Campaigners bid to clear the 'witch' who leaked WWII secrets about sinking battleship[UK]

Daily Mail ^ | 01 Mar 2008 | Andy Dolan

[ozzymandus]

There’s some famous footage of the Barham capsizing and blowing up. It appears on The History Channel every time the show involves a ship exploding, but is never identified as the Barham.

[Age of Reason]

Great story.

[atomic conspiracy]

The film of the Barham sinking is one of the most frequently shown sequences from WW2. It shows the ship torn apart by a massive explosion as she rolls over on her beam ends.

[Brilliant]

What do they mean “leaked?” This sort of reminds me of the claim that Rove “leaked” Plame’s secret identity, which just like this situation, was impossible since he did not even know Plame’s identity.

[MadDoctorD]

GRAB YOUR TORCH AND PITCHFORKS EVERYBODY!

[Taking Congress back in 2010]

“leaking military secrets”

Maybe Drudge told her. :)

[Slump Tester]

"Churchill denounced the case against her as "obsolete tomfoolery" and visited her in prison."

But she was heavier than the goose, and the goose floated.

[BallyBill]

A stupid law, but guilty as charged.

[neodad]

jailed for nine months in 1944 under the Witchcraft Act of 1735

My ex-wife is glad that she doesn't live in Great Britian.

[BerryDingle]

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Here. HMS Barham

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/16107/index.html

[Calvin Locke]

IIRC, the London Times crossword puzzle guy found himself in a pickle, too.

Leading up to D-Day, he was using the code names of various projects, including "OVERLORD".

[Enchante]

"But Duncan, who was living in Portsmouth at the time"

Given that Portsmouth was a major naval base, maybe there was a very good chance she had actually heard something specific from a source in the Royal Navy?? If she was a major 'medium' she probably had all sorts of interesting personal connections, especially among a few wives of officers and/or sailors etc. Maybe it was a more definite 'leak' of sensitive info than all the witchcraft nonsense would suggest, and they just charged her under a convenient though ludicrous statute.....???

[Snickering Hound]

[SpringheelJack]

I doubt there's much warrant for pardoning her. I think what leaves people agape is that there was still a "Witchcraft" law in Britain that she ended up being tried under, but according to the BBC "she was the last person in Britain to be jailed under the act, which was repealed in 1951 and replaced with the Fraudulent Mediums Act".

I don't have a problem with a Fraudulent Mediums Act, and this woman was definitely a fraud. What seems to have drawn special attention to her is that some of her clients were privy to state secrets which she ended up leaking in order to establish her bonafides.

[FFranco]

This is similar to the case in the US during WWII (1944) when ‘Astounding’ science fiction magazing (today ‘Analog’) published a story anticipating the atomic bomb. The publisher, John W. Campbell, was visited by the FBI and accused of publishing secret material and demanding the issue be removed from newsstands. Reportedly, Campbell managed to convince the FBI that would draw more attention to the US atomic bomb program than just ignoring it. And that’s what they did.

[mtbopfuyn]

What seems to have drawn special attention to her is that some of her clients were privy to state secrets which she ended up leaking in order to establish her bonafides.

Agreed.

[wideawake]

Essentially we have a con woman who wheedled a military secret out of one of her marks and then revealed the secret in a manner calculated to enhance the profits from her con game, without any regard for the effect it might have on the war effort.

The state could not prove who told her the secret and therefore could not secure a conviction within the normal statute, so they dusted off an older one which could be used to punish her.

The outdated law is now abolished and cannot threaten con artists anymore, she got what she deserved and there is no need to exonerate her since she did something pretty evil and disgusting.

[bigfootbob]

Wonder if we could get Hitlery to go to England for an extended stay? Hmmm.