User talk:Stetsonharry/Draft

This is a draft of a possible article on Col. AP Scotland, who was the supposed model for the lead character of The Two-Headed Spy. What I find interesting about Scotland is that he clearly was not the lead character for this very interesting war movie. Scotland is notable in his own right as commandant of "The London Cage," which came into notoriety in recent years as a precursor to the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

I am going to get ahold of a copy of the book, and won't make this a "live" article until I can do so, because what is out there so far on this man is just too thin. --Stetsonharry (talk) 23:09, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The book may fill in some of the blanks, meanwhile:


 * On 11 July 1916 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant "for special duty" having previously been a private in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps. (I rather suspect this means he had an intelligence role in WWI too, the connection with the Inns of Court may suggest that he was, or was training as a barrister, so he would have had experience of questioning witnesses and so on)
 * He was appointed a Staff Lieutenant 3rd Class on 15 August 1916.
 * On 27 May 1917, Staff Lieutenant 1st Class and (slightly confusingly), promoted temporary captain with the same date
 * He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 1 January 1918, the only details are the catch all "The KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following promotions in and appointments to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for valuable services rendered in connection with military operations in France and Flanders". The actual entry for Scotland is on page 10, his middlename is (mis?-)spelled Patterson here.
 * He "relinquishe[d] his appointment" on 4 January 1919, and reverted to second lieutenant. However, he was then demobbed with the same effective date, and granted the rank of captain.
 * On 16 April 1940 "Capt. Alexander Paterson SCOTLAND, O.B.E. (127896), late Spec[ial] List." was re-commissioned as a second lieutenant on the General List.
 * Effective 15 July 1940, he was transferred to the Intelligence Corps.
 * On 14 February 1946 he was awarded the US Bronze Star Medal for his prisoner interrogation work, and enhancing US/UK cooperation, the full citation is available online, (I actually have free access), and this is confirmed in a free source on 25 September 1947 (the bare fact of the award only).
 * There are also various papers which name him in the catalogue description of records held at The National Archives, see I get the impression he may have gone off with a view of his secret files after the war, and got in a a bit of trouble.  David Underdown (talk) 12:14, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Found some more in the archives of The Times:


 * Prior to WWI he worked for South African Territories (Limited) a British company based in German South-West Africa (now Namibia), and as a result became fluent in German. He remained there after the outbreak of war, and as a result was interned until the capture of the territory by British Empire forces on 6 July 1915.  During the time he was interned, his employer did not pay his salary, though he was still able to do a certain amount to protect their interests, so in 1917 he brought a case in the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice attempting to recover these monies.  He lost, largely because of the laws against trading with the enemy.
 * After WWII he did indeed get in a bit of trouble. He wrote his autobiography entitled The London Cage, but the War Office denied him permission to publish on the grounds it breached the Official Secrets Act. On 8 February 1955, officers of the police Special Branch visite dhis home with a warrant and took back the files he had taken with him at the end of the war, though he stated that none were officially classified.
 * There was also a very brief obituary published following his death, no dob is given though his date of death is 3 July 1965 (aged 82, putting his birth in the latter part of 1882). It confirms that he worked in Intelligence during WWI too, specialising in interrogating POWs, due to the fluency in German he acquired in German SW Africa.  It also states that his autobiogrpahy was eventually published in 1955, but with all references to "The London Cage" deleted (it's not clear what the book was then entitled).  The book apparently described his work as an interrogator, and as a witness in the war crimes trials following WWII.

David Underdown (talk) 14:39, 9 January 2009 (UTC)


 * That's outstanding! Thanks so very much. I think that I can probably begin the article even before getting the book, thanks to all this great work. Stetsonharry (talk) 15:07, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

One more,  This describes how Scotland actaully served with the German Army in German SW Africa in the very early 1900s, chekcing back, this is also supported by 'The Times obit given above. It describes a bit more about his book as well, and what actually went on at the London Cage (linking it back to the documents at The National Archives). David Underdown (talk) 17:19, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

I just got ahold of The London Cage and I must say that my hat is off to the late Col. Scotland: he certainly knew how to conceal! The book is written in such a vague fashion that it's hard to pick up much straightforward, believable information from it. The book contains very little about his war years, only limited biographical information, and reading it is truly an exercise in frustration! There is a notation at the beginning which states that the War Office does not vouch for the accuracy of the facts in the book. Can't blame them. I see that he was a Lieutenant Colonel. Stetsonharry (talk) 19:18, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * To an extent I think he was forced to be vague since the War Office wouldn't let him publish his original draft. Various of the links above make it clear he was a Lt-Col, though they are often, by courtesy, simply addressed as colonel.  David Underdown (talk) 20:55, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, I'm sure that's what happened. OK, I am going to start the article now as Alexander Scotland. Stetsonharry (talk) 21:58, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * No, I take that back. Not quite out of the sandbox stage yet. Stetsonharry (talk) 22:11, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Thanks to all who helped. Article is now at Alexander Scotland. One interesting thing I discovered in reading London Cage was that despite all the hoopla in 2005 about the "newly discovered War Office documents" and so on, the torture allegations were really old hat and were dealt with in some detail in London Cage. Whether Scotland's denials were honest is another matter. Also Scotland firmly deals with the nonsense about his being on the German General Staff, yet he makes no mention of a movie in which he was technical advisor making that claim! Stetsonharry (talk) 18:18, 17 January 2009 (UTC)