William Martin (Royal Marines officer)

Uncommon card · No. 83007

Major William Martin was a persona invented by British Military Intelligence for Operation Mincemeat, a Second World War deception plan that lured German forces to Greece prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily. Also known as "The Man Who Never Was" (Welsh: Y Dyn Na Fu Erioed), Martin's personal details were created to lend credence to the scheme, which involved a body dressed as a British officer and carrying secret documents washing up on the shore of neutral Spain, apparently the victim of an air crash. It was intended that these documents, containing information that suggested an Allied assault on Greece was planned, should fall into the hands of German intelligence. The identity of the body employed as Major Martin was kept secret during and after the war, and was the source of some speculation. The body was identified in 1996 as that of Glyndwr Michael, a Welsh homeless man, and recognised as such by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Ewen Montagu Team, Public domain