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At the beginning of the Second World War popular history purports that Britain and its Commonwealth had but a single enemy. That enemy was the alliance of the Axis powers. However what is rarely mentioned is the fact that Communism was an enemy of the western powers long before the Axis Alliance began to form and long before both Mussolini and Hitler achieved power. Countless documentaries, popular films and other media deliberately neglect to inform their consumers that the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, predates by more than 70 years any Axis desire for complete global control. In fact, without this published mandate of Communist global control, the Axis never would have existed. Therefore popular historians need to be confronted with the fact that one of the first acts of the Axis powers was to sign the anti-Comintern agreement of November 1936.

With the formation of the first Communist state in 1919, the leaders of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Lenin and Trotsky immediately put into play plans to infiltrate western society to include top appointments within their governments, higher education, military and industrial complex. This coincided with the Moscow controlled establishment of western Communist Parties.

Selected agents of the Comintern bolstered existing Socialist and Communist groups around the globe to establish these Communist Parties. At the same time, with many left leaning political parties ( Labour in the UK, Democrat in the US and Liberal in Canada) around the globe choosing to recognize the USSR as a sovereign state, they immediately utilized trade delegations, political legations and embassies as bases for espionage. Their primary goal was twofold. First agents of the GRU, NKVD, NKGB, OGPU, KGB etc., posing as members of these offices, contacted members of these Comintern Communist parties and their sympathizers in order to begin infiltrating top educational institutions. They were seeking the like minded who had the potential to become top thinkers who also had the ability to infiltrate left leaning political parties, permanent bureaucracies and scientific and industrial research. This not only included countries like Germany, Britain and the United States but also Canada. In fact Canada was considered by Soviet intelligence to be a soft target. Canadian passports were regularly used by Soviet agents to traverse the globe as early as the 1920's.

The most successful venues for recruiting indigenous agents for the USSR were Universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and even the University of Toronto. Most people have heard of the Cambridge Five however most have not heard that these men, and their accomplices, directly impacted pre-war and wartime policies and actions taken by the ruling Canadian Liberal Government under William Lyon Mackenzie King.

With particular reference to the story about to unfold, they helped recruit Communist agents in the America's with the creation of a British Intelligence Special Training School in Canada popularly known as Camp X. At a time when Britain still had her back up against the wall and the United States was still neutral, British Intelligence contemplated opening a Special Training School in the America’s. Some state that this was originally intended to be a fall-back plan for the British should they be invaded however the timing of these discussions make this highly unlikely.

By the beginning of 1941 the Luftwaffe’s attempt to secure air superiority had failed and Britain was fighting a see-saw slugging match in North Africa. They also had strong forces in Greece and the Middle East. No, the original discussions around building a Special Training School in Canada were almost entirely based on what was happening, or what was predicted to happen, in the Balkans. It was not until April that Yugoslavia was invaded and it was May when Greco-British forces were pushed out of Greece. It was just before these British failures that serious discussions began regarding the establishment of a British intelligence school in Canada. The main object was to locate immigrants in the America’s that could be trained and infiltrated back into their nation of origin. Their goal was to join up with local resistance, build up that resistance and then mount operations against the occupiers.

Initially this was to help prevent or slow down an Axis advance via Yugoslavia and Greece into Turkey and the Middle East. One of the top men at Special Operations Executive Headquarters in Cairo assigned to develop policy on operations in the Balkans was Colonel William “Bill” Bailey. He made this point which resonated with Churchill in regards to future operations in Yugoslavia, “...What in fact is required is a counterblast to the Axis policy of 'divide and rule' and the Axis promise of a 'New Order' which will command unity of purpose between organizations and fanaticism on the part of individuals. After careful consideration SOE specialists in Balkan affairs have arrived at the conclusion that the concept of BALKAN UNITY may provide such a counterblast." (NOTE: UKNA, HS5/146, SOE Balkans No.2. Top Level Planning - Istanbul HQ - Planning & Organization of SOE Activities - General 1940-41. SOE POLICY FOR SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE, D.P.A. PAPER No. 2.)

While it is stated in prior publications on Special Training School 103 that it was to be a showcase for British special operations in the America’s and a training facility for the members of various intelligence and police organizations from the US and Canada, this was a secondary consideration. In fact some of these people were involved with the recruiting and training of these immigrants. This was to be a joint allied scheme that had the potential to expand to expatriate’s of Eastern European nations that had previously immigrated throughout Central and South America.

While this sounds like a completely legitimate plan, what has not been fully understood by historians is the fact that this was an illegal recruiting scheme largely controlled by Communist moles and sympathizers within the western intelligence services. Not only were members of the Communist Party of Canada still banned but many of those recruited in both the US and Canada were illegal’s. All the men sought were to be Communists and their secret mission was to be inserted into Eastern Europe to assist, in whatever way possible, a takeover by Communist forces. This flying in the face of the Atlantic Charter which was signed by the Soviet Union in September 1941 agreeing that all nations under occupation, once liberated, will be given the right to free elections and self-determination.

In an attempt to oppose Hitler’s aspirations in the Balkans, the pro-Nazi Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia was overthrown by an anti-Fascist and non-Communist coup on 27 March 1941 involving a group of pro-Western Royal Yugoslavian Air force officers. They then placed 17 year old King Peter II Karadordevic on the throne and made one of the top instigators in the coup Slobodan Jovanovic Prime Minister. After the Axis invasion in April, the King and his government then went into exile in Britain. This government was also a signatory of the Atlantic Charter. Therefore the recognized ruler of Yugoslavia was a monarch not a Communist. Churchill hoped to harness the Royalist resistance, not that which might exist among the few Communists at that time.

