THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Man Who Never Was is a 1954 book by Ewen Montagu and a 1956 2nd World War war film based on the book. It is about Operation 'Mincemeat', a 1943 British Intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking Operation 'Husky', the Allied invasion of Sicily, would take place elsewhere.

The film starred Clifton Webb as Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu. Operation 'Mincemeat' involved the acquisition of a human cadaver, dressing it as a 'Major Martin' and putting it into the sea near Huelva, Spain. Attached to the corpse was a brief-case containing fake letters stating that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece. When the body was found, pro-German Spaniards passed the papers to the German Intelligence Service who passed them on to their High Command. The ruse was so successful that the Germans thought Sardinia and Greece were the intended objectives weeks after the landings in Sicily had begun.

The real name of the person/body remained secret, but in 1997 it was believed that he was a homeless Welsh alcoholic named Glyndwr Michael. The report was found to be inaccurate because the family that provided the body did so under one condition, that his identity never be revealed. The body was buried as Major Martin in a cemetery in Huelva, Spain.