Genealogy 7 - A Spy in the Family Mystery Cache
Genealogy 7 - A Spy in the Family
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The following three articles that appeared in “The Times” on March
21st, 22nd and 25th best tell this entertaining episode from
1912.(They are repeated below as the images are quite poor) Samuel
Edward Seabourne Torry was the son of Edward Bryan Torry from
Grimsby, who was a cousin of John Torry the watchmaker.
The Times, Thursday, Mar 21, 1912; pg. 5; Issue 39852; col
G
THREE MORE ALLEGED SPIES – Arrests in the Isle of
Wight
Three more suspected spies are in the custody of the Isle of Wight
police. The were arrested late on Tuesday night by the military
authorities on War Department land in a wild and exposed part of
the Island coast, close to the fort at Nodes point. This fort
commands a most important position over Spithead and overlooks
Bembridge Harbour.
A fisherman warned the military, who found that the men had
apparently prepared to spend the night on the cliff, although the
weather was very stormy. They had a camera, which was seized, and a
considerable quantity of foreign correspondence was found in their
possession. One of them was said to have has a postcard of himself
in German military uniform. The men are about 20 years of age – one
English, one Dutch and the third German. A military inquiry was
conducted yesterday morning by Major A.F.S. Scott, R.G.A. After
which the suspects were handed over to the civil police and taken
to Sandown police station. There they were closely questioned by
the Chief Constable Captain Adams Connor. They state they are
tailors and give addresses in London.
POLICE PROCEEDINGS – Last evening they were taken to Newport,
where they were brought before the Mayor on charges of espionage.
Their names are Samuel E Torry, an Englishman, of Grimsby; Karl
Denig, jun., of Amsterdam; and Karl Grassall, of Magdeborg,
Germany.
The Deputy chief constable stated that the prisoners said that
they had just finished a course of tailoring instruction in London
and had come to the Island for a holiday. It appeared that they had
been living in a small tent close to Nodes point, St. Helens (Isle
of Wight), for the past day or two, and as there was a camera with
the party and their actions were somewhat suspicious, they were
arrested by the military authorities.
The prisoners denied the charge and said they were there simply
for a holiday, after being shut up all the winter in London. They
had no intention of spying. The men were remanded until
Saturday.
The Times, Friday Mar 22 1912; pg 6 Issue 39853; col
E.
THE ISLE OF WIGHT SPY CASES – Statements By Parents of the
Accused
Much surprise has been caused at Grimsby, says our correspondent,
by the news of the arrest in the Isle of Wight of Mr Samuel Edward
Torry upon a charge of espionage. The young man is well known
locally, being the son of Mr. E. B. Torry, an old established
tailor and outfitter. The accused served a five years’
apprenticeship with a leading local outfitting house, and at the
beginning of the year went to London to complete his technical
education by learning cutting, before entering his father’s
business. Mrs Torry states that her son had always been loyal. The
other young men who were arrested with him were pupils at the
cutting academy, and one of them, Denig was returning home to
Holland this Easter, and they had gone to the island for a holiday
before separating. She could not believe that her son had done
anything unpatriotic, and thought that the police inquiries would
show a mistake had been made.
Our Amsterdam correspondent telegraphs:- The Dutchman who has been
arrested on the Isle of Wight as a suspected spy is the son of a
respectable tailor, named Denig, of German origin, who has lived in
Amsterdam for many years. The father states that his son has been
studying tailoring for the last two years in London and was
returning shortly to Amsterdam, whence he intended to proceed to
Germany. Denig, jun., is a member of an amateur camping club, and
spends his holidays in a tent. His father has received many
photographs taken by his son and is certain that there is no
question of spying.
The four alleged spies in the custody of the Isle of Wight police
have engaged a local solicitor for their defence at the resumed
hearing of the case to-morrow. They are now confined in the cells
at the police headquarters.
The Magdeburgische Zeilung, says a Berlin telegram, states that
the alleged spy Grassall, arrested in the Isle of Wight, is the son
of a Magdeburg tailor, and that he is employed as a “volunteer” in
London. His family state that it is impossible that he can have
anything to do with espionage.
The Times, Monday, Mar 25, 1912; pg. 3; Issue 39855; col
C
SUSPECTED SPIES DISCHARGED – The Isle of Wight Cases
At the Isle of Wight County Petty Sessions at Newport on Saturday
the four men arrested by the military at Freshwater and St Helens
on charges of espionage were brought before Admiral Sir Algenon de
Horsey and a full bench. As the result of inquiry the Director of
Public Prosecutions did not offer any evidence and the prisoners
were discharged with a caution.
In the cases of SAMUEL EDWARD TORRY, of Grimsby, KARL DENIG,
junior, of Amsterdam and KARL GRASSALL, of Magdeburg, Germany, Mr
Pearce, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that full
inquiries had satisfied the prosecution that there was no evidence
upon what the Court could be asked to take that case any further,
and he therefore asked permission to offer no evidence and that the
prisoners should be discharged.
Mr. Jacobs for the defence said that the responsibility for their
detention rested with the military and not with the civil police.
They had been kept in custody through lack of inquiry in the first
instance. It did seem to him a gross scandal that the lads should
have been kept in custody all that time whilst inquiries were being
made when two short telegrams coupled with a little intelligence,
would have settled the matter in an hour.
The CHAIRMAN said the prisoners would be discharged, but he must
give them the same caution as he gave the other prisoner. The
opinion of the court was that the police and military authorities
had been perfectly justified in bringing that case forward as it
was most necessary that they should take every precaution to
prevent espionage in the Isle of Wight.
There were similar articles published in the “Grimsby Daily
Telegraph”, “Isle of Wight Observer” and “Isle of Wight County
Press”
WORLD WAR I
During WWI, rather than being a spy, Samuel joined the army. His
military record shows that he enlisted in the Lincolnshire yeomanry
on 23rd June 1915 and moved to the 2nd County of London Yeomanry on
2nd June 1917. Having qualified as a 1st class signaller on 3rd
July 1917 he was posted to the 6th Dragoons on 23rd Aug 1917. After
being discharged on appointment to a commission on 25th June 1918
he was appointed 2nd Lieut London Reg (TF) on 26th June 1918 and
promoted to Lieut on 26th Dec 1919.
THE CACHE
To find the cache you need to discover Samuel Edward Torry’s home
address during WWI. It was in Grimsby and it’s the 10-Letter name
of the road that you seek (sometimes it is listed with an "S" at
the end making 11 letters). Using the A=1, B=2, C=3 method to
convert letters to numbers, the cache is at :
N 53 19.(8th/1st)(9th-7th)(3rd/4th) W 002
58.(5th-8th)(10th)(7th-6th)
These co-ordinates are an average of several reading as tree cover
affected signal reception. Hopefully you will find them to be
accurate when you locate the cache
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jryy uvqqra ng urnq urvtug, va yvar jvgu sebag zbfg snpr bs nqwnprag ohvyqvat
Treasures
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