British Secret service situated in Spain during the war.

I'm a history teacher in a Secondary school in Ferrol and I'm doing a research on the destruction of the weapons magazine of Ferrol on the 22nd of January 1943 and I would like to ask some questions about that destruction, or in the case that they can't be answered or no nothing on the matter, could you please inform on where I could find information about what I've said above.

My questions would be the following:

- Did the British Secret Service have anything to do with the destruction of Ferrol's weapons magazine on the 22nd of January 1943?

- Is there any one who could give me reliable information on this matter?

- Was the Vice-consul of Vigo and A Coruña in touch with the anti-Franco guerrilla, so as to be of mutual assitance?

- Did the British Secret Service have a secret number of people watching all over the coast of Galicia and coordinated by the boatswain of the Port of Finisterre, so as to watch the movements of the German merchant ships that transported wolfram?

- Is there any evidence of Spanish officials being pro-British and that passed on information on what was going on with submarines on the Spanish coast?


I know that some of these questions may be classified matter, but if there is any sort of information or reference you could give me I would be very grateful if you'd let me know.


Yours Sincerely


Head of the History department at the I.E.S Ricardo Carballo Calero,
Ferrol,
A Coruña

 

Hello Manuel, and hope I can help somewhat!


On the Ferrol case I did not find anything.

On the Wolfram:

http://www.frankcass.com/jnls/ins_15-3.htm

Fighting for Relevance: Economic Intelligence and Special Operations Executive in Spain, 1943–1945 by David A Messenger
This article examines the work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Spain during the latter par of the Second World War. Unlike SOE’s broad mandate to sow dissent and disarray in occupied countries, in Spain agents were forbidden form any involvement in direct action and sabotage. Diplomatic concerns, namely the maintenance of Spanish neutrality in the war, overrode all other strategic issues in Iberia. SOE agents and leaders in Madrid, therefore, attempted to create a different role for themselves. Drawing on files released in the Public Record Office in 1998, the article highlights SOE’s limited success in the effort to establish for itself a part in the Allied strategic and diplomatic campaign against German wolfram smuggling. Success proved fleeting, however, and SOE’s ultimate failure, in the face of hostility from the secret Intelligence Service (SIS), to prove its usefulness beyond the wolfram campaign, would lead to its withdrawal from Spain. The story of the SOE in Spain represents, on a small scale, the failure of the organization to find a niche in the British intelligence community after the Second World War.

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http://finisterrae.com/tales/history/wolfram.htm
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Portugal and Spain provided Germany with almost 100% of its wartime supply of wolfram - the essential mineral in processing tungsten for steel alloys used in machine tools and armaments

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/105037.stm

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Coast Watching Flotilla

A number of covert sections/Units used small boats to land Allied agents in the French Mediterranean and the French North African coast. They also embarked Allied agents and escaping POW's to and from Gibraltar.
77 Allied Agents . 635 Escaping POWS.

At the start of the war these sections/units ran their own missions and due to the number of secret sailings and the fact that different British covert units were operating on the same enemy beaches at night, It was seen that problems were certain to crop up, Therefore it was decided to form the "Coast Watching Flotilla" This was established in early 1942. and a number of vessels were transferred to this unit.
The trawlers Tarana, the escort vessel Minna, the feluccas Dogfish, Vega, Seawolf, Calpe, Seagull, Seadog, and Welcome.

as well as submarines.
The units that made up the new Coast Watching Flotilla came from SOE (Spanish Section) who had been sent to Gibraltar in April 1941 to stay and disrupt the Germans had they ever invaded Spain. They used local smugglers boats and their Spanish contacts and were soon infiltrating SOE agents into Spain for onward passage to occupied Europe.
SOE held a large number of arms, ammunition and explosives in Gibraltar and were able to formulate contingency plans to destroy communications and infrastructure in Spain had Germany carried out its intention to occupy Spain .


Polish Army/Navy personnel that had been from the surrender of France in 1940, trying to get as many as possible of the Polish troops back from France and French North Africa to Gibraltar.
3. SIS/MI6 who also were trying to get agents into and out of France.

The senior officer of the C.W.F. was Captain C.B. Osborne R.N.R. and the submarine depot ship HMS Maidstone of the Eighth Submarine Flotilla based at Gibraltar provided any help she could to these little ships.

http://www.nlc.net.au/~bernie/Naval.htm

Hope others have more!