Book Talk

22 Jan | “The Suspicion of Spies”

• Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
• Time: 7pm for 7.30pm

Tim Spicer has written a fascinating biography, The Suspicion of Spies (published on 17 Sept), of an extraordinary man – Wildfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale - a suave, genial and rich individual who was also a ruthless and razor-sharp spy. Biffy’s career spanned forty years (’40 years of licenced thuggery’) and covers the Russian Revolution to the Cold War and beyond. He was one of the inspirations for Fleming’s novels, having been a lifelong friend to Fleming (and the consultant behind From Russia With Love).

‘Biffy’ had many connections with Poland which are explored in the book. He worked closely with Poland and France on the development of ENIGMA. He was involved in bringing the first ENIGMA machine to Bletchley Park just before outbreak of World War II. During the War, he ran very successful intelligence networks in France and gathered strategic intelligence on German U-boats, Normandy coastal defences (D Day) and V1/V2 rockets. He also maintained close links with Free Polish Intelligence throughout the war. When the USA entered the war, he was the principle liaison officer with OSS. Biffy was decorated by Poland, as well as France and the US after the war for his work. He ensured Polish Intelligence files stayed in London at the end of war when Poland became communist. He also oversaw post-war clandestine operations behind the Iron Curtain (these were ‘blown’ by Philby). I’m attaching a doc which gives you examples of some of the events he was central to.

Despite appearing in over 60 books and websites, no one has ever written the whole story of his life until now.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer OBE Tim has led a life filled with action and adventure. During his twenty years in the British Army he saw active service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands campaign, the Gulf War and the Balkans, as well as serving in the Far East, Cyprus and Germany. Over the course of this illustrious military career, he developed an extensive knowledge of intelligence and counter-terrorism. He went on to found Aegis Defence Services, one of the leading Private Security companies, which was active in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya & Yemen. He is the author of An Unorthodox Soldier: Peace and War and the Sandline Affair (2000), a fast-moving account of his military life, including the events surrounding his time in Papua New Guinea when he was captured and held at gunpoint, as well as the notorious ‘Sandline Affair’ of 1996. His second book, A Dangerous Enterprise, is the story of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla, which carried out clandestine operations for SIS in World War II.

To give you a flavour of the extraordinary action in Tim’s latest book, The Suspicion of Spies, here’s a description of the opening sequence…. Russia, 1916. A 16-year-old Biffy is working for his father, taking submarines to St Petersburg for the Russian Imperial Navy. He takes a submarine out for sea trials along with a naval dockyard crew he’d never met before. Spotting a group of German ships, he gives the order to attack and sinks four of them. On returning to Kronstadt, breaking free from an anti-submarine net with just 30 minutes of oxygen left, he opens the hatch to find every gun in the port facing him and his crew. Fluent in Russian, he quickly defuses the situation. For this action he is awarded by Tsar Nicholas II the Order of St. Stanislav and the Order of St. Anne, imperial Russia’s highest knighthood for military valour and ‘bravery in battle’. A Suspicion of Spies is awash with similar stories of excitement, bravery, glamour and exoticism. There are lots of photos available which will feature in the book which could be used for a slideshow talk.