During the time span that led up to World War II, in 1938 to be exact, Arthur Owens a nationalist from Wales was recruited by Germany to spy on the UK during a business trip he took to Belgium. During this time period he was given Johnny O’Brien as his code name and it was his job to report back to the Nazi regime about how Britain was preparing their military for attack.
However, a new book claims that before he was discovered by the MI5 he had actually already agreed to act as a double agent for the agency. In fact, the book takes a close look at how Owens was able to undermine the espionage efforts of Germany and created a path for future double agents to follow.
He was referred to as one of the most vital members of the XX unit of the MI5 and given the code name Agent Snow from the British side of things. From his post as a spy for Germany he was able to deliver many German spies straight over the to the British, blowing their covers and helping to keep Britain safe, or at least the book, written by Madoc Roberts and Nigel West, claims he did.
After the German spies were discovered they were given the choice of betraying the Nazis or death by a firing squad, and as you might guess a good number choose to spill the beans and spent the rest of the war giving the Allies useful information, such as how to crack the German codes and the movements of the troops.
For these spies it was easy to tell whose side they were really on, but given how deep Owens was into the game neither side was ever all that confident about which side he really was loyal to. The public however was clear about how they felt about him because after his Dartmoor integration he was viewed as a traitor in the public eye and forced to live out the rest of his days in Canada living in hiding, and then later in Ireland.
Official files were released in the seventies about his role in the war but most people never really noticed and there was little documentation about what he had done to help the cause. However, the new book attempts to take a closer look at the exploits of Owens during World War II and to show how he actually helped the Allied victory come to be.
Titled Snow- The Double Life of a World War II Spy, the book takes a close look also at how his daughter went on to be a famous Hollywood actress by the name of Patricia Owens who never mentioned who her father was because she was afraid of those who still felt that he was a traitor.
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