services had received any reports from this area so close behind the Front. La Dame Blanche did their work well, and soon the first reports on the important Hirson–Mézières artery commenced to come in. Colonel Oppenheim was elated; it thrilled me, too, to read the copy of his telegram to GHQ reporting the first troop movements through Hirson. Once again, we got a telegram of congratulations from GHQ, which we transmitted in code to the interior.
We now had three independent passages at the frontier connected with La Dame Blanche , and these we safeguarded night and day. The electric wire, the German sentries, and the German Secret Police – these were the enemies we were ever watching, watching so that we could slip the reports through right under their noses. We were handicapped by the fact that at the frontier of Belgium, we were forced to use Belgian peasants of a mental capacity far inferior to our agents in the interior; the Germanswould have been suspicious of any other type, and besides, the peasants in tilling their soil, had an excuse to approach the wire. But the difficulties we faced made the game more exciting; it was a case of the fox and the hounds.
La Dame Blanche organisation was ever growing in size; like a great octopus, it was spreading its tentacles over the whole of the occupied territory, including both Belgium and France. Its need of money kept growing. The train-watchers and other agents had to be on duty night and day, and most of them had families to support. We were now sending in to La Dame Blanche about £10,000 each month, not counting the tuyaux , or men at the frontier, whom we paid separately. This money was sent in chiefly in the form of 1000-mark bills, but even in this large denomination, it meant passing 200 bills each month; this meant bulk, and bulk meant danger, when one ran the risk of being searched at any moment. There was a danger, too, of tempting the peasants at the frontiers. We were entirely in their hands: if they chose to steal the money, we had no means of redress; they could even plead innocence, blaming one of the many others through whose hands it had to pass. But the loss of the money was the least annoyance; we were afraid that because of theft the tuyaux men might cease working. We were very fortunate, however; we knew most of the money got through, for La Dame Blanche acknowledged receipt of each sum.
Our three tuyaux functioned smoothly for almost a year; then, suddenly, the men at one of them were arrested. They had probably aroused suspicion by approaching the wire too often. We were able, however, to warn La Dame Blanche in time, so that their courier could be kept from making contact with the tuyau ,and as his identity was not known to the frontier men, no further arrests were made. The Germans captured the last batch of reports, which were at the frontier ready to be passed. This meant no direct danger to La Dame Blanche , as everything compromising was in code, but by the bulk of the reports, it warned the Germans that there was a huge organisation functioning in the interior, and this meant increased surveillance.
By far the biggest annoyance to us was the fact that most of the money had been sent in through this particular tuyau. La Dame Blanche immediately proposed to us that for the time being, they should borrow money in the interior from a banker who was one of their members. Once again, I took prompt action; without referring the matter to London, and thereby avoiding a waste of valuable time, I told them to go ahead. £30,000 was borrowed in this way before we could send money in regularly again. As with the militarisation, the chief in London, once again, helped me to fulfil my promises after the Armistice. He transferred the money to me in Brussels, in 1919, and I was able to write a cheque out to them for the sum, repaying in full the amount borrowed.
A few months before the big German offensive in 1918, La Dame Blanche added one more
We now had three independent passages at the frontier connected with La Dame Blanche , and these we safeguarded night and day. The electric wire, the German sentries, and the German Secret Police – these were the enemies we were ever watching, watching so that we could slip the reports through right under their noses. We were handicapped by the fact that at the frontier of Belgium, we were forced to use Belgian peasants of a mental capacity far inferior to our agents in the interior; the Germanswould have been suspicious of any other type, and besides, the peasants in tilling their soil, had an excuse to approach the wire. But the difficulties we faced made the game more exciting; it was a case of the fox and the hounds.
La Dame Blanche organisation was ever growing in size; like a great octopus, it was spreading its tentacles over the whole of the occupied territory, including both Belgium and France. Its need of money kept growing. The train-watchers and other agents had to be on duty night and day, and most of them had families to support. We were now sending in to La Dame Blanche about £10,000 each month, not counting the tuyaux , or men at the frontier, whom we paid separately. This money was sent in chiefly in the form of 1000-mark bills, but even in this large denomination, it meant passing 200 bills each month; this meant bulk, and bulk meant danger, when one ran the risk of being searched at any moment. There was a danger, too, of tempting the peasants at the frontiers. We were entirely in their hands: if they chose to steal the money, we had no means of redress; they could even plead innocence, blaming one of the many others through whose hands it had to pass. But the loss of the money was the least annoyance; we were afraid that because of theft the tuyaux men might cease working. We were very fortunate, however; we knew most of the money got through, for La Dame Blanche acknowledged receipt of each sum.
Our three tuyaux functioned smoothly for almost a year; then, suddenly, the men at one of them were arrested. They had probably aroused suspicion by approaching the wire too often. We were able, however, to warn La Dame Blanche in time, so that their courier could be kept from making contact with the tuyau ,and as his identity was not known to the frontier men, no further arrests were made. The Germans captured the last batch of reports, which were at the frontier ready to be passed. This meant no direct danger to La Dame Blanche , as everything compromising was in code, but by the bulk of the reports, it warned the Germans that there was a huge organisation functioning in the interior, and this meant increased surveillance.
By far the biggest annoyance to us was the fact that most of the money had been sent in through this particular tuyau. La Dame Blanche immediately proposed to us that for the time being, they should borrow money in the interior from a banker who was one of their members. Once again, I took prompt action; without referring the matter to London, and thereby avoiding a waste of valuable time, I told them to go ahead. £30,000 was borrowed in this way before we could send money in regularly again. As with the militarisation, the chief in London, once again, helped me to fulfil my promises after the Armistice. He transferred the money to me in Brussels, in 1919, and I was able to write a cheque out to them for the sum, repaying in full the amount borrowed.
A few months before the big German offensive in 1918, La Dame Blanche added one more
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