Unsolved Taman Shud Case - The Somerton Man

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At least they gave him ginger hair on the cover, because the so called autopsy photo was not him, in my opinion. Has his ears though and the from the Inquest it was stated that the taxidermist that made the bust, made a separate copy of his ears.
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Image from the bust of Somerton man and artist impression from bust below.
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This was an interesting short summary, but someone looking into Jestyn (Jesssica's) past in England and whether there was a connection between her and Otis Pierce who also spent a lot of time in England with his ballet friend, and whether Otis Pierce that toured Australia with Ballet Russe is the same person as Otis Norton Pierce would be excellent.
 
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The interview with Jessica Harkness and Prosper Thompson's daughter gives her first hand opinion that her Mum spoke Russian and was a former spy. Also it's known who the SM is but by "people higher up than the police".

So if there was a cover up it's been over 70 years. You'd think if this was the case, information could now be released? Three could possibly be reasons why the information is still classified, if so.

I found the picture of Jestyn in a ballet type pose with very pronounced calves for a female at the time maybe suggests she was into ballet (in England?) and a reason why she encouraged her son Robyn, into that profession.

From the Ch 9, 60 minutes interview.
719001
 

petedavo

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The interview with Jessica Harkness and Prosper Thompson's daughter gives her first hand opinion that her Mum spoke Russian and was a former spy. Also it's known who the SM is but by "people higher up than the police".

So if there was a cover up it's been over 70 years. You'd think if this was the case, information could now be released? Three could possibly be reasons why the information is still classified, if so.

I found the picture of Jestyn in a ballet type pose with very pronounced calves for a female at the time maybe suggests she was into ballet (in England?) and a reason why she encouraged her son Robyn, into that profession.

From the Ch 9, 60 minutes interview.
View attachment 719001
A local newspaper at the time of the 60 minutes story did a write up. Contains lots of minor details.

For instance»
ON November 30, 1948 an unknown man arrives in Adelaide on a one-way train ticket.

He buys another one-way ticket to Henley Beach and leaves his suitcase at the Adelaide Railway Station.

He doesn't take the train, instead crosses North Terrace and takes a bus to Henley Beach.

He's seen knocking on the door of nurse Jessica Thomson's Moseley St, Somerton Park, home that afternoon.

She does not answer and he walks towards Somerton Beach.

His dead body is found propped up against a seawall at 6.45am on December 1.

In his pockets were a used bus ticket, an unused rail ticket from the city to Henley Beach, a narrow aluminium American comb, a half-empty packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, an Army Club cigarette packet containing Kensitas cigarettes, and a quarter-full box of Bryant & May matches.

A half-smoked cigarette was balanced on his shirt collar.

A post-mortem revealed a fit man with broad shoulders, toned legs and a healthy heart. The pathologist suspected an exotic poison, but no trace was found.

On January 14, 1949 an unclaimed suitcase believed to be his - is found in Adelaide Railway Station's cloakroom.

Among items inside were a red checked dressing gown, slippers, underpants, pyjamas, shaving items, trousers, a screwdriver, knife and scissors. A coat had a front gusset and stitching only used on garments made in the US.

On April, 1949 police find a tiny piece of rolled-up paper with the words "Tamam Shud", meaning "it is finished" found in a fob pocket sewn within the dead man's trouser pocket. A doctor comes forward, saying it was torn from a copy of the book The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - which was thrown into his car, parked at Somerton Beach, on the night of November 30.

This led to claims the man could have been a Soviet spy but supposed codes in the book were never able to be deciphered.

On June, 1949 a coronial inquest is unable to determine cause of death and an open finding is delivered. The man is buried at West Tce Cemetery.

In October 2011, the South Australian Attorney-General, John Rau, denied a request for exhumation.