However while it appears that Churchill and the Foreign Office were heading in one direction regarding Yugoslavia, Bailey and D/H Section (Yugoslav Section at SOE Cairo) proceeded in another, " The policy of SOE in SE Europe is to prepare a revolt of the Balkan peoples ( Greeks, Yugoslavs, Bulgarians, Albanians, Romanians and Hungarians) against the Axis forces and the local pro-Axis elements collaborating with them (the Governments and supporters of General TSOLAKOGLU [Greece], General NEDIC [Serbia], M.PAVELIC [Croatia], King BORIS [Bulgaria], Marshal ANTONESCU [Romania] and Admiral HORTHY [Hungary])...In the light of experience acquired in the period previous to the Axis occupation of the Balkans, and after due consideration of the information subsequently received, SOE's specialists in Balkan affairs are of the opinion that the masses of peasants and industrial workers constitute the most suitable potentially revolutionary elements in the different countries of S.E. Europe...it should be remembered that the conception of Balkan unity has long been familiar to the more progressive political leaders especially in Yugoslavia and that the prospect of playing the leading role in a new and greater Balkan order is likely to appeal to the imagination of all but the most reactionary of our supporters. In the same way it may be argued that the fact that our policy is primarily based on the support of Agrarian and Left Wing elements may alienate potential allies among the bourgeoisie. This is no doubt true but it is felt that the risk must be taken in view of the fact that the peasantry constitute some 80% of the population of the Balkan peninsula and that with the exception of certain bourgeois elements in Serbia and Greece, that majority of our sympathizers in the middle classes are not considered likely to give active expressions to their sentiments...There remains however the possibility that HMG may one day be called upon to implement this declaration and the question therefore arises whether Balkan unity is in the interests of the British Empire. It is beyond the scale of this memorandum to consider this question in detail but certainly the arguments in favour of Balkan unity as a British interest are strong." (NOTE: UKNA, HS5/146, SOE Balkans No.2. Top Level Planning - Istanbul HQ - Planning & Organization of SOE Activities - General 1940-41. SOE POLICY FOR SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE, D.P.A. PAPER No. 2.)

In short, Bailey’s opinion was that since all peasants/farmers and workers must automatically be leftists or Communists only by harnessing their numbers could Balkan unity be ensured. D/H Section continues to state that they desired to, "...guarantee that the peoples of South Eastern Europe shall be governed in accordance with the principles of democracy. (Political democracy)...To guarantee that the wealth of South Eastern Europe shall be developed in accordance with the interests of the masses of the Balkan peoples. (Social Democracy)...To guarantee the Balkan peoples against external aggression until such times as they may be judged ready to stand alone.” (NOTE: IBID) However it is obvious by the reactions of the peoples of these nations that Bailey was dead wrong. In fact most of the people were actually either more moderately left or more conservative. While Communists usually assume that agrarian and industrial workers must all be Communists, in truth they were very much aware of the threat of Communism to their sovereignty. Wartime intelligence statistic's make it very clear that Communist's were actually in the minority in Eastern Europe. The question is, did Bailey know this at this time and was he out to implement his own policies?

In order for SOE's D/H Section and Bailey's plan to begin, they needed men to implement it. Like all other SOE recruiting schemes, it was quickly determined that refugee and immigrant populations in Britain would not be enough. They immediately looked to their Commonwealth and more covertly to countries in the rest of the America's to fill their needs. The author of Camp X, SOE School for Spies David Stafford published in 1986 states that correspondence he had with Christopher M. Woods, SOE advisor at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, indicates that the idea to recruit personnel for British intelligence in the Americas had existed as far back as the beginning of 1941 when SOE representative Colonel Jeffrey Vickers VC travelled to New York to meet William Stephenson. He was a wealthy Canadian industrialist who became head of the British Secret Intelligence Service in the America’s. Formally operating under the guise of the Passport Control Office in New York, it became known as British Security Co-Ordination or BSC. The resulting directive penned on 15 February charged BSC to, "establish an SOE network throughout Latin America, to recruit likely SOE agents in the United States and other American countries, to help influence public opinion in the United States in a pro-allied direction, to make contact with various European refugee and exile movements in the New World, and to help create secret communications channels for SOE networks." The idea to build a training facility in Canada also came out of these discussions. (Note: Stafford, David. Camp X SOE School for Spies. Lester and Orpen Dennys, 1986. Directive, Hyde Papers, 15 February 1941. Chapter 2. To Impress the Americans, pgs. 28-29.)


Shortly after this directive was made a major turning point in the war occurred. After being delayed by the brave coup in Yugoslavia, Hitler and his Axis allies broke their pact with Stalin and invaded Soviet held territory and pushed on into the USSR itself. History seems to have shut the door on this collusion between Hitler and Stalin. In fact most completely neglect to mention it when discussing the causes of the war. It is apparent that delving into this unusual collusion between heated enemies might reveal the fact that despite the propaganda, the USSR was never an ally of the west. While spying on the west and inciting labour agitation and violence, the USSR sat idly by while Europe was engulfed by Hitler. Rather than protest these actions, they joined with Hitler in carving up Europe. After Hitler predictably turned on the USSR, Stalin immediately starts demanding action from his sworn enemies to help them. It is evident that after Hitler invaded the USSR, Stalin’s intelligence services continued to expand their efforts against the west. In contrast, Britain’s coalition government completely shut down all intelligence operations against the USSR. (Note: See Jefferies, Keith. The Secret History of MI6 1909-1949. Penguin Group. 2010) As will be made evident, the continuing effort by the Communists to undermine foreign governments will soon result in a brand new British intelligence training school in Canada.

The effort," to recruit likely SOE agents in the United States and other American countries," fits perfectly into SOE Cairo's plans. In addition to this, after Yugoslavia was invaded and Hitler made his move on the USSR, a secret letter from the Office of the High Commissioner for Canada in London, The Right Honourable Vincent Massey to the Under Secretary of State for External Affairs Norman Robertson dated 4 July 1941 clarifies that the King and Government of Yugoslavia in exile wished to send military missions to both Canada and the US to, "...raise at least a brigade amounting to about 5,000 men."(NOTE RG24, Yugoslav Citizens of U.S.A. -Training facilities in Canada for - Vol. 5197) This is shortly after a Special Training School is proposed in Canada. David Stafford disputes the connection. However newly found documentation completely discounts Stafford's claim that the Royal Yugoslav Government did not know about a recruitment scheme for intelligence volunteers in the America's. However what was not apparently shared with the Royalists was that SOE Cairo was looking specifically for committed Communists. (NOTE RG24 Volume 2848, Yugoslav Military Mission File HQC 8594-2 and NOTE RG24, Yugoslav Citizens of U.S.A. -Training facilities in Canada for - Vol. 5197 and RG25, A-12, Volume 2116, Security BSC New York, File AR418/2.)

The men that these recruits would soon be working under mostly consisted of former experienced members of the Secret Intelligence Service who operated out of the Balkan branch of Section "D" under Colonel Julius Hannau. Men like Bailey, who we have already met, and Duane Tyrell "Bill" Hudson become integral to the story. After his policy papers were absorbed by his superiors at SOE Cairo and GHQ Middle East, Bailey was the one chosen to implement and actually travel to the United States to locate these prospective volunteers. Following "his" policy, it was Bailey who specifically sought out Communists in the Americas.

