CANADA

World War II

Avery, Donald.

1.."Allied Scientific Co-operation and Soviet Espionage in Canada, 1941-45." Intelligence and National Security 8, no. 3 (Jul. 1993): 100-128.

2. "Allied Scientific Co-operation and Soviet Espionage in Canada, 1941-45." In Espionage: Past, Present, Future? ed. Wesley K. Wark, 100-128. London: Frank Cass, 1994.

Avery, Donald H. The Science of War: Canadian Scientists and Allied Military Technology during the Second World War. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.

From card catalog description: "This book explains how and why Canada was able to play in the big leagues of military technology, particularly in the development of radar, RDX explosives, proximity fuses, chemical and biological warfare, and the atomic bomb. It also investigates the evolution of the Canadian national security state, which attempted to protect defence secrets both from the Axis powers and from Canada's wartime ally, the Soviet Union."

Beeby, Dean. Cargo of Lies: The True Story of a Nazi Agent in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996.

According to Hoffman, WIR 15.3, Beeby tells the story of the relationship between the RCMP's security service and Werner Alfred Waldemar von Janowski. The Nazi agent landed in Canada from a U-boat in November 1942, and less than 12 hours later he was in custody. The RCMP sought to run Janowski as a counterintelligence double agent; and, as told by the author, showed little flair for these kinds of complicated operations. The reviewer says that "Beeby exhibits a deft touch in his telling of the story, playing it out with suspense worthy of a novel."

Booknews, 1 Jun. 1996, reports that the author "argues that the Canadian authorities were woefully unprepared for coping with a serious spy and that their mishandling of the case had long-term consequences that affected relations with their intelligence partners in the Cold War."

Bryden, John. Best-Kept Secret: Canadian Secret Intelligence in the Second World War. Toronto: Lester Publishing, 1993.

For Surveillant 3.4/5, this is a "fascinating account of Canada's involvement in ULTRA intelligence." The author chronicles the activities of a "crack team of cryptographers who were essential to the Allied war effort." Bryden is "an investigative historian."

Brown, I&NS 10.3, complains that the book suffers from "periodic gaps in logic and arguments based on emotional appeal," and the author too often "avoid[s] putting forward a strong, well-thought-out and cohesive argument." In addition, Bryden "depicts the past in absolute terms, rather than offering a complex view of history.... [H]e conveys certainty where at present there can be none." The author's "main strengths lie in his treatment of individuals; his profiles and accounts of their actions are even-handed and fair.... The one exception is his surprisingly hostile depiction of Prime Minister Mackenzie King." Bryden's "footnotes are extensive and his work is based on a good deal of original research. But, in his pursuit of a popular audience, Bryden's research is undercut by his presentation."

Despite pointing out a considerable number of errors related to cryptologic matters, Kruh, Cryptologia 19.1, concludes that the author "provides a worthwhile and comprehensive account of Canada's secret intelligence contributions in World War II with new information and interesting details."

Sexton gives Best-Kept Secret a "highly recommended" notation.

Bryden, John. Deadly Allies: Canada's Secret War, 1937-1947. Toronto: McClellan and Stewart, 1989.

Conradi, Peter. "Camp X Spy School Gave Fleming Licence to Kill." Sunday Times (London), 13 Feb. 2000. [http://www.the-times.co.uk]

Canadian film-maker Jeremy McCormack has produced a television documentary on Camp X, where British, American, and Canadian unconventional warfare training took place from 1939.

See also, Lynn-Philip Hodgson, Inside-Camp X (1999); and David Stafford, Camp X (1986).

Douglas, W.A.B. Out of the Shadows: Canada in the Second World War. Rev. ed. Toronto: Dundurn, 1995. D76815D651995

Douglas, W.A.B., and Jurgen Rohwer. "'The Most Thankless Task' Revisited: Convoys, Escorts and Radio Intelligence in the Western Atlantic 1941-1943." In The Royal Canadian Navy in Retrospect, 1910-1968, ed. James Boutilier, 187-234. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1982.

Sexton: "A case study of the impact of Communications Intelligence from all sources on Allied and German decisions and actions.... Essential reading."

Harbron, John D. The Longest Battle: The Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic, 1939-1945. St. Catherines, Ontario: Vanwell, 1993. D770H34

Hodgson, Lynn-Philip. Inside-Camp X. Toronto: Blake Books, 1999.