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petedavo

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Had a hunt around to see if there's anything interesting about Kensitas cigarettes that could be useful.
They were an imported brand from the UK.
They were more expensive than local brands.
There was a large quantity stolen and on the black market in 1945.
ed87c920fedff88ee605033c6a6bbb9a.jpg
7d5fd21d8f5532ef435504a68eff24eb.jpg


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Had a hunt around to see if there's anything interesting about Kensitas cigarettes that could be useful.
They were an imported brand from the UK.
They were more expensive than local brands.
There was a large quantity stolen and on the black market in 1945.
ed87c920fedff88ee605033c6a6bbb9a.jpg
7d5fd21d8f5532ef435504a68eff24eb.jpg


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Should have held onto the cigarettes for a few decades and then sold for huge profits. Would be worth a fortune now.
 

petedavo

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Should have held onto the cigarettes for a few decades and then sold for huge profits. Would be worth a fortune now.
Both brands of cigarettes that the Somerton man were found with were readily available in Australia. The cheaper one, made in Victoria more so. Therefore we cannot readily ascertain his point of origin just from the cigarettes. Some of the other gear in his suitcase could be worth tracking back through.

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petedavo

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Both brands of cigarettes that the Somerton man were found with were readily available in Australia. The cheaper one, made in Victoria more so. Therefore we cannot readily ascertain his point of origin just from the cigarettes. Some of the other gear in his suitcase could be worth tracking back through.

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What's not in the suitcase?
No passport.
No Travel documents, no return ticket.
No cigarettes.
Not enough clothes for a protracted stay nor journey.

Need to check list of contents for
Toothbrush

Possibly a bigger bag was left at a hotel?

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What's not in the suitcase?
No passport.
No Travel documents, no return ticket.
No cigarettes.
Not enough clothes for a protracted stay nor journey.

Need to check list of contents for
Toothbrush

Possibly a bigger bag was left at a hotel?

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Don't think anyone had passports those days, with ships and airplane logs being official records or travel and people entering and exiting countries.

No socks. Although a suitcase full of socks was found later dropped off in sand dunes by a young boy on a motorbike.

What was in the suitcase found were implements that could be used to make ballet flats (dancing shoes) as demonstrated by a you tube video. The Ballet Russe were apparently run on a shoestring and dancers often made their own flats.

The tie stripes were angled which was peculiar to American manufacture, not English or Australian (opposite direction). The stitching in his coat that was found in the suitcase was also traced back to an American tailor.

However as Pete Bowles said the girl that spoke to him, that worked at a hotel near the railway station (he may have been there for a day or two) said something about the way he talked that suggested an accent, not American but German or Russian?

It's also tragic that the local Keith Waldemar Magnoson said he recognised the Somerton man from 1939, and on 1st June 1949 about a week before the Inquest on Somerton man he was found seriously injured and his infant son dead from un natural means. Magnoson served in the war and it's possible he actually recognised SM from interactions then.

I think it's obvious there was a cover up not long after SM discovery and in the Inquest. The photo that is commonly shown to be SM does not match his description that was given by police and in the Inquest by the taxidermist (who talked about to bodies in his notes on the case) with the gingery blonde hair and light grey/blue eyes being different. The physical bust image matches the written description and I believe is an accurate representation of what he looked like.

This hair combined with his unusual ears and hypodontia (12 teeth naturally missing?) shouldn't have been too difficult to find the identity.

Also the police photographer's statement at the inquest he says on December 3rd 1948 he took photos of the writing on the deceased and produced two copies (exhibits C 7 and C 8) the piece of paper found on the deceased which he produced copies of. If this is the code writing and the Taman Shud printed on the piece of paper then it was a lie to say it was found at a later date.

He said he was pointed to a body and told it had been found on Somerton beach which he took photos of (the ones I don't think were of the real SM, and I note he never says this was the body only that he was told it was).

Being associated, or taking the identity of someone associated with a Ballet group that traveled the world would be a great cover for a spy. Possible that Jestyn knew SM from England before coming to Australia. The Russian or Communist influence with Jestyn knowing the language and Adelaide being a stronghold of the Communist party thanks to Elliot Johnson suggests this man was either with them or against them and up to some clandestine activity.


721822

Actual SM hair from the plaster used in making the bust of SM
721823

721829

Mangnoson family

On 6 June 1949, the body of two-year-old Clive Mangnoson was found in a sack in the Largs Bay sand hills, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) up the coast from Somerton. Lying next to him was his unconscious father, Keith Waldemar Mangnoson. The father was taken to a hospital in a very weak condition, suffering from exposure; following a medical examination, he was transferred to a mental hospital. The Mangnosons had been missing for four days. The police believed that Clive had been dead for twenty-four hours when his body was found. The two were found by Neil McRae of Largs Bay, who claimed he had seen the location of the two in a dream the night before. The coroner could not determine the young Mangnoson's cause of death, although it was not believed to be natural causes. The contents of the boy's stomach were sent to a government analyst for further examination.