In the meantime, with the situation in Yugoslavia still up in the air, Stafford states that the final decision regarding a location for the intelligence school in Canada came at a party that Colonel F.T. "Tommy" Davies, the Chief of Staff to SOE’s Chief Director, Frank Nelson, attended at Stephenson’s Manhattan apartment in the St. Regis Hotel the evening of 6 September 1941. With a final location decided on and pressure from SOE Cairo (D/H Section) to get them recruits as soon as possible, Thomas Drew-brook (Stephenson's friend and BSC representative in Toronto, Canada.) forwarded the following letter to The Canadian Under-Secretary of External Affairs Norman Robertson on 18 September 1941, “I wish to advise you that the location of our ‘Special Police Training Centre’ has finally been decided upon. The site chosen is completely secluded, and lies two and a half miles East of Whitby, then a further two and a half miles South of the Highway [Highway No. 2] to the Lake Shore. We are anxious to proceed immediately with the construction of buildings and hope to have everything completed for occupation by the first of November. Preliminary plans have been completed but the working drawings will not be ready for several days.” (NOTE: LAC RG 25, File2490-40, Priority Rating for Materials req. for Special Police Training Center , Letter from T.G. Drewbrook BSC Toronto to Under –Secretary for External Affairs, Mr. Norman Robertson, Vol. 2913)

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The top-priority given to the completion of the school is made clear in a letter from Robertson to Mr. Berkinshaw, Director General of Priorities, Department of Munitions and Supply dated 20 September 1941, "...for various reasons, the purpose for which these buildings will be required cannot be spelt out in an application for priorities. I can, however, assure you that they are urgently needed for military purposes of some importance, with which the Commissioner of the RCMP and I are fully familiar." (NOTE: RG25, File 2490-40 Priority Rating for Materials Required for Special Police Training Center, Volume 2193, 20 September 1941.) So from the get-go External Affairs and the RCMP were in the know however what exactly did they know? Remember this was a British owned and operated installation within Canada.

The urgency of getting this school up and running was being pushed by SOE Cairo who, in their 29 September 1941 Memorandum on Balkan Work, declared that, " A. The whole of the BALKAN plan will be centralized in CAIRO. B. SOE will be directly responsible for all the contacts made with all the various BALKAN collaborators. C. It has been decided to give training in guerilla tactics and the aim is to train the following people between now and 1st April , 1942, namely,

200 Greeks

100 Yugoslavs

25 Rumanians

25 Bulgarians

25 Hungarians

The ultimate aim is to infiltrate these people back to their various countries before 1st April 1942. The representatives in the field should explore and report methods of infiltration from their end and state the number of people they are likely to pass by their channels. A representative of each BALKAN country will consider this memorandum and prepare a memorandum on their particular country, showing lines to be adopted in respect of their country so as to ensure the maximum co-operation from H.M.G. and from the propaganda people, bearing in mind that all suggestions must come within the general policy laid down in this memorandum. They should consider especially, the best methods of recruiting the personnel above."(NOTE UKNA, HS5/146, SOE Balkans No.2. Top Level Planning - Istanbul HQ - Planning & Organization of SOE Activities - General 1940-41. Memorandum on Balkan Work by D/H20, 29 September 1941.)


It must be remembered that the final policy memorandum of D/H Section was to largely support radical left wing elements within Yugoslavia. This was a policy completely opposite to that being developed by Churchill’s Foreign Office. While there was talk about Balkan unity, there was no talk yet about the political unity of existing resistance movements within Yugoslavia. While it was desired by Churchill and the Foreign Office, their main focus was on those representing the exiled King.

While Bailey was putting wheels on his recruiting scheme by initially contacting the likes of US Communist Milton Wolff who had led the Abraham Lincoln Battalion of the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, SOE Cairo sent a man into Yugoslavia to see what was happening on the ground. The intended target of the BULLSEYE Mission was the Royalist resistance under Colonel Draza Mihailovic. However the man sent in, the previously mentioned Hudson first encountered the Communists. Was this by accident or by design?, "Nor was the position much clearer when, in the middle of October (1941), the British government accepted Mihailovic as the leading insurgent and instructed Hudson, whose first encounters had been with the Communist-led Partisans, to make contact with him. This decision was made after Mihailovic had established a W/T link with the Yugoslav government in London and had sent messages announcing that he was launching a national revolt as head of 'The Royal Yugoslav Army in the field'; but except that King Peter had shown these to the Prime Minister, the situation remained obscure." (NOTE: Hinsley, F.H., British Intelligence in the Second World War, Volume 3, Part 1, Chapter 33, Developments in Yugoslavia, Cambridge University Press, 1984. pg 137) After Hudson's hobnobbing with the Communists he got a rather cold reception from Mihailovic. They commandeered his radio set and Hudson virtually vanished. Originally SOE thought he had been captured. They then sent in two additional missions in January and February 1942, HENNA and HYDRA to see what was happening but both failed for one reason or another. It was not until April 1942 that Hudson was able to make contact.

In F.H. Hinsley's British Intelligence in the Second World War it is stated that it was revealed in reports now coming in from Hudson that it was Mihailovic's idea to unify all resistance in Yugoslavia against the Axis powers, "Whitehall accepted Mihailovic's claim in the belief that all the guerilla groups could be brought together in a single resistance movement. The Foreign Office responded sympathetically to the Soviet suggestion that the best way of creating a diversion in Yugoslavia was to grant support to all groups irrespective of their political colour. A series of meetings between Mihailovic and Tito and their staff's took place in November 1941. But Hudson's report on this [revealed that] fighting had broken out between the two groups in Serbia, he now gave the first of many warnings that Tito's Partisans suspected that Mihailovic's Chetniks were collaborating with Nedic's [ Croat Fascist Group under the Germans] government in Serbia and with other pro-Axis elements against them. "(NOTE: Hinsley, F.H., British Intelligence in the Second World War, Volume 3, Part 1, Chapter 33, Developments in Yugoslavia, Cambridge University Press, 1984. pg 138.) What the Foreign Office understood and Hudson did not, was the fact that Mihailovic was biding his time while at the same time reducing any risk to his force by staying close to the Fascists. After all, the Royalists were still a fledgling force and still had not been supplied by the British. Like the resistance in France, it was SOE policy for these groups to train, arm and prepare and not to risk all out extermination by premature action. There is also the possibility that Mihailovics’ desire to work with all resistance actually meant the possibility of getting Nedic onside, not the Communists.

