Ewen Montagu
DL RNR | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Ewen Edward Samuel Montagu 29 March 1901 |
Died | 19 July 1985 | (aged 84)
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Naval intelligence officer |
Known for | Operation Mincemeat |
Ewen Edward Samuel Montagu
He is best known for his leading role in Operation Mincemeat, a critical military deception operation that misdirected German forces' attention away from the Allied invasion of Sicily ("Operation Husky").
Montagu was president of the United Synagogue from 1954 to 1962, and President of the Anglo-Jewish Association from December 1949 on.[1]
Life and career
Montagu was born in 1901, the second son of
Montagu was a keen yachtsman, and enlisted in the
Operation Mincemeat
While Commanding Officer of NID 17M, Montagu and Squadron Leader
The Germans were fooled completely. German documents found after the war showed that the false information went all the way to Hitler's headquarters, and led to German forces being diverted to Greece. The
Later career
From 1945 to 1973 Montagu held the position of Judge Advocate of the Fleet. He wrote The Man Who Never Was (1953), an account of Operation Mincemeat that was adapted as a theatrical film three years later. Montagu also wrote Beyond Top Secret Ultra, which focused more on the information technology and espionage tactics used in World War II. He was a governor of a public health project, the Peckham Experiment, in 1949.[11]
Before the
Montagu was president of the United Synagogue from 1954 to 1962, and President of the Anglo-Jewish Association from December 1949 on.[1]
Family
Montagu's youngest brother,
Montagu was a first cousin once removed of comedian Christopher Guest, through Montagu's maternal grandparents.[citation needed]
In popular culture
Montagu has been portrayed on screen twice. In the 1956 film The Man Who Never Was, he was portrayed by Clifton Webb. In the 2021 film Operation Mincemeat, he was played by Colin Firth. Montagu himself appeared in The Man Who Never Was, playing an Air-Vice Marshal questioning the Ewen Montagu character in a briefing.[citation needed]
He has also been portrayed by Natasha Hodgson, Holly Sumpton,[14] and Geri Allen[15] in Operation Mincemeat, a musical first written and performed in 2019 and premiered in the West End in 2023.[16]
Montagu also appears as a character in the Terence Rattigan play Cause Célèbre.
References
- ^ a b Year book of the Anglo-Jewish Association 1951
- ^ "Ewen Montagu". Jewish Historical Society of England. Retrieved 13 January 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ required.)
- ^ Sturgess, H.A.C. 1949. Register of Admissions of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Vol 3. London: Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
- ISBN 978-0-19-923398-4.
- ^ Smyth, Denis (2010). Deathly Deception: The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat. New York: Oxford Press.
- ^ "Jean Gerard Leigh". The Daily Telegraph. 5 April 2012.
- ^ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 1944. p. 2572.
- ^ "Hackney's role in stranger-than-fiction wartime escapade commemorated with plaque". Hackney Citizen. 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Operation Mincemeat: Role of Hackney mortuary marked in Colin Firth film". 3 December 2021.
- ^ "The Bulletin of the Pioneer Health Centre". Peckham. 1 (5). September 1949. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack (1968) p.636
- ^ Macintyre, Ben, (2010) Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story that Changed the Course of World War II, preface
- ^ https://www.operationmincemeat.com/cast-we, Cast of Operation Mincemeat, accessed 31.1.2024
- ^ https://x.com/spitlip/status/1710777910678667700?s=61
- ^ Kanengoni, Jonathan (18 November 2022). "Operation Mincemeat: the fringe hit musical lands in the West End". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
Bibliography
- Montagu, Ewen (1954). The Man Who Never Was. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
- Montagu, Ewen (1974). The Archer-Shee Case. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-6774-9.
- Montagu, Ewen (1977). Beyond Top Secret ULTRA. Coward McGann and Geoghegan. ISBN 0-698-10882-5.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-7475-9868-8.