Following the death, the boy's mother, Roma Mangnoson, reported having been threatened by a masked man, who, while driving a battered cream car, almost ran her down outside her home in Cheapside Street, Largs North. Mrs Mangnoson stated that "the car stopped and a man with a khaki handkerchief over his face told her to 'keep away from the police or else.'" Additionally a similar-looking man had been recently seen lurking around the house. Mrs. Mangnoson believed that this situation was related to her husband's attempt to identify the Somerton Man, believing him to be Carl Thompsen, who had worked with him in Renmark in 1939. Soon after being interviewed by police over her harassment, Mrs. Mangnoson collapsed and required medical treatment.

J. M. Gower, secretary of the Largs North Progress Association received anonymous phone calls threatening that Mrs. Mangnoson would meet with an accident if he interfered while A. H. Curtis, the acting mayor of Port Adelaide received three anonymous phone calls threatening "an accident" if he "stuck his nose into the Mangnoson affair". Police suspect the calls may be a hoax and the caller may be the same person who also terrorised a woman in a nearby suburb who had recently lost her husband in tragic circumstances.

 

petedavo

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Don't think anyone had passports those days, with ships and airplane logs being official records or travel and people entering and exiting countries.

No socks. Although a suitcase full of socks was found later dropped off in sand dunes by a young boy on a motorbike.

What was in the suitcase found were implements that could be used to make ballet flats (dancing shoes) as demonstrated by a you tube video. The Ballet Russe were apparently run on a shoestring and dancers often made their own flats.

The tie stripes were angled which was peculiar to American manufacture, not English or Australian (opposite direction). The stitching in his coat that was found in the suitcase was also traced back to an American tailor.

However as Pete Bowles said the girl that spoke to him, that worked at a hotel near the railway station (he may have been there for a day or two) said something about the way he talked that suggested an accent, not American but German or Russian?

It's also tragic that the local Keith Waldemar Magnoson said he recognised the Somerton man from 1939, and on 1st June 1949 about a week before the Inquest on Somerton man he was found seriously injured and his infant son dead from un natural means. Magnoson served in the war and it's possible he actually recognised SM from interactions then.

I think it's obvious there was a cover up not long after SM discovery and in the Inquest. The photo that is commonly shown to be SM does not match his description that was given by police and in the Inquest by the taxidermist (who talked about to bodies in his notes on the case) with the gingery blonde hair and light grey/blue eyes being different. The physical bust image matches the written description and I believe is an accurate representation of what he looked like.

This hair combined with his unusual ears and hypodontia (12 teeth naturally missing?) shouldn't have been too difficult to find the identity.

Also the police photographer's statement at the inquest he says on December 3rd 1948 he took photos of the writing on the deceased and produced two copies (exhibits C 7 and C 8) the piece of paper found on the deceased which he produced copies of. If this is the code writing and the Taman Shud printed on the piece of paper then it was a lie to say it was found at a later date.

He said he was pointed to a body and told it had been found on Somerton beach which he took photos of (the ones I don't think were of the real SM, and I note he never says this was the body only that he was told it was).

Being associated, or taking the identity of someone associated with a Ballet group that traveled the world would be a great cover for a spy. Possible that Jestyn knew SM from England before coming to Australia. The Russian or Communist influence with Jestyn knowing the language and Adelaide being a stronghold of the Communist party thanks to Elliot Johnson suggests this man was either with them or against them and up to some clandestine activity.