While the British were trying to figure out what was happening on the ground in Yugoslavia, ultimate approval to proceed with plans to build a training school in Canada was required from the Minister of National Defense, Colonel The Hon. J.L. Ralston and the Prime Minister of Canada W.L. Mackenzie King. Ralston was very enthusiastic about helping the British and was granted approval by the Prime Minister to assist in whatever was necessary to get the School up and running. This was NOT an approval to recruit Communists. This was strictly an approval to assist the British in the actual building and maintenance of the camp. Nothing yet had been agreed about recruiting. Again, it is not known exactly what King and Ralston were being told by the British. Correspondence seems to suggest that they thought the camp was to strictly train legally recruited armed forces personal for commando/para-military work behind enemy lines. (NOTE: LAC RG24, Microfilm Reel C-8383, Memo Special Training School Whitby, Ontario from the VCGS 16 November 1941.)

The Communist Party of Canada was banned in 1941 under the Defense of Canada Regulations under the War Measures Act. This was mainly due to the ever increasing arrests of their members for seditious behaviour. Curiously the Liberal Party refused to ban the Communist Party along with the Fascists in 1939. Sedition had to rear it's ugly head in court before they were prompted to do something by the opposition.

There was also disgust in the Communist Party support for the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and its intense campaign of labour agitation and strikes aimed at disrupting vital war production. While Communist apologists like to quote early war inflation rates to justify many of these strikes, they never recount the Government’s efforts to raise wages to reasonable levels. Nor do they recount the actual admittance of subversives and those committing the espionage who were members of these western Communist Parties. All global Communist parties outside the USSR were controlled by the Communist International in Moscow. All had direct contacts with the Soviet NKVD, NKGB, OGPU and GRU. They also don’t tell you about their printed and published dogma distributed by them at the time itemizing their militant, anti-democratic, anti-religious and anti-west tirades culminating in their desire to see a violent overthrow of the government. (NOTE LAC RG24-C-1, Files 8885-2, Secret and Confidential Subject File, Army, Special Training School 1941-1946, Letter Brigadier Stewart (for CGS) to the Minister, 21 October 1941, C-8383.)

Despite what was stated previously by Colonel Vickers and others who claim that the school was primarily meant to be a showcase of British Intelligence to the Americans, the first recruits were those found in the United States via Milton Wolff and Canada via their respective Communist underground sub-groups for operations in the Balkans and Italy. The BSC now dubbed the scheme PROJECT "J" (British Correspondence usually spelt Yugoslavia with a "J" rather than a "Y"...). This is revealed in correspondence between Major-General Charles Francis Constantine and the Director of Staff Duties (DSD) dated 17 October 1941, “In order to preserve secrecy, we have named this affair - project J - and numbered it, special 21-1-1.” . (NOTE: RG24-C-1, File 8885, MR C-8383, Secret and Confidential Subject Files, Special Training School 1941-1946. Staff Duties 3 to Director of Staff Duties, Estimate and Financial Implications, Special School "J" at Whitby, Ontario, 17 October 1941 also Major-General Charles Francis Constantine, CO of Military District 2 to Director of Staff Duties Colonel W.H.S. Macklin, 7 December 1941.)

In another document from Constantine, who was Commanding Officer of Military District 2, to the DSD on 24 October 1941 it mentions arrangements being made for the setting up of this project, "The Commandant will be a Colonel Lyndsay of the British Army and he will provide the instructions staff and the students (16 in number). He will run a series of courses." (NOTE: LAC, RG24, File 8885, C-8383, Major-General Charles Francis Constantine MD 2, to Directorate of Staff Duties Colonel W.H.S. Macklin, 24 October 1941) It further stated that the school should be up and running by 15 November 1941. The Official British designation for the school, as utilized for their international system of Intelligence schools, was Special Training School 103 (STS 103). No official document exists calling the School “Camp X”. The only reference being a doctor’s report regarding the death of a student at STS 103 in 1943. It is presumed it was simply used to denote the school without using any official terminology. To date no published source has understood that these original 16 "students" were the initial group of Yugoslav Communist para-military recruits. (NOTE: RG24-C-1, File 8885, MR C-8383, Secret and Confidential Subject Files, Special Training School 1941-1946. Vice Chief of the General Staff to T.G. Drew-Brook, 16 November 1941.)

Two of the major mistakes made by historians in relation to STS 103 is the belief that the above documents were referring to early trainee's put forward by Canadian and US police and intelligence services to operate in the America's as agents. The second mistake was not realizing that the Balkan recruiting scheme had actively begun as early as September 1941 and possibly even earlier.

Originally most of the men recruited were underground labour agitators or editors and workers at various Communist propaganda newspapers. All were members of ethnic branches of the Communist Party of the United States or Canada and many were neither US or Canadian citizens with some living in North America illegally. A few were also actively sought by the police for matters not related to immigration or labour agitation.

In a document dated 30 October the actual British staff sent to train these men in Canada was referred to as 207 Military Mission. This was a draft document that was not distributed but it reveals who was coercing this recruitment scheme directly with Canada, "We have ascertained that SOE have come to an arrangement with the Canadian Government for the setting up in Canada of a Special Training School to be known as 207 Military Mission. The School is for the purpose of training Agents and Organizers from the various states in South America and Central America and possibly USA [ where large Yugoslav immigrant groups existed] with the ultimate object of sending Nationals of these Countries to enemy occupied territory. The instruction comprises para-military training and S.S. [Secret Service] work. Is it possible for such a request to be passed to General McNaughton? The nature of the work is such that it is obviously desirable that only a few persons should know of it." (NOTE: NA UK, WO193/631 Military Operations 1 War Office SOE 9 Military Mission 207, STS Canada, 30 October 1941, ) Obviously it was decided that the information contained in this document was too sensitive to send. Was this because it revealed something that might spark suspicion as to the real motives behind this recruiting scheme? It is highly unusual that SOE was directly negotiating the set up of this project with the Canadian Government. There appears to be no additional British Government involvement and no further representation by the Foreign Office. This is highly unusual and the implications of this statement become clearer as the story develops.

One document from a Brigadier at the Department of National Defense in Ottawa to Canadian External Affairs reiterates that contact was made direct with British intelligence and not representatives of the British Government, "Mr. Norman Robertson telephoned this morning stating that Colonel Lindsay [the original proposed British Commanding Officer of the School] of the British Army was in Ottawa in connection with the setting up of a Special Training School in Canada. Preliminary discussions had taken place between British Intelligence officers and Commissioner Wood, R.C.M.P. A decision had been made to set up a school in Canada and Colonel Ralston, the Minister of Defense, had promised to assist." (NOTE: RG24, File STS, MS, Reel C-8383. From Brigadier for VCGS Major-General J.C. Murchie, DND, 16 November 1941) It is interesting that Lyndsay ultimately refused to take command of the school. The reason why is still considered a mystery. Did he see through the deception?

