HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Interesting case of the establishment covering up to save itself embarrassment. It would be interesting to know how much his information helped the Japanese build up a powerful air force which regularly outclassed British and American aircraft for over a year or so after Pearl Harbor. Steve K. _______________________________ >From: Steve Wagner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: British WWI air force officer spied for Japan, files show >[WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] >Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 03:12:31 -0800 (PST) > >HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK >--------------------------- > >from >http://www.japantoday.com/ >__________ > >British WWI air force officer spied for Japan, files show > >Will Hollingworth > >Friday, January 4, 2002 at 09:30 JST > >LONDON - A pillar of the British establishment was passing secret >information about aviation design to Japan during the 1920s, >according to secret government files declassified Thursday. > > The Foreign Office files from 1926 show that Lord Sempill, reputedly >one of the founders of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, passed >details of British "aeronautical construction" to the Japanese naval >attache in London, Capt Teijiro Toyoda. > > The records, which have remained classified for the last 75 years, >indicate that the espionage took place roughly between 1922 and early >1926. > > Sempill, who died in 1965, had worked in Japan as part of the British >air mission and served as an adviser to the Japanese naval air >service. From the files, it would appear that Sempill was stationed >in Japan between 1920 and 1922. > > Sempill was apparently well respected within Japanese circles and >received a personal letter from the then Japanese Prime Minister >Tomosaburo Kato (1922-1923) who thanked Sempill for his work with the >Japanese Navy which he described as "almost epoch making." > > The files show that after his return to Britain, intelligence >services in Britain became suspicious about his activities and >obtained a warrant from the Home Secretary to search Sempill's home. > > They found correspondence between the Japanese naval attache and >Sempill. In addition, there was evidence that Sempill had been paid >for his services. > > According to the files, Sempill also tried to get details of a secret >seaplane, codenamed Iris, which was being built by a British company >where he also acted as an adviser. > > Sempill allegedly tried to get information by getting into the >plane's hangar and then talking to the staff. > > It is unclear from the documents if any secret information was >gleaned and whether it was passed on to Japan. > > The Foreign Office became involved in the Sempill case after learning >that he was on the verge of being appointed Greece's aeronautical >adviser in March 1926. > > The Security Services advised the Foreign Office and the British >Embassy in Athens that Britain could not be seen to endorse Sempill's >appointment because of his past activities. > > However, public prosecutors decided not to press charges against >Sempill as the evidence against him involved photographic copies of >letters written by Sempill to the attache and the government would >have to reveal how it got this information and disclose its sources. > > Regarding the flying boat incident, prosecutors believed it would be >hard to take action against Sempill as he served as an occasional >adviser to the company, and the employees he talked to might not have >actually considered the project as being top secret. > > Sempill, who was frustrated by what he regarded was a whispering >campaign designed to stop him from getting the appointment in Greece, >demanded to see security chiefs. > > At the meeting they told him that they knew of his links to the >Japanese attache. The documents say Sempill then realized that he had >been lucky to get away without any charges and stopped his complaints. > > The Daily Telegraph on Thursday described Sempill as a "pillar of the >British establishment" and called him one of the founders of the >Royal Flying Corps in World War I and that his father was an aide to >King George V. > > Sempill was chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1926 and >served as a member of the Royal Naval Air Service between 1939 and >1941, the newspaper said. > > Japan awarded Sempill the Order of the Rising Sun in 1961, it said. > >(Kyodo News) >____________________ > >Click the link below to view this article and related discussions on >Japan Today >http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=189487 >____________________ > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Send your FREE holiday greetings online! >http://greetings.yahoo.com > > _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
