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‘What Lies Beneath’: the story of the spymasters and the secret listeners at Latimer House
While the world was gripped by the terror of the Second World War and the possibility of invasion by the enemy loomed like storm clouds on the horizon, the men and women of the British Secret Service were working tirelessly and invisibly to break the enemy’s spirit; to crack their codes, get under their skin and learn their secrets. One such location for their efforts was an elegant manor house; seemingly unassuming, yet highly-classified, nestled in the quiet countryside of Buckinghamshire.
The residents of this manor house were not British aristocrats or wealthy landowners. They were MI6 staff whose sole objective was to coax high-ranking German prisoners into spilling their secrets. Prisoners who were oblivious to the fact that they were nothing more than unwitting pawns in a grand deception. This is the true story of De Vere Latimer Estate - a luxury hotel today, but a pivotal secret weapon in World War II.
The work carried out at Latimer House has now been recognised by Historic England as being “on a par with the code-breaking at Bletchley Park for the outcome of the war.”
The movie
What Lies Beneath
De Vere invited historian Dr Helen Fry to tell the story of the role Latimer House played in helping to end the war. Join Helen as she is granted exclusive access to the former prison cells underneath the building, usually closed to the public.
The resulting film paints a fascinating picture of what life was like at this most secret of houses and reveals exactly ‘what lies beneath’…
The key figures
The driving force
Latimer House was under the command of MI6 spymaster, Thomas Kendrick, who oversaw the installation of state-of-the-art microphones and recording equipment in the fixtures and fittings of the house and the cells - and even the trees and bushes.
Kendrick’s officer, Ian Munro, posed as ‘Lord Aberfeldy’: a fake aristocrat who would befriend the highest-ranking German prisoners and lavish them with fine food and drink. Eventually their guard was dropped and they would spill vital secrets and snippets of information, which were recorded by the hidden microphones.
Photos L-R: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Kendrick; Intelligence Officer Ian Munro (AKA ‘Lord Aberfeldy’
The listeners
In order to understand and translate what the microphones were picking up, Colonel Kendrick employed the services of a team of secret listeners, made up largely of German-Jewish refugees who had fled Germany in the early stages of war.
Among them was Fritz Lustig, who, along with his compatriots listened to the conversations of 10,000 German prisoners, 24 hours a day in 12 hour shifts. Between them they amassed more than 74,000 transcripts of conversations which were eventually declassified in 1999.
Photos L-R: Covert listener, Fritz Lustig; Latimer House during WW2 (note the temporary MOD buildings on the lawn)
The prisoners
The German prisoners of war who passed through Latimer House included some of Germany’s most senior generals and high-ranking commanders. It was even rumoured that Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess was held there for a while.
The generals were entrusted by Hitler to protect Germany’s secrets, but to the hidden microphones they gave up information on the secret weapon programme (V-1 and V-2). These conversations led to the bombing of Peenemünde on the Baltic coast in August 1943, without which Germany could have won the war.
Photos L-R: Captured German generals arriving in England; The V1 (Doodlebug) flying bomb; SS Obergruppenführer Rudolf Hess
Helen Fry biog
Meet Dr Helen Fry
A highly-accomplished author and historian, with a particular interest in the 10,000 Germans and Austrians who fought for Britain during World War II, Dr Fry is an expert on the ‘Secret Listeners’ and has extensive knowledge in 20th-century spies and espionage.
Helen’s years of exhaustive research on the subject of ‘Spymaster’ Thomas Kendrick coupled with a determination to unravel the secrets of the highly-classified work carried out at Latimer House have been documented in her acclaimed book, Spymaster: The Man Who Saved MI6.
Behind the scenes
"What you are doing here is as important as fighting on the front line or firing a gun in action"
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Kendrick’s words to Fritz Lustig on his first day at Latimer House