View attachment 721822
Actual SM hair from the plaster used in making the bust of SM
View attachment 721823
View attachment 721829
Mangnoson family

On 6 June 1949, the body of two-year-old Clive Mangnoson was found in a sack in the Largs Bay sand hills, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) up the coast from Somerton. Lying next to him was his unconscious father, Keith Waldemar Mangnoson. The father was taken to a hospital in a very weak condition, suffering from exposure; following a medical examination, he was transferred to a mental hospital. The Mangnosons had been missing for four days. The police believed that Clive had been dead for twenty-four hours when his body was found. The two were found by Neil McRae of Largs Bay, who claimed he had seen the location of the two in a dream the night before. The coroner could not determine the young Mangnoson's cause of death, although it was not believed to be natural causes. The contents of the boy's stomach were sent to a government analyst for further examination.

Following the death, the boy's mother, Roma Mangnoson, reported having been threatened by a masked man, who, while driving a battered cream car, almost ran her down outside her home in Cheapside Street, Largs North. Mrs Mangnoson stated that "the car stopped and a man with a khaki handkerchief over his face told her to 'keep away from the police or else.'" Additionally a similar-looking man had been recently seen lurking around the house. Mrs. Mangnoson believed that this situation was related to her husband's attempt to identify the Somerton Man, believing him to be Carl Thompsen, who had worked with him in Renmark in 1939. Soon after being interviewed by police over her harassment, Mrs. Mangnoson collapsed and required medical treatment.

J. M. Gower, secretary of the Largs North Progress Association received anonymous phone calls threatening that Mrs. Mangnoson would meet with an accident if he interfered while A. H. Curtis, the acting mayor of Port Adelaide received three anonymous phone calls threatening "an accident" if he "stuck his nose into the Mangnoson affair". Police suspect the calls may be a hoax and the caller may be the same person who also terrorised a woman in a nearby suburb who had recently lost her husband in tragic circumstances.

I'm also interested in Jestyn's movements in Malaya.
I don't believe that the assassination of Sir Henry Gurney was by "pure luck" as Chin Peng later claimed.

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I'm also interested in Jestyn's movements in Malaya.
I don't believe that the assassination of Sir Henry Gurney was by "pure luck" as Chin Peng later claimed.

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That's interesting, are you saying she visited Malaya?

George Marshall was found dead, supposedly by poisoning, clutching a copy of The Rubaiyat on a parkbench close to the hospital where Jessica was working in Sydney in 1945.

He was the brother of a David Marshall first Chief Minister of Singapore 1955 - 1956. Instrumental in negotiations that lead to the independence of Malaya.
 

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That's interesting, are you saying she visited Malaya?

George Marshall was found dead, supposedly by poisoning, clutching a copy of The Rubaiyat on a parkbench close to the hospital where Jessica was working in Sydney in 1945.

He was the brother of a David Marshall first Chief Minister of Singapore 1955 - 1956. Instrumental in negotiations that lead to the independence of Malaya.
Yes.
She even appears in archival pictures in that 60 minutes story pictured in one of those bicycle taxis in KL with her kids.
The hit on Gurney has all the hallmarks of a well planned and timed interception. Someone was feeding Chin Peng's party intelligence to enable this to happen IMO.
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petedavo

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Now for something a little different.

Tom Keane 29 Salisbury Rd, Newport Victoria.



Champion tennis player by the same name, noted as playing with the Williamstown Tennis Club. Not missing. Could be more than one Tom Keane in that neck of the woods though.
4e88221bcdf8d1043858bf28dd4233ed.jpg
088be5cbddf98a9d5a090373aa3ded53.jpg
467fedd826f2ae1acda7e88080c7ae74.jpg
View attachment 121-708-2-PB.pdf

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petedavo

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Now for something a little different.

Tom Keane 29 Salisbury Rd, Newport Victoria.



Champion tennis player by the same name, noted as playing with the Williamstown Tennis Club. Not missing. Could be more than one Tom Keane in that neck of the woods though.
4e88221bcdf8d1043858bf28dd4233ed.jpg
088be5cbddf98a9d5a090373aa3ded53.jpg
467fedd826f2ae1acda7e88080c7ae74.jpg
View attachment 722132

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As far as I can tell, it would seem unlikely for this Tom Keane, from 29 Salisbury Rd, Newport to ever crossed paths with Jestyn.

27 Jul 1945 - RAIL-WORKER'S STORY - Sunshine Advocate (Vic. : 1924 - 1954) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74736087 via @TroveAustralia
70f92b01ab2558048ca8afe70c236058.jpg


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The communism question is interesting as after WW2 ended, the Soviet Communist threat was regarded by the western world as being worse than Nazi Germany and many war criminals.

