Recorded to have been taken from the morgue in London on April 17, 1943, Michael’s body was taken overnight to Holy Loch in Scotland and loaded on the submarine HMS Seraph, which left for Spain two days later. Major Martin’s body was released from the submarine on April 30 and sailed for Huelva to be found the same day.
At this point, questions about the official account begin to arise. The first came from Lieutenant Norman Jewel, commander of HMS Seraph, the last person to see “Major Martin” as he responded when the body was released into the sea. Much later, after retiring, Jewel told Navy News: “I do not believe the allegations about the identity of the body.
His opinion is derived from some strange but indisputable facts. On the one hand, when he was given the task of Operation Cream, HMS Seraph was in Blythe, Northumberland. She then toured the north of Scotland to Holly Loch to meet the body of Major Martin, who had apparently been taken north of London by Montague.
Why was this necessary? Taking it from any military port in the south of England would shorten Seraph’s voyage and eliminate the need for a risky voyage to Montague.
In addition, official reports say that Michael’s body was used in the early stages of preparations for Operation Cream and was placed in refrigerated storage for many weeks in London. But there must have been real concern that any semi-decent autopsy of the body in Spain would show that he had not drowned recently and was not a fit serviceman.
Indeed, according to Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the eminent pathologist, the body is said to have reached the limit of its “shelf life” in the tomb. And Michael had died from consuming rat poison, which the Germans might find out.
Initially, the operation did not have access to a man who had just drowned and was young and healthy, so Montague’s men may have decided to risk using their Welshman. Then the opportunity arose. On March 27, 1943, the escort carrier HMS Dasher exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde, killing 379 people. The news was cut off immediately, so neither the Germans nor the British were aware.
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