It was then proposed by External Affairs on 16 December 1941 to the Yugoslav Consul General in Montreal that a Yugoslav Military Mission could now join the Polish Military Mission at Windsor and set up one of its own at Owen Sound, Ontario. (NOTE RG24, Yugoslav Citizens of U.S.A. -Training facilities in Canada for - Vol. 5197) This mission was led by a Colonel Drag P. Savitch who was not overjoyed with his being reassigned to Canada from Cairo. It is not known exactly what he knew about the project however it was his mission that would house many of these recruits before they were sent overseas.

With the general Canadian public apparently unaware of the entrenched Communist subversion and espionage actually taking place in the America's (despite several sensational headlines between 1938 and 1941 covering the defection of Soviet agents operating in Britain, the US and Canada), polls at that time showed some softening of the Canadian public’s anti-Communist sentiment when members of Communist groups loudly voiced their will to fight. What the media conveniently forgot to mention to the Canadian public was that they had no intention of fighting for Canada. With that said, they had the support of government officials now directly involved in the setting up of STS 103 and recruiting. At the end of the summer of 1941 attempts had been made by these men to," work more closely with the Communists in Canada. In fact support for legalizing the CPC [Communist Party of Canada] and releasing the internees gathered steam. Lester Pearson and Norman Robertson felt that the Communists should be fully harnessed to the war effort," (NOTE: "Official Repression," pgs. 148-149; Whitaker, "Introduction," 17. Derived from http://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/Hist...tm#_ftn104) It was the likes of Prime Minister King’s Secretary Jack Pickersgill, Pearson, Robertson and other Liberals and Liberal appointed permanent bureaucrats that pushed King to recognize the Communist Party of Canada and to reinstate it as the Labour Progressive Party. (The only MP representing this party in Parliament Fred Rose will be convicted of espionage on behalf of the USSR.)

However 1942 would come and go with no change to the Defence of Canada Regulations, "The RCMP and the Justice Department insisted that the actual communist aim was 'victory for the Soviet Union over democracy,' and to 'subvert the Canadian Armed Forces to that end." (Note: Ditto pg 151.) Actual accounts by Communists at their meetings and their recorded plebiscite state that this was in fact the attitude of many leading Communists and their followers in Canada. As already stated, these men had no intention of fighting for Canada. What is largely forgotten by many Communist apologists is that a large number of active labour agitators and sworn Communists operating in the United States and Canada were not even citizens. Many were sent by their respective foreign Communist parties and groups to deliberately spread Communist subversion. The records of the British Communist recruiting scheme in the America's make this very clear. In fact most of these Communists recruited openly admit this. (NOTE: HS/9 SOE Personnel Records.)

As members of SIS and SOE continued with their plan to recruit Communists and labour agitators in the west, the United States found itself at war with Japan. Following a series of attacks on US territory in the Pacific and S.E. Asia, war was declared on 8 December 1941. Germany then declared war on the US. But the schemes to recruit men within the United States and the America's existed long before their entry into the war. This was illegal. It was also against British Government policy to recruit members of the Communist Party of Canada and the Communist Party of the United States. In Canada, under the Defence of Canada Regulations, it was also illegal to recruit known Communists into the Canadian Army. While some, likely unknown to the RCMP, did join the army it was not until 1943 that restrictions were relaxed. Even then, they were to be closely monitored by the RCMP. None of this changed the fact that it was strictly forbidden for known Communists to operate within any of the western intelligence services. (NOTE: http://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/Hist...tm#_ftn104)

A war was now being waged between SOE Cairo and the Foreign Office to shift support from the King of Yugoslavia and Mihailovic to an apparent Yugoslav Communist named Josip Broz or Tito, "Among these stood forth, pre-eminent and soon dominant. Tito, as he called himself, was a Soviet-trained Communist who, until Russia was invaded by Hitler, and after Yugoslavia had been assailed, had fomented political strikes along the Dalmatian coast, in accordance with the general Comintern policy." (Note: Closing the Ring, Marshall Tito and Yugoslavia, pg. 462) This not only meant the destruction of the Axis invaders but also the destruction of all other opposition. Churchill himself is quoted, "It was inevitable that the partisan movement should also come into savage quarrels with their fellow-countrymen, who were resisting half-heartedly or making bargains for immunity with the common foe. The partisans deliberately violated any agreements made with the enemy by the Cetniks - as the followers of General Mihailovic were called. The Germans then shot Cetnik hostages and in revenge Cetniks gave the Germans information about the partisans. All this happened sporadically and uncontrollably in these wild mountain regions. It was a tragedy within a tragedy." (Note: Closing the Ring, Marshall Tito and Yugoslavia, pg. 462-463)

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What Churchill states, and later seems to forget, is the fact that the partisans had the active support and backing of the Soviet Union. While one side of history labels Mihailovic as an Axis collaborator, to many citizens of Yugoslavia, Tito was in fact a Soviet collaborator. The plain fact of the situation in Yugoslavia is that the USSR and Tito never had any intention of working with the Royalists. If the Germans did not get Mihailovic, Tito was bent on killing him himself. From the very beginning the Soviets, along with Tito and his Communist sympathizers in British Intelligence, had a three stage plan. 1. Discredit the Royalists 2. Shift ALL support from the western allies to the Partisans. 3. Destroy Mihailovic. A similar stage of events was in the works as well for the entire Balkan area and Northern Italy. It has to be remembered that the conflict that developed between Tito and Stalin did not begin until the end of the war.

SOE Cairo now began to look into the recruiting of Italians. The details that exist surrounding this effort clearly indicate coercion by Bailey. This is made evident when BSC's initial recruiter working within the RCMP was dismissed on paper by Bailey in favour of one who specifically recruited known Communists.

The following document dated 7 February 1942 titled Memorandum Free Italian Recruits was written by a man named Bersani (Agent 942). He was the first man approached by BSC to recruit Italian Canadians. Bersani worked at the RCMP in vetting Italian immigrants to Canada. The document makes the earliest reference to the Italian recruitment scheme, “…on November 10th 1941 I was first instructed to carry out the work in which I have been incessantly engaged during the past three months, I stated it was worthwhile to accomplish… In my report of December 1st, 1941 I suggested that an antifascist paper should be promoted as this offered a means of making contacts...proposal that a 'FREE ITALY MOVEMENT' should be organized for the purpose of providing a recruitment ground for Types 1, 2 and 3. Both these proposals were rejected". (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada.) What Bersani means by various “types” of recruit, is a classification system used by SIS and SOE to identify prospects better suited for either, Type 1 Secret Intelligence, Type 2 Para-Military or Type 3 Commando operations.