Reinhard Gehlen was a major general in the German army and in charge of intelligence on the Russian Front during WW2. When the war is Europe ended he buried all his intelligence files against the Soviet Union and surrendered to the Americans. He was taken to USA and convinced the Americans that the communist Russians were more of a threat to the west than the Germans were. They believed him and employed him, supported by a group which was the precursor to the C_A in a spying network against the Soviet Union.

He went back to Germany dug up his intelligence files and the cold war against communism started to take hold around the end of 1945.

He was thought to have helped hundreds of German and other enemy soldiers and war criminals like Josef Mengele escape to South America and other countries like Australia. He also helped hundreds of German scientists move to USA in Operation Paperclip where they worked on the American rocket science programme.

To be a communist in the western world in 1948 would have been untenable for most unless you kept this information well hidden. However this didn't appear to hurt Elliot Johnson in Adelaide. He joined the Communist Party in 1941 and in 1949 started his own law firm with what was said to have been a 50,000 pound load from the Communist Party. He also bought a nice house and a flash car and the loan was eventually forgiven and he didn't pay any back.

He toured Leningrad and Moscow in 1950 and in 1951 he gave up work to become a full time communist organiser. He studied in China for 7 months from Aug 1956. He returned to the law in 1957 and after being initially rejected was appointed a QC in 1970. He was a proud Communist Party member and activist until he resigned in 1983 because he was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of SA.

Jessica whom her daughter though was a Russian spy and could speak the language went to Adelaide in early 1947 after leaving her parents in Mentone Victoria to have live and give birth to her son Robyn in July 1947 as a single mother. Prosper Thompson and his wife had originally lived in Mentone but sometime in late 1947 they had moved to Adelaide. Jessica changed her last name to Thomson but he and Jessica are not married until May 1950 some months after he divorces his wife. I don't think they were living together in Adelaide.

Did Jessica move to Adelaide because of a strong communist group there headed by Elliot Johnson?

Was Elliot Johnson really a communist or was he working for ASIO which formed not long after SM was discovered?

Or was Elliot Johnson able to function as a active and committed card carrying communist because of some secret he knew which allowed him to behave with impunity and rise in the law to QC and supreme court judge?

Did EJ and Jessica participate in the death of SM and know his identity?

Who paid EJ 50,000 pounds in 1949 which he spent on a big house flash car and starting his law firm?

Was the coroner Thomas Erskine Cleland also a communist as he represented communists in other matters?
 

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The communism question is interesting as after WW2 ended, the Soviet Communist threat was regarded by the western world as being worse than Nazi Germany and many war criminals.

Reinhard Gehlen was a major general in the German army and in charge of intelligence on the Russian Front during WW2. When the war is Europe ended he buried all his intelligence files against the Soviet Union and surrendered to the Americans. He was taken to USA and convinced the Americans that the communist Russians were more of a threat to the west than the Germans were. They believed him and employed him, supported by a group which was the precursor to the C_A in a spying network against the Soviet Union.

He went back to Germany dug up his intelligence files and the cold war against communism started to take hold around the end of 1945.

He was thought to have helped hundreds of German and other enemy soldiers and war criminals like Josef Mengele escape to South America and other countries like Australia. He also helped hundreds of German scientists move to USA in Operation Paperclip where they worked on the American rocket science programme.

To be a communist in the western world in 1948 would have been untenable for most unless you kept this information well hidden. However this didn't appear to hurt Elliot Johnson in Adelaide. He joined the Communist Party in 1941 and in 1949 started his own law firm with what was said to have been a 50,000 pound load from the Communist Party. He also bought a nice house and a flash car and the loan was eventually forgiven and he didn't pay any back.

He toured Leningrad and Moscow in 1950 and in 1951 he gave up work to become a full time communist organiser. He studied in China for 7 months from Aug 1956. He returned to the law in 1957 and after being initially rejected was appointed a QC in 1970. He was a proud Communist Party member and activist until he resigned in 1983 because he was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of SA.

