-two interviewed. These five names do not tally with the official records.

Magic-Top Secret gives scant details of the gang members. It says fourteen were recruited from over four hundred interviewed. Curiously, apart from 'Rob' , only two names are provided: Sergeant Black , the quartermaster and Sergeant Camp, the administrator. These names sound generic. They do not appear in Fisher's account or in the Archives. Both names reappear in Maskelyne's film notes.

My research into the real Robb has also uncovered a serious anomaly. Lieutenant Robb did not join camouflage until July 28th, 1941. Yet Maskelyne is supposed to have recruited the 'Magic Gang' four months earlier in March 1941. The claim that Maskelyne hand-picked Rob/Robb/Robson for his Camouflage Experimental Section cannot be true. The unreliability of Magic-Top Secret is again exposed.

Why are the details so unclear ? Did the 'Magic Gang' really exist? There is no independent confirmation in any primary source. The group may have been conjured up as a convenient literary device to add depth, humour and camaraderie to the narrative. Maskelyne's Magic Gang might be no more real than The Wild Bunch, the Dirty Dozen or Hogan's Heroes.

The term 'gang' also harks back to the Crazy Gang, a group of comedians who appeared at the London Palladium before the war. These perfomers had a reputation for practical jokes on and off stage. Maskelyne appeared in their 1932 revue show. Magic-Top Secret several times pays homage to these entertainers by replacing the words 'magic gang' with 'Crazy Gang'.

I will still use the expression 'Magic Gang' throughout this article, but the reader is warned...

STRANGE BREW

According to Fisher, in May 1941 Barkas gave the Magic Gang their first big job, which was to conjure up camouflage paint.

The team soon discovered a huge warehouse of abandoned material outside Cairo. Flour, cement and plaster would form the bulk of the paint recipe. Rancid Worcester sauce would provide the base. Stewed camel dung would supply the appropriate pigment.

Maskelyne set up the 'dung patrol' which began scavenging for fresh droppings around Cairo. His men eventually manufactured two thousand gallons a week of this strange brew.

This is an amusing anecdote of ingenuity in the face of shortages, but is it true?

Initially, I found it plausible, but Hartcup tells a similar story about Peter Proud at Tobruk: "Ten tons of useless Italian flour made an effective adhesive with which to apply sand to vehicles and tents to make them inconspicuous. Two thousand gallons of Worcester sauce unfit for human consumption were used to thin paint." Have the two anecdotes been confused?

Camouflage paint was in demand. In May, 1941, a valuable consignment of tanks arrived in Alexandria. The convoy had been sent on the dangerous direct route across the Mediterranean. The new tanks needed painting, camouflaging and refitting. Indeed, it took almost a month to get them ready for the desert conditions, in time for Operation Battleaxe discussed shortly.

Fisher tries to tie in the dung patrol tale (anecdotal) with the tank convoy story (authentic), but I suspect he is inventing this link. There is no evidence that Maskelyne’s men were given the task of painting these new tanks. The Archive report, mentioned earlier, does not credit the Camouflage Experimental Section with the manufacture of makeshift camouflage paint. The army recipes in the appendix seem to be inspired by the Proud method: sand, grit, glue, condemned flour, linseed oil or kerosene. There is no reference to camel dung.

I doubt that Maskelyne's team would have been allowed to cover the new tanks with foul smelling camel feces. Besieged enclaves like Tobruk relied on improvised paint recipes. In contrast, the depots around Alexandria and Cairo were better supplied. Surviving stocks of genuine camouflage paint would have been made available for the new tank arrivals.

Alas, the tale of the dung patrol cannot be verified. Magic-Top Secret mentions a similar story, but implies it occurred later in the campaign and does not link it specifically to tanks.

A great story, if it were true. Perhaps someone somewhere experimented with camel dung pigment. Over time, the legend grew. Blame it on a tainted sauce or an over-fertilised imagination.

WEAPONS OF MISDIRECTION

The next challenge from Barkas was to devise a convincing way of disguising combat equipment. General Wavell, under pressure from Churchill, planned to bring his tanks secretly into position against the Afrika Korps.

According to Fisher, Maskelyne found a way to transform a tank into an innocent truck by adding a lightweight cover or 'sunshield'. This was an effective method of mimicry, but was Maskelyne the inventor?

Barkas' account credits Wavell: "On a buff slip Wavell had drawn a little sketch of a tank with a kind of canopy over it. Underneath he had written and initialled in blue pencil, "Why not some kind of quickly detachable cover fixed to A.F.V.'s to make them look like thin-skinned vehicles ?" The whole idea was there. It was only a matter of design, development, and arrangements for manufacture."

Even Fisher concedes that the impetus came from Wavell's notebook: "On it the General had sketched the profile of a tank surmounted by a large flat board. A second sketch showed that an aerial view of a truck had been drawn on the board. Theoretically, at least, an observer flying overhead would look down on this and be fooled into believing it was a common lorry." Maskelyne immediately saw the limitations of this design: "The shadow cast by a tank in no way resembles that of a truck, and the shadow of a flat board looks like nothing else except a flat board."