Bersani was simply anti-Fascist, he was not a Communist. It is interesting that Bailey did not appreciate the results of Bersani's work as he wanted him "discontinued." He then made arrangements for a known Communist to replace him, “Arrangements with regard to Antonio Verdi alias Ennio Gnudi [ Code V-1] are going forward." He stated the reason being that "This office is unfavorably impressed with the work performed by 942 [Bersani]." He then lets the cat out of the bag when he states that, "Out of the ten names [All Canadian or Alien] submitted there is only one who may be useful for the present purpose, and even he is questionable. The others, of course, may come in should the situation develop in another direction." This is because none of these men were Communists except one who was only suspected of being Communist. Bailey goes on, "Whilst every effort was made to give 942 a clear and concise picture of what we desired, he seems to have missed the point and has been carried away by his own enthusiasm and a desire to be more closely connected with the actual placing." Bailey then attempts to use character assassination to get Bersani sacked. In his place he states that, "It is recommended that the account be paid and from now on, we experiment with Gnudi." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. From DT-Section A.1 (Liaison with SIS) to UT (USA South America /Training) 14 February 1942)

While the Communist Gnudi is hired by Bailey, the following document dated 9 April 1942 from G.400 (Aleksandr Halpern SOE Chief of Minorities Sub-Section at BSC and former member of the Kerensky Government in pre-Bolshevik Russia) to DSC confirms that D/H Section at SOE Cairo was operating on their own volition. In a system that should have rung alarm bells amongst the Canadian authorities, it was not the British Government working out these delicate details. SOE Cairo was operating one on one with the Canadian Government, Military and RCMP. Bailey then asks for, “your authority [External Affairs Canada] to extend the work of my section to Canada. I understand that ROBERTSON, PEARSON and [Saul] RAE are the persons in the Dominion Government who are interested in the problem of minorities. I know that Robertson is rather skeptical of any positive results to be achieved. I do not overestimate these possibilities but they exist. There are 50,000 Austrians, 30,000 Czechs, 40,000 Hungarians, 100,000 Italians, 150,000 Poles, 30,000 Roumanians, 20,000 Jugoslavs, 4,000 Bulgarians in Canada. Canada has now a large number of representative leaders of various nationalities. It has branches of the so-called Free Movements. They should be watched, nursed, and contacted. S.O. and S.I.S. recruits could be found there if we approach the various racial groups through their recognized leaders. Any recruit we find and train there will have the advantage that we shall not be dependent on the Americans either as regards the training or as regards the incorporation and management of the recruits. If as I understood you agree in principle the best way would be to have a talk with Robertson or some of his people in Canada and if there are no objections to start the work forthwith. Stuart or Bailey could go from time to time to Canada to deal with the Southern Slavs and I or [Dr.Herbert] Sichel [BSC Statistician] could easily handle the Germans, Austrians and Italians." (NOTE:UKNA, HS8/75, SOE, America No.80, Balkan Recruiting in Canada, First Party (Shipwrecked) Pt.1.G.400 to DSC, 9 April 1942.)

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Apart from Bailey confirming the involvement of Norman Roberson, Lester Pearson and Saul Rae, this quote again begs the question; If there were thousands of possible recruits, why did they specifically have to be Communists? It should be stated that External Affairs was Canada’s foreign intelligence service at this time. Canada's Liberal appointed permanent bureaucrats will see to it, despite pleas to the contrary from the military and opposition, that this remained the case until the formation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1984. Why was this? Something to hide? Even if many of these Communists had previous military experience fighting in Spain with the Independent Brigade on the side of the Republicans, the fact that their proposed role within SOE was simply to be translators, wireless operators, instructors and saboteurs does not back up any prerequisite that they be Communists. If it was simply military experience they were after, most of those supporting the Royalists in the Americas also had military experience due to the fact that the pre-war Royal Yugoslav Army was bolstered by conscription. The same can be said of Italian recruits. In fact, as far as it can be assessed as a matter of government policy, all of the British and US personnel that made up missions sent into the Balkans and Italy were to consist of non-Fascist and non-Communist personal as a matter of policy. No other Communist recruiting scheme for the war in Europe existed within the western intelligence services.

Other details surrounding the drive for Communists in the Italian recruiting scheme are brought forward on 14 April 1942 when G.400 ( Halpern) reverses D/H 2 (Bailey) decision to drop Bersani in favour of Gnudi. This was because Halpern thought that Bersani could still be used for locating recruits for American special operations/commando missions, "As regards Bersani, I consider that although his reports do propound his own capabilities and good qualities in an egotistical way they nevertheless make good sense; his general ideas of tackling recruiting seem to me very sound. I therefore feel that if we obtain permission to recruit in Canada for our own purposes, (i.e. to obtain men whom we would send to our camp in the Middle East, not to the Americans) the decision taken at the beginning of the year to dispense with Bersani's service should be reconsidered. He might well produce a number of useful people. Further, should it be decided that we start recruiting again independently of an unknown to the Americans, we ought also to keep in touch here with Gnudi, and utilize his Mexican contacts for ourselves." (NOTE: (UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. 14 April 1942)

Due to delays in setting up STS 103, the actual para-military course for the highly secret 16 Yugoslav Communist para-military recruits from the US and Canada did not take place until 1 March and ran to 17 April 1942. From that date those recruits located in Canada were maintained at the Royal Yugoslav Military Mission in Windsor and those located in the United States at a newly established COI /OSS base in Maryland until arrangements could be made to ship them overseas.

As this first group of trained men were getting accustomed to their new temporary housing, Bailey writes a report covering his trip to Canada over the April 23-25 period to interview the men located by Bersani. The trip was also meant to continue to enlarge the Communist recruiting scheme using the talents of other "progressive" recruiters, "I also took this opportunity to call on KOSTA, TODOROFF and other BALKAN friends in Montreal; this is dealt with in a separate report." He proceeds to mention a Mr. Bavin and a man code-named G.408 (Massimo Salvadori) from SOE who was recruiting on behalf of the United States (He would later parachute into Italy to work with the Partisans). Ernest W. Bavin was a Superintendent of the RCMP and head of their Intelligence Branch. After retiring in 1941 he was employed by BSC as a liaison between the Canadian Directorate of Military Intelligence and US Military Intelligence G-2. Bailey then states that when he, "arrived in Ottawa on the 23rd of April. MR. [Ernest] BAVIN had preceded me and made the necessary arrangements with the RCMP for BERSANI and GNUDI to be available. G.408 also reached Canada and was standing by to give expert assistance when required." Bailey then proceeded to smooth things over with the RCMP, "I first saw INSPECTOR [Alexander] DRYSDALE of the Intelligence Department [of the RCMP], and discussed with him the principles involved. DRYSDALE had been informed in advance by BAVIN of the exact nature of my visit and had discussed it with ASSISTANT- COMMISSIONER [R.R.] TAIT and the COMMISSIONER [Stuart Taylor] Wood. They very kindly decided that BERSANI could be at my complete disposal for rounding up and vetting recruits, but DRYSDALE expressed the desire that once the recruits were accepted, their actual enrollment and dispatch from Canada should be carried out by us, so as to relieve the RCMP of this responsibility. This I naturally accepted." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. 23 April 1942.)

