LONDON: Avoid facial disguises, carry loose change and be ready to make split-second decisions: just some of the advice Britain’s domestic spy agency gave recruits tailing subjects nearly a century ago.
Complete with drawings detailing how best to tail the suspect, the country’s MI5 security services issued the World War II-era guide to “observation” work to officers unfamiliar with this key piece of spycraft.
From “picking up the suspect” and “following in the street” to “in a restaurant” and “travelling by train”, this how-to even features guidance when the subject entered the post office – deemed “excellent opportunities for investigation”.
The booklet is among various newly-declassified records set to go on display in a groundbreaking exhibition showcasing MI5’s work over its 115-year history.
Due to open at the National Archives in west London in several months, it is the first time the agency has collaborated with archivists to provide “an insider’s perspective on the evolution of espionage”.
The exhibition – ‘MI5: Official Secrets’ – will feature original case files, photographs and papers, alongside authentic espionage equipment used by spies and spycatchers, according to the National Archives.
“While much of our work must remain secret, this exhibition reflects our ongoing commitment to being open wherever we can,” MI5 chief Ken McCallum said.
‘Quick thinker’
The collection going on display includes key moments from Britain’s rich espionage history, including a first-hand account of Soviet double agent Kim Philby’s 1963 confession and MI5’s interest in the actor Dirk Bogarde.
With its old-fashioned language and cartoonish caricatures of different pursuits, the guide to “observation” is at the lighter end of the showcase’s contents.
“The ideal watcher is born and not made, and unless he has a natural flair for the work he will never rise above a mediocre standard,” the manual notes in its introduction.
The perfect candidate is around five-foot, seven-inches tall, seemingly to appear “as unlike a policeman as possible”.
“The use of facial disguise is not recommended,” it continues, arguing a false moustache or beard is “easily detected”, while coins are needed for a quick exit if a pursuit ends up on London’s underground railway, known as the Tube.
“Above all a watcher must be a quick thinker, capable of acting on the spur of the moment,” the guide states.
However, it concludes by cautioning that “observation cannot be mastered from textbooks” and that “hard practical training in the street is the only way to bring out a man’s aptitude for the job”.
“Generally a long process,” it notes.
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