In 2004, I examined a declassified document on Sunshields which included a photograph of Wavell's original note.

Fisher's account is misleading. Wavell drew a canopy over the tank, not a flat board. Barkas' description is more accurate.

ADD PHOTOGRAPH OF WAVELL’S NOTE

"Is it a wild idea

that a tank could

be camouflaged to

look like a lorry from

air by light canvas

screen over the top

It would be useful

during approach march

etc

Please have it con-

sidered."

The Archive document (typed on 22 July, 1941) gives precise dates on sunshield development and testing:

Wavell floated the idea on April 23rd, 1941.

"A design and sketch was prepared by Camouflage Experimental Section. A mock-up was produced with the assistance of Mechanical Experimental Establishment and was satisfactorily tested on 30 Apr 41."

"As a result , O.S. produced a Pilot Model which was tested over typical desert going on 3 May 41..."

"The Pilot Model was of wooden frame construction surfaced with canvas hessian."

This trialwas impressive and an immediate order was placed for four hundred sunshields.

A close reading of the report reveals that Magic Top-Secret and The War Magician overdramatised the test by claiming that the ground observers and the pilot failed to detect the camouflaged tank .

In fact, the disguised tank could be spotted from side-on at ground level because of the characteristic tracks. From high above, these distinctive tracks were also visible. (This flaw was later rectified by Maskelyne's neighbours in the Mechanical Experimental Establishment. They added a weighted trailing device which erased the telltale tank track.)

(SHOW PHOTOGRAPH OF TRACK ERASER)

At ground level, head-on, the disguise was resilient. However, from a distance, the fake truck gave itself away by its manner of approach: "in the demonstration, it kept a straight course over broken ground whereas the wheeled vehicles had to turn this way and that."

Nevertheless, the observers were impressed by the deceptive potential of the sunshield canopy

Even if the original idea for sunshields came from Wavell, I believe that Maskelyne and his Camouflage Experimental Section deserve credit for their clever design and swift implementation. Looking at the original photo of the first sunshield, I am still struck by its brilliant simplicity. The 'sunshield' prototype was a masterpiece of misdirection and may be the most important prop ever manufactured by a magician.

(ADD SUNSHIELD PHOTOS - The prototype wooden model, then the improved version)

The Archive report states: "The first batch of ordnance-produced "Sunshields' were fitted and went into action with 7 ARMD DIV IN WESTERN DESERT. The results were successful."

The actual combat report is missing, so the precise date of introduction is elusive. It seems probable that Sunshields were battle tested in June 1941 and may well have been ready for Operation Battleaxe as Fisher claims. They were definitely used in large quantities by the time of Operation Crusader in November 1941.

If sunshields made their début at Battleaxe, then they made no difference to the result. This was no fault of Maskelyne's design though. Rommel's own signals intelligence team had warned that a major attack was imminent. His 88mm guns, originally designed as anti-aircraft weapons, proved to be devastating tank-killers. Operation Battleaxe , launched on 15th June 1941, was an embarrassing failure for General Wavell. Ninety-one British tanks were destroyed. In contrast, the Germans only lost twelve tanks.

Churchill rewarded Wavell with the sack.

(Magic Top-Secret commits an outrageous swindle when it claims that the mass introduction of sunshields enabled Wavell to smash through the Italian lines and drive the enemy back to Tripoli. It claims that the offensive "undoubtedly saved Egypt". This misplaced reference to an earlier campaign was dealt with in a previous section.)

MASKELYNE'S WAR NOTES

In the wartime scrapbook, there is a typewritten page signed by Jasper Maskelyne on "THE HISTORY OF THE "SUNSHIELD". Below are some extracts:

"Early in April 1941, when I was O.C. of the Camouflage Experimental Section, I received instructions from Major Barkas that General Wavell wished to know if it would be at all possible to construct some sort of cover that could be put over a tank to make it look like a 10 tonner, and at the same time give the commander and driver a clear view. It was also to be remembered that the guns must be able to go into action at a moments notice. I set to work on an idea of mine , and I designed the "SUNSHIELD" as we know it today

My first "SUNSHIELDS" were made of wood and canvas, but it was found that they shook to pieces during travel. So I redesigned them and had them made of 3/4" gas pipe and sail cloth at the R.E. (Royal Engineer) workshops, Abbassia —these were successful.

These "SUNSHIELDS" in conjunction with my heavy tanks and my camouflage for A.C.V.'s have been used in several of our advances in the Western Desert. The most notable being our advance in CYRENAICA on November 20th 1941 and Alamein last year."

This document was produced in 1943. We may quibble with the development dates — one or two weeks premature? — but it provides strong evidence that Maskelyne was indeed responsible for introducing sunshields.