Jessica whom her daughter though was a Russian spy and could speak the language went to Adelaide in early 1947 after leaving her parents in Mentone Victoria to have live and give birth to her son Robyn in July 1947 as a single mother. Prosper Thompson and his wife had originally lived in Mentone but sometime in late 1947 they had moved to Adelaide. Jessica changed her last name to Thomson but he and Jessica are not married until May 1950 some months after he divorces his wife. I don't think they were living together in Adelaide.

Did Jessica move to Adelaide because of a strong communist group there headed by Elliot Johnson?

Was Elliot Johnson really a communist or was he working for ASIO which formed not long after SM was discovered?

Or was Elliot Johnson able to function as a active and committed card carrying communist because of some secret he knew which allowed him to behave with impunity and rise in the law to QC and supreme court judge?

Did EJ and Jessica participate in the death of SM and know his identity?

Who paid EJ 50,000 pounds in 1949 which he spent on a big house flash car and starting his law firm?

Was the coroner Thomas Erskine Cleland also a communist as he represented communists in other matters?
Espionage and spying gets complicated. Adelaide was a hotbed of Nazis, the IRA and communism prior to the war breaking out. The Nazis were promptly rounded up and interned, with a few notable Nazis going on the lam and being caught hiding out. The IRA played both sides, for their desire was to get British army out of Northern Ireland.
Whilst the Americans were using former Nazis, it was a different kettle of fish in Asia. Jim Thompson stayed in Thailand and made Silk ties, but the Americans and British were facing a real potential for China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Malaya, and Thailand to all turn into communist countries. China eventually did in 1949 driving out the Fascist KMT to Taiwan. The first CIA black ops were a bombing campaign in Indonesia with former USAF liberators. Whilst British were conducting anti insurgency operations in Malaya. Thompson was called back into service to get the CIA network up and running from Thailand. Australia took most of the White Russian Army refugees from Hubei. Indeed many of these were Ukrainian and I went to school with a bunch of kids whose grandfathers were officers in the White Russian Army. Many of those refugees would've been invaluable source for the newly formed western intelligence agencies, but just as likely to be easily infiltrated by the Soviets. Talking of which, the Soviets ran a very successful spy ring in Japan preceding the war. The Soviet spy master was then sent to Australia, and he must've done well, because he was then sent to the USA in the late 40's. If it were for the Verona intercepts we would've still been in the dark about it today, however at least four members of the Australian spy ring have never yet to this day been identified. We only know this because of the number of code names is four more than the total number of moles that had been doxxed.
It appears that everywhere that Jestyn has been, interesting deaths have occurred.

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Espionage and spying gets complicated. Adelaide was a hotbed of Nazis, the IRA and communism prior to the war breaking out. The Nazis were promptly rounded up and interned, with a few notable Nazis going on the lam and being caught hiding out. The IRA played both sides, for their desire was to get British army out of Northern Ireland.
Whilst the Americans were using former Nazis, it was a different kettle of fish in Asia. Jim Thompson stayed in Thailand and made Silk ties, but the Americans and British were facing a real potential for China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Malaya, and Thailand to all turn into communist countries. China eventually did in 1949 driving out the Fascist KMT to Taiwan. The first CIA black ops were a bombing campaign in Indonesia with former USAF liberators. Whilst British were conducting anti insurgency operations in Malaya. Thompson was called back into service to get the CIA network up and running from Thailand. Australia took most of the White Russian Army refugees from Hubei. Indeed many of these were Ukrainian and I went to school with a bunch of kids whose grandfathers were officers in the White Russian Army. Many of those refugees would've been invaluable source for the newly formed western intelligence agencies, but just as likely to be easily infiltrated by the Soviets. Talking of which, the Soviets ran a very successful spy ring in Japan preceding the war. The Soviet spy master was then sent to Australia, and he must've done well, because he was then sent to the USA in the late 40's. If it were for the Verona intercepts we would've still been in the dark about it today, however at least four members of the Australian spy ring have never yet to this day been identified. We only know this because of the number of code names is four more than the total number of moles that had been doxxed.
It appears that everywhere that Jestyn has been, interesting deaths have occurred.

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I hadn't heard about Nazi's running off to Adelaide before the war and thought most of those interned during were innocents who'd escaped the regimens in their countries before WW2.