This quote makes it very plain that several top members of the RCMP were completely in the loop regarding the recruiting of Communists in Canada. The question is, were these men being coerced by those mentioned from External Affairs? The RCMP knew perfectly well that Gnudi was not only a Communist but a man with ties to top members of the party and the Communist International. (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. 29 April 1942.) As stated, it is very clear that after war was declared by Canada in September 1939, the Defense of Canada Regulations opposed any dealings with Fascists and Communists. The attitude of the Prime Minister and the RCMP supposedly reflected these regulations. So, in addition to the Balkan recruitment scheme, who was it exactly that overruled these regulations? Bailey goes on to state that he, "was authorized only to deal with the specific case of the Italian recruits, but I understood that permission would shortly be sought, on a higher level, from the Federal authorities in Ottawa, to carry on certain minority and recruiting operations in the Dominion." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. 23 April 1942.) This statement essentially proves that members of Canada's External Affairs and certain members of the RCMP were complicit in an illegal recruitment scheme controlled by SOE Cairo and that it was being run under the nose of the Canadian Government. This is because men had already been recruited and trained.

In order to further operations in the Balkans, a Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian recruitment drive was now begun under the same auspices of PROJECT "J". The uprisings led by the Bulgarian Communist Party, which began in 1941, prompted SOE Cairo to canvas S.O. [Special Operations] London on 23 April 1942 to push their recruiter Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Gardyne de Chastelain to move quickly in the recruiting of Bulgarians or other suitable language groups in Canada, "We have received telegrams from Cairo asking if you can make special effort to obtain one or two Bulgarians and one or two Croatians for infiltration into Bulgaria and Croatia this summer. Recruits need not repeat not be trained as W/T operators as they will receive their training in Middle East. Recruits should be sent Middle East by quickest possible route." (NOTE; HS8/75 America No. 80 Balkan Recruiting in Canada. First Party Shipwrecked Pt. 1. S.O. London to D/H2 23 April 1942.) Since SOE gave each individual Country Section control of their recruiting, de Chastelain is not implicated in this Communist recruiting scheme. It has not been ascertained whether SOE Cairo tried to influence his decisions.

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In a crucial document Bailey concluded his report on his visit to Canada by praising the assistance of the RCMP and again reiterating that while they were already using the RCMP and External Affairs, the actual Government of Canada had not yet been approached for permission, "In conclusion, I must refer specifically to the extreme kindness extended by INSPECTOR DRYSDALE and to the general assistance and reception which I received from all the members of the force with whom I came into contact. I am certain that once we obtain the necessary general permission from the Federal authorities in Ottawa, we shall enjoy the closest and most helpful collaboration from the RCMP throughout Canada, both for recruiting and in general minority political activity." After eluding that certain members of the RCMP were in the loop, he finally added that his Communist contact Gnudi mentioned that he was also in touch with, "Italian speaking Slavs [Slovenes and Dalmatians] and other ‘progressive’ Slav bodies, in Toronto, and said he thought we might find recruits among them too." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. 29 April 1942.)

Bailey updates the Italian recruiting situation but also reiterates the difference between their recruits and those sought by the US Coordinator of Information (later to be Office of Strategic Services), "G.408 [Massimo Salvadori] was then left with BERSANI to work out a plan for interviewing the candidates. In addition to the ten [largely non-Communists]already offered by us to the Americans, the names of six other likely persons arose, and it was felt that all should be interviewed, since it was unlikely that all would prove acceptable or willing." In order to interview these new prospects,"G.408 left for Toronto at the end of April 1942 where Bersani had a car at his disposal. Bersani and G.408 would spend the weekend interviewing candidates in Toronto, Sudbury, Hamilton and Niagara Falls. They would return to Toronto and turn in their reports to Drew-Brook's organization before returning to Montreal to interview more possibilities before returning to New York on 29/30 April." With the goal of the US representative G.408 being less covert, "Rather than keep things under wraps during the interview process, G.408 would approach the men as a bona-fide officer recruiting on behalf of the US Government, seeking men with an intimate knowledge of various districts of Italy and the dialects spoken therein, for use as guides and interpreters in American Commando operations. (I explained to G.408, in confidence and alone, the manner in which similar recruiting has been undertaken among the Poles and Czechs, when the initial approach is always for volunteers for 'assault engineering')." (IBID)

With the initial Italians selected in Canada heading to the US, it was important to continue to push efforts to recruit in Canada. Bailey then filed report No. SO/41 dated 29 April 1942, "We are now making arrangements for extending, subject to the consent of the Dominion authorities, our work in Canada. Whatever success we may have with the Italian recruits who have been investigated by G.408 and D/H 2, it seems clear to us that Canada, with its vast number of inhabitants of alien origin, presents a favourable terrain for our purposes." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. S.W.B. Report SO/41 (Bailey) 29 April 1942.)

In order to "extend" their recruiting scheme, SOE Cairo and BSC added Paul Phillips who was actually Ukrainian and the previously mentioned Kosta Todoroff, who was Bulgarian. He in turn recruited the help of Serbian Marko Shikitch, who has already been mentioned, whose real name was Kovacevich and Croatian Joseph Yardas. They were asked to enquire for men in their various "Progressive Movement" circles; in other words, radical Communist circles. The authority involved (S.O. London) was told that, "Their desire to help is unquestionable and they, having been engaged in subversive activities for many years, have a very clear impression of our needs." (IBID) Please note that the majority of the "subversive activities" referred to were actually conducted in North America against businesses and the Governments of the United States and Canada. For example, in one report found in the SOE record of Kovacevich, they were impressed by his ability to live illegally in the US and Canada by keeping one step ahead of the FBI and the RCMP. The three men were considered valuable to recruit Croats, Serbs, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Bulgarians and Macedonians. It was felt that the most fruitful language groups would be Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin. It was thought that the more difficult recruits to find would be Bulgarians and Italians.

