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 Tuesday 3.00-3.30 p.m |
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Vanessa Collingridge and the team answer listener’s historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all ‘make’ history. |
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Programme 3 |
16 October 2007 |
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Espionage during the Franco-Prussian war
Could a listener’s ancestor have spied for the British in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war?
Author Terry Crowdy told Making History that the Britsh at the time were not very organised and espionage was something amateurs like Baden-Powell did in their spare time, or while on holiday. It had been that way much since Elizabethan times. Our secret services were not formed until just before WWI, largely as a result of pressure to match the Germans. On the other hand the Prussians (not Germans until after the start of the Franco-Prussian war) were far in advance of anyone else in terms of espionage and had an extensive operation masterminded by Wilhelm Stieber.
Before the war in France kicked off, Stieber had infiltrated the place with thousands of agents. From that point on the German espionage service expanded to the point there was a spy mania in Britain before the Great War. It was well known that Germans worked in hotels all over Europe so they could rifle luggage of important guests. In Berlin, there was even an exclusive brothel where that allowed spies to check out on the clientele.
The level of spying during the Franco-Prussian war impacted on the French relationship with the Germans. In addition to the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, there were stories of atrocities against French partisans. German behaviour in 1914-1918 and 1940-1944 simply reinforced that opinion.
Further reading
The Enemy Within: A History of Espionage. Terry Crowdy
Osprey Publishing October 2006
ISBN 978-1-84176-933-2 (1-84176-933-9) |
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Lillian Lancaster
Antiquarian map dealer, part-time genealogist and Making History listener Rod Barron has researched Lillian Lancaster and confirmed that she was on the stage in Britain and America in the late nineteenth century. She is best remembered for singing the song “Lardy Dah” on stage in New York.
Rod told the programme that he is confident that Lillian – or Eliza as she was known – was still alive in the 1930’s. Enthused by his contribution to the programme, Rod is also preparing a website devoted to Lillian. Further information when we have it. In the meantime you can contact Rod at
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The Great Storm and the River Ouse at Newhaven
Popular wisdom has it that the River Ouse, which once entered the sea at Seaford, shifted east after the Great Storm of 1570 to allow a new harbour to develop at what we know now as Newhaven.
The late sixteenth century was a period of freak weather, often referred to as the Little Ice Ages. But, the opening up of a new cut to take the Ouse to the sea at Newhaven was not solely to do with the physical changes brought about by a natural event, but also economic and social forces that were at work locally. In particular there are two important outside forces at play: the town of Lewes inland to the north and the management of the Cinque Ports.
Seaford was effectively administered by the Cinque Ports and under its administration the channel of the Ouse at Seaford had become difficult to navigate. This was not just important to any traders at Seaford but to the more important trading centre of Lewes a few miles inland. So, when a storm swept away a shingle bar near the village of Meeching (now Newhaven) local entrepreneurs exploited the opportunity to create a cut between the sea and the Ouse – thereby by-passing Seaford and the authority of the Cinque ports. The result is a ‘ new haven’ – or Newhaven as we know it today.
Making History consulted Dr Geoff Mead at the University of Sussex and Emeritus Professor Philip Stott at the University of London. |
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Contact Making History |
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Use this link to: Email Making History
Write to: Making History
tv Radio 4
PO Box 3096
Brighton
BN1 1TU
Telephone: 08700 100400
Making History is produced by Nick Patrick and is a Pier Production
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Vanessa has presentedscience and current affairs programmes for tv, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for tv Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.