However there is a lot of evidence of secret goings on to support SM was a spy and this was a cover up. It's harder to figure out who he could have been spying for and who could have poisoned him? There is an interesting money trial to follow as well.

I don't think it's a co-incidence that ASIO, 16th Mar 1949, formed only months after SM was discovered dead. C_A was formed Sept 18th 1947 taking over from the OSS which was their wartime intelligence service.

English spies all over Malaya during WW2 and after influencing politics in the region.

The ODESSA is an American codename coined in 1946 for a possible Nazi underground escape plan at the end of World War II by a group of SS officers with the aim of facilitating secret escape routes.
 

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I hadn't heard about Nazi's running off to Adelaide before the war and thought most of those interned during were innocents who'd escaped the regimens in their countries before WW2.

However there is a lot of evidence of secret goings on to support SM was a spy and this was a cover up. It's harder to figure out who he could have been spying for and who could have poisoned him? There is an interesting money trial to follow as well.

I don't think it's a co-incidence that ASIO, 16th Mar 1949, formed only months after SM was discovered dead. C_A was formed Sept 18th 1947 taking over from the OSS which was their wartime intelligence service.

English spies all over Malaya during WW2 and after influencing politics in the region.

The ODESSA is an American codename coined in 1946 for a possible Nazi underground escape plan at the end of World War II by a group of SS officers with the aim of facilitating secret escape routes.
There were spies all over the place before & during WW2. Some Nazi ones»
Annette Wagner: The Nazi spy who may have used ABC radio to send encoded messages before WWII https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-11/annette-wagner-sydneys-most-famous-nazi-spy/6685996 via @abcnews
Barossa Valley Nazis an enemy in our midst https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad...e/news-story/f26123c051196bf355ca526fabb85737
The Swastika Down Under: Nazi Activities in Australia, 1933-39 on JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/260633?socuuid=f555c158-991d-46c7-8cb4-746756be0fe7
Sydney’s abandoned Nazi spy camp http://a.msn.com/01/en-au/AACfLep?ocid=st
 
Oct 12, 2017
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There were spies all over the place before & during WW2. Some Nazi ones»
Annette Wagner: The Nazi spy who may have used ABC radio to send encoded messages before WWII https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-11/annette-wagner-sydneys-most-famous-nazi-spy/6685996 via @abcnews
Barossa Valley Nazis an enemy in our midst https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad...e/news-story/f26123c051196bf355ca526fabb85737
The Swastika Down Under: Nazi Activities in Australia, 1933-39 on JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/260633?socuuid=f555c158-991d-46c7-8cb4-746756be0fe7
Sydney’s abandoned Nazi spy camp http://a.msn.com/01/en-au/AACfLep?ocid=st
Interesting because I think SM was a Nazi spy! And the communists were the ones involved in his murder.
 

petedavo

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Here is a name that we'll get to eventually, Viktor Zaitsev. Go a find out all that you can about his activities in Australia, and we'll discuss it, and how Jestyn might fit in later
 
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There are good reasons for believing that a GRU (Soviet military intelligence) ring was developed from 1943, by Viktor Zaitsev, who was sent here after supporting the famous Sorge ring in Tokyo and was later posted to Washington, which suggests he had done well in Canberra. But whatever Zaitsev accomplished here, before there was any ASIO to even attempt to keep his activities in check, has never been brought to light. Unlike the KGB, the GRU has never opened its archives. Zaitsev left Canberra in 1947, the security leaks from Canberra became acute in 1948, and ASIO was created in 1949 to stem the tide.

Quite possible the security leaks talked about in 1948 could relate to the finding of SM on 1st December 1948 and the subsequent formation of ASIO a few months later.

The publishing of the Cook report that looked into the infiltration of ASIO by Soviet Intelligence was after he was found and possibly have no information about him. Maybe not?

More interesting to the case is how a card carrying communist, Elliott Johnson was able to succeed personally and professionally in this era where the cold war against the Soviet's was in full swing.

Who gave him 50,000 pounds in 1949 to start a law practice, buy a house and a flash car? Guessing not ASIO or the Soviets but could be connected to covering up SM case?
 
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