Creative History

  “The passengers and crew raised cries of distress, but their mouths were soon stopped by the swelling waves and all perished together.”                          - from The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy ca. 1140 November 25, 1120 William Adelin, Duke of Normandy and heir to the English throne, the only legitimate son of King Henry I, after a visit to Normandy to pay homage to the French King as a gesture of goodwill on behalf of his father, has just been persuaded by ship’s Captain Thomas FitzStephen to return to England aboard his own personal vessel--the White Ship . Though King Henry I, Adelin’s father has arranged transport back to England aboard another royal vessel, FitzStephen has persuaded the eighteen year old Adelin and King Henry, that in the interest of historical continuity it would be best for the young heir to the English throne to travel across the channel and back to ...

  Fifty-four year old Leonard Dawe has worked for the Daily Telegraph of London as a crossword puzzle compiler for nearly twenty years.   In that time, by June of 1944,  he had created over 5000 crossword puzzles.  Earlier, as a young man he served with distinction in the British Army during the First World War and also represented Great Britain as a footballer during the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm Sweden.  Up until that point, no one dared question Leonard Dawe’s patriotism or loyalty to Great Britain.    He also worked as a Science teacher at the prestigious Strand School, a grammar school for boys, in south London a position that he has held since 1926. But by early June of 1944, unassuming crossword puzzle compiler and school teacher Leonard Dawe, is a person of interest to Mi5, the British Intelligence Agency tasked with protecting the homefront from enemy espionage and fifth column activities. Dawe in 1913 Only days before the ...