On 30 April Bailey further elaborated that his trip to Canada was also to, "contact the Yugoslav 'progressives' before their convention opens. They may be able to find people both for Yugoslavia and for Italy's eastern provinces. Get Verdi [Gnudi] to New York. If you wish to enlist 'progressives', they will do it only if Verdi tells them so." (NOTE: UKNA, HS8/89, Report America No.94, Recruiting Italians in Canada. Daily Diary Report from Bailey on Trip to Canada, 30 April 1942.) This quote is telling as any future Communist intentions in Italy would be supported by Communists approaching from the East.

One of the Communists involved in finding recruits, the above mentioned Paul Phillips then replies to this request on 7 May 1942 stating that he has already contacted many of the groups requested and, "Everything we can do will be done to find the suitable "candidates" as speedily as possible. Yours for Victory." (NOTE:UKNA, HS8/75, SOE, America No.80, Balkan Recruiting in Canada, First Party (Shipwrecked), 7 May 1942.) Although it is not certain what kind of “victory” Phillips is referring to, the volunteering of Communists was not without conditions. Again, it is very odd that these conditions, meant for the Canadian Government, were sent direct to SOE's D/H Section. The author could not determine if it was actually sent to the Canadian government. This very revealing document requested, " a) An assurance that the work would be carried out with the knowledge and tacit approval of the Canadian authorities. The position of the progressive party [meaning the Communist Party] in Canada is still very delicate; and our friends wish at all costs to safeguard themselves against post-war reproaches on the ground that they had indulged in subversive operations behind the back of the Canadian Government. They had no desire at all to run the risk of being painted even blacker than they are at present. b) They desire that any man put forward by them, and accepted by us, should be taken on a purely business basis. No attempt should be made during his association with us to influence his political convictions, and the fact that he is a communist should not militate against him either during or after his period of service. c) They desire assurances that men who may be selected and who are already Canadian citizens will not be affected in their national status by reason of their work undertaken for us. d) They ask that all men so desiring shall be free to return to Canada at the conclusion of their service. e) In the case of men not yet qualified for naturalization the period of service shall count as years spent in residence in Canada. f) They ask that in the case of death or disability during and as a result of service, adequate compensation should be paid to dependents." (NOTE:UKNA, HS8/75, SOE, America No.80, Balkan Recruiting in Canada, First Party (Shipwrecked) Pt.1.G.400 to DH/2, 15 May 1942.) The statement hinting that their intended role was to have them indulge, "in subversive operations behind the back of the Canadian Government," dispels any claim that this information is somehow being misinterpreted. This document and the previous/following documents condemn many in the RCMP and External Affairs as being complicit in this illegal scheme. Many I would add that will also be investigated after the war for ties to Soviet Intelligence Services. As of May 1942, the date of the above correspondence from Phillips, the Canadian Government had NOT given it's tacit approval. At least two groups of men had already been recruited with one already trained and scheduled to move overseas. In fact Government approval was not received until the beginning of 1943. Even then, there was still no mention of Communists.

While the conditions of employment were being considered by Cairo, they were also holding their breath surrounding the above mentioned convention at which the outcome of a vote by Canadian Communists was crucial to their scheme. They were voting on whether to assist the western Allies. Those who did not want to assist argued against involvement making statements like, "If you vote “yes” you will be sending Canadian troops abroad to fight for the maintenance of the capitalist system. Canadian troops will never be used to help Russia directly. They are being retained in England so that they can be used to police Europe after Russia has defeated Germany, and thus deny Russia the opportunity of extending communistic government to Western Europe. In any case, the plebiscite is a political maneuver, designed to confirm Mackenzie King's dictatorship in Canada and his true intentions regarding the radicals as revealed by the fact that the communist party is still completely illegal there." (NOTE:NAUK, America Balkan Recruiting in Canada, First Party Shipwrecked Part 1, HS8/75 Recruiting in Canada From D/H2 to G.400 11 June 1942.) It is not surprising, with comments like this, that most of the governments of the Western Allies were concerned about Communism.

Despite knowledge of the scheme by some at the top of the RCMP, Paul Phillips admits himself that the scheme was being kept from other members of the RCMP who were likely more locally employed, as well as other authorities. He stated quite frankly that, "he considered that the only people from whom we might encounter opposition or impediment to our work were the R.C.M.P. and he suggested that a hint might be dropped to them from the Department of External Affairs. I am myself uncertain whether this is the wisest plan, or whether we should not rely on working as clandestinely as possible and avoid attracting police attention. This would have the disadvantage of slowing up the work of recruiting. We should discuss this point before G.406 [P/O Herbert M. Sichel] pays his next visit to Canada, so that he can take up with Pearson [in Washington] any steps considered expedient.” (NOTE: HS8/75 SOE America No.80 Balkan Recruiting in Canada- First Party (Shipwrecked) From D/H2 Cairo to G.400 11 June 1942. Recruiting in Canada.)

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Phillips now implies that there are sympathizers or outright moles involved which included Lester Pearson, who as Minister Councillor of the Canadian Legation in Washington D.C., had the power to coerce the RCMP into helping them with the recruitment scheme. He also continues in his attempts to limit outside knowledge of the project. He then suggests to SOE Cairo that wireless training could be given privately to recruits by a man in Toronto to speed up training and their despatch overseas, "I will ask G.9,000 [Drew-Brook] to get a preliminary check on this man from the R.C.M.P. On my return I raised this question with Professor Bayly, [who oversaw signals work at STS 103] who agreed that if security could be adequately observed, it would be an excellent thing to arrange for private tuition. He gave the names of two schools in Toronto." (NOTE HS8/75 SOE America No.80 Balkan Recruiting in Canada- First Party (Shipwrecked) It must also be stated that the Communist recruits had to follow a process lifted right out of a spy novel in order to accomplish their journey to STS 103. This involved complicated instructions such as secret drop-off and pick up points aided by civilian disguises, passwords, various forms of signals and disguised vehicles. If there was nothing fishy going on, why did they not simply arrive in uniform to take part in their training program? The camp itself was not secret and the public was told that military training took place there. The only secret was the real purpose of that training. So why was there all the secrecy? It is the opinion of this author that it was not only to hide the communist recruits from the public but also to hide them from the local military and police authorities. This included members of the RCMP not taking part in the scheme. (NOTE: HS8/75 SOE America No.80 Balkan Recruiting in Canada- First Party (Shipwrecked) From D/H2 Cairo to G.400 11 June 1942. Recruiting in Canada.)

It was DH/2 who negotiated travel documents for the Communists they wanted to send to Egypt. This is made clear in this docume