This SOE training base on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario was used by the British in providing some initial training for OSS secret operatives.

Hodgson maintains a Website devoted to Camp X, at http://webhome.idirect.com/~lhodgson/campx.htm. Vintage photographs and excerpts from the book are included.

See also, David Stafford, Camp X (1986).

Kelly, John Joseph. "Intelligence and Counterintelligence in German Prisoner of War Camps in Canada during World War II." Dalhousie Review 58, no. 2 (Summer 1978): 285-294.

Maclaren, Roy. Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1981.

Concerns Canadians who worked with various Allied organizations and European Resistance forces during World War II.

Murray, Gil. The Invisible War: The Untold Story of Number One Canadian Special Wireless Group. Toronto: The Dundurn Group, 2001.

Jensen, I&NS 17.3, notes that this work tells the first-hand story of the 300 members of the Number One Canadian Special Wireless Group (1CSWG), sent to Australia early in 1945. The focus of the work is on "the human dimension of the men of 1CSWG," but there is "a paucity of details of interest to the historian."

For Kruh, Cryptologia 27.2, the author "does a commendable job" telling the story of 1CSWG "until he veers off to involve other historical figures with erroneous information.... Murray has done a remarkable job of unearthing information which had been virtually buried by the Official Secrets Act.... It is a fascinating story worth your reading though the lack of an index is regrettable."

Nadler, John. A Perfect Hell: The True Story of the FSSF, Forgotten Commandos of the Second World War. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2005. A Perfect Hell: The True Story of the Black Devils, the Forefathers of the Special Forces. New York: Presidio, 2006. [pb]

DKR, AFIO WIN 5-06 (30 Jan. 2006) says that this book "tells the story of the First Special Service Force [FSSF]. Made up of volunteers from the US and Canadian armies,... [i]t participated in the assault against the German winter line in southern Italy, the defense of the Anzio beachhead, the liberation of Rome and the invasion of southern France. Its nickname, the Black Devils [Schwartzer Teufel], was conferred by the much larger German force it fought at Anzio."

For McClain, Air & Space Power Journal 21.3 (Fall 2007), this book is "[m]ore than a compilation of historical facts and figures"; it allows the reader "to sit down with the survivors" of the First Special Service Force (FSSF) "and hear their own words.... A very readable book with no discernable historical flaws, A Perfect Hell has my highest recommendation."

Page, Don. "Tommy Stone and Psychological Warfare in World War Two: Transforming a POW Liability into an Asset." Journal of Canadian Studies 16, no. 3&4 (Fall-Winter 1981): 110-120.

Phillips, Lester H. "Canada's Internal Security." Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science 12 (Feb. 1946): 18-29.

Aronson, I&NS 1.3/377/fn. 18, identifies this article as "an overview of Canada's wartime internal security regulations."

Southworth, Samuel A., ed. Great Raids in History: From Drake to Desert One. New York: Sarpedon Publishers, 1997.

Eggenberger, History 26.2, finds that "[o]n the whole,... the stories are well done and make for interesting reading." Included in the 19 raids discussed are Lawrence of Arabia, Otto Skorzeny, the Canadians at Dieppe, the Chindits in Burma, and the U.S. hostage-rescue raids on Son Tay and in Iran. Additionally, in a concluding chapter on the future of such raids, the Israeli raid at Entebbe is "well discussed."

Stafford, David. Camp X: Canada's School for Secret Agents, 1941-45. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986. Harmondsworth: Viking/Penguin, 1986. Camp X: SOE and the American Connection. New York: Didd, Meda, 1986.

Clark comment: Stafford provides a scholarly account of this SOE training base on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario, which was used by the British in providing some initial training for OSS secret operatives.

Charles, I&NS 15.2, finds Camp X to be a "well-researched account" of the secret training base. Stafford also "corrects much of the mythology surrounding British intelligence in the Americas promoted by Stevenson's A Man Called Intrepid."

See also Lynn-Philip Hodgson, Inside-Camp X (1999).

Wark, Wesley K. "Cryptographic Innocence: The Origins of Signals Intelligence in Canada in the Second World War." Journal of Contemporary History 22, no. 4 (Oct. 1987): 639-665.

Among other aspects of the beginning of signals intelligence in Canada, this article examines the role played by Herbert Yardley in establishing the Examination Unit.

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