The circus and the spies

These details are from two Home Office circulars to county police chiefs in England regarding the threat posed by undercover German spies, 10 June and 6 July 1916.

Although the ‘spy fever’ of the early stages of the war had abated by 1916, government and military authorities remained on their guard against undercover activity. In the first of these two Home Office circulars, local police chiefs are warned that German spies disguised as ‘commercial travellers’ might attempt to gain information about British losses at the recent Battle of Jutland (31 May to 1 June 1916). The second outlines the threat apparently posed by German spies working undercover in the entertainment business: ‘circus-riders, music-hall performers and persons on the regular stage’. Catalogue reference: HO 45/10779/277334 (10 Jun, 6 Jul 1916)