Hackney in Greater London, England, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)
Operation Mincemeat
Photographed by Jerry Klinger
1. Operation Mincemeat Marker
The Hackney Mortuary played an important role in a British military operation during the Second World War (1939-1945), which helped save the lives of thousands of soldiers.In April 1943 Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu CBE KC RNVR, a British Jew, and Flight Lieutenant Charles Cholmondely MBE, a British aristocrat, planned Operation Mincemeat to misdirect German forces' attention from the Allied invasion of Sicily. They brought the donated body of a man to the Hackney Mortuary where it stayed on ice for three months. Cholmondely and Montagu transformed the corpse into a fictitious officer - Major William Martin. The body was taken to Scotland, and then to a point off of southern Spain, where it was placed in the water carrying letters from senior Allied officers suggesting the Allies would invade Greece, not Sicily. When the body was found, the letters were shared with Nazi intelligence, misdirecting German forces, saving thousands of British and American soldiers' lives during the invasion of Sicily.
"Set a watch before my mouth: and over the door of my lips"
Erected by Hackney
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Events • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1943.
Location. 51° 32.958′ N, 0° 3.235′ W. Marker is in Hackney, England, in Greater London. It can be reached from Lower Clapton Road. Marker located on the lower Pylon wall adjacent to the Hackney Mortuary across from Church of St. John's Hackney. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: St John's Churchyard Lower Clapton Road, Hackney, England E8 1HP, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Greater South East. Globally, it is on the Atlantic Ocean, in the North Atlantic Region, in Europe, in Atlantic Europe, on one of the British Isles, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker,
Photographed by Jerry Klinger
2. Operation Mincemeat Marker
More about this marker. The marker is located near the base to reflect the nature of one of the craziest subterfuges, secret and unexpected efforts of World War II. It is estimated Operation Mincemeat prevented at least 10,000 British and American casualties during the invasion of Sicily.
The marker, funded by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation with key siting and historical review support by Martin Sugarman (the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (U.K.), and administrative support from the Hackney Council and permission from St. Johns Church at Hackney.
Regarding Operation Mincemeat. Operation Mincemeat
3. The Man Who Never Was bookcover
"The Man Who Never Was is a 1953 book by Ewen Montagu about the World War II Operation Mincemeat. Montagu played a leading role in the 1943 scheme to deceive the Germans about the planned Allied invasion of Sicily. Montagu's work formed the basis for a 1956 film by the same title." - Wikipedia
Also see . . . Operation Mincemeat (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: "Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a homeless man who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain (Acting Major) William Martin. Correspondence between two British generals which suggested that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily as merely the target of a feint, was also placed on the body...."(Submitted on November 20, 2021.)
Additional keywords. British Jewish History
Credits. This page was last revised on December 21, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2021, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 806 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 16, 2021, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. 3. submitted on November 20, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
