What was Evan Morgan, Viscount Tredegar's Army Unit, Rank and Role in the Second World War?
The entry on Wikipedia for Evan Frederic Morgan, 4th Lord Tredegar, 2nd Viscount has been sabotaged.
Attempts to correct the rogue history are reversed by the history vandals.
The present bogus wording includes this statement :
“During World War II he [ Evan] was a high-ranking officer in MI8 ”.
Meaning Military Intelligence, Section 8.
This lie has been invented to give Evan more importance than he deserves. MI 8 was where the real spies lurked and listened.
MI8 was a part of British Military Intelligence group responsible for signals intelligence. It originally consisted of four sections, by the outbreak of the Second World War MI8 was responsible for the extensive War Office ‘Y Group’ and briefly, for the Radio Security Service. The famous Bletchley Park was a later spin-off.
The reference to Evan being a part of MI8 is an example of bad history, this bad history can be found in at least two books where the authors have been duped by the same informants, history vandals.
What is the truth? Well, Evan Morgan, Viscount Tredegar did briefly hold a position in one of the MI Units, this was in MI14.
Based on the evidence in National Archives file WO 71 / 1078 it can be gleaned that at his Court Martial on 19 April, 1943 Evan Morgan is described as “Temporary Major (War Substantive Captain) The Viscount Tredegar Royal Corps of Signals, attached Holding Battalion, Scots Guards”.
In his statement to the Judge Advocate General ahead of his trial Evan declared:
“ I am Officer in Charge Special Section (Carrier Pigeon) Service and I work at Wing House, Piccadilly, W1. I assumed these duties during the first week in November 1942.”
From this it can be seen that Evan’s best chance of making a leading contribution to the Second World War lasted barely six months.
The pigeon operations directed by Evan Morgan at MI 14 involved liaison with the civilians who bred the pigeons all over the country who were organised in groups. The breeders were under the general direction of Evan’s unit known as the Special Section, Carrier Pigeon, of the Royal Corps of Signals.
Evan’s main responsibility was to ensure that pigeons were bred and available for use by MI 14 including operations abroad, the actual direction of the operations being the responsibility not of Evan but of others in MI 14.
The Pigeon Service was a much larger organisation than the Special Section. The Special Section was also concerned with pigeons that were dropped into occupied territory. Evan was working alongside those with a direct role of logging the incidences of how and where pigeons were dropped ( by means of parachute), recording this on a map on display at Wing House.
Pigeons were dropped by the RAF mainly in Holland and the Low Countries for possible use by local resistance groups for sending messages to be sent back to Britain. There are several brave exploits of key information being brought to Britain by these very brave little birds.
As to Evan Morgan, Viscount Tredegar, one has to conclude that Evan had an important role in 1942/3 but a mediocre one, he was hardly a “high ranking officer” and was NOT in MI8.
All the glory was ended after Evan was brought down by Court Martial, found guilty on two counts and “severely reprimanded” on charges brought under the Official Secrets Act.
William Cross, Biographer of Evan, Viscount Tredegar
Evan, Viscount Tredegar and the Truth about what he did in the Second World War
Evan Morgan and Pigeons
In 1943 Evan Morgan, Lord Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales was a Captain ( acting Major ) in the Royal Signals Corps, attached to MI 14, a branch of the Intelligence Services based at Wing House, Piccadilly, in London’s West End. This section of the army dealt with the use of carrier pigeons by the military.
Pigeons were used in past wars to carry important, coded messages. In World War 2 they were requisitioned for use in a number of ways by the British Army, the RAF and also the Resistance in Holland and the Low countries. The messages were carried in special coloured containers on the legs of the birds or pouches on their backs.
Evan’s lowly job was largely a desk bound one, but it included liaison with the pigeon fanciers/ breeders in Southern England. This task involved some travel to meet the men who had given up their precious birds, moreover Evan was expected to keep the breeders’ morale up, since the mortality of the average bird was high.
Evan was a man who enjoyed being at the centre of attention and revelled in sounding off about his own importance. In the course of ‘acting big’ he was careless about giving secret information about the work of MI14 to several people who were not entitled to have it, this included a group of pigeon breeders in Ipswich ( when Evan was visiting there for a meeting). He was also negligent in what details he passed on to a fellow officer who was a member of the Royal Medical Corps. There were additional disclosures made by Evan to two girl guides – who were on a PR visit to Wing House – this information was about the meaning of some positions flagged up on an operations map hanging up in one of the rooms.
Evan was overheard making the various careless remarks about his work, he was reported and charged with three offences under the Official Secrets Act. He was tried and sentenced and found guilty on two of the three charges and ‘severely reprimanded’.
The full story is told in the book “ ASPECTS OF EVAN : THE LAST VISCOUNT TREDEGAR. ISBN 9781905914159. This book contains a complete transcript of the Court Martial and the sentence passed. This disgrace led to Evan eventually leaving the army giving a leg injury as the reason.
In all Evan served in the army in the Second World War for a few months, he was appointed to MI 14 in November 1942 and was Court martialled in April 1943.
Despite the official records – and published sources based on the War Office files in National Archives and these files being completely accessible and available in the public domain there are still LIES and NONSENSE told about Evan in this period albeit a humiliating episode in Evan’s army career. Enough is enough! The lies told are reprehensible and unacceptable. They have been fuelled from time to time by newspaper articles such as in the news archives of Wales On Line and books about the second world war.
This doctoring of history – and leaving damaged history uncorrected is a bad reflection on the integrity of a Welsh publication produced by a major news organisation that wishes to be taken seriously about recording true facts and ensuring accuracy on its telling of Welsh and British history.
Despite having pointed matters out regarding the inaccuracies ( that have now been published at least twice in the last two years ) the Editor of Wales on Line, has not had the good grace ( to date) to acknowledge a letter sent over a week ago. This is shameful, especially since they know they are culpable.
Beware the surrogates of the history fraudsters who bathe Evan in a sort of romantic, heroic glory under the banner of what they call news and history and a good copy for what is deemed a better story than the truth. That cannot be right or acceptable history.
Evan’s history warrants the unvarnished truth, readers of books, newspapers articles that feature Evan and visitors to Tredegar House should tell the truth too. Those who find the lies just a better story to tell in print or to relay to visitors at Tredegar House are equally shameless and dishonest.
The National Trust -who are the present caretakers of Tredegar House should monitor for any rot and expunge any false stories and lies about Evan and the war.
Any queries about this article please contact the Author William Cross, by e-mail.
SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS OF THE CHARGES AGAINST EVAN MORGAN
The Charges Against Evan, Lord Tredegar
At the time of the offences Evan was the Officer Commanding the Special Section ( Carrier Pigeon) Service of the Royal Corps of Signals attached to MI 14
SOURCE NATIONAL ARCHIVES FILE WO71/1078
CHARGE 1 : The first charge was laid under Section 41 of the Army Act. When on active service committing a civil offence, that is to say unlawful communication of information contrary to Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, in that you, at Ipswich on or about 4th February 1943, having in your possession information as to carrier pigeon operations in enemy occupied territory which you had obtained owing to your position as a person holding office under His Majesty unlawfully communicated the same to Herbert Edward Keys and divers other civilians then present who were not persons to whom you were authorised to communicate it nor persons to whom it was in the interests of the State your duty to communicate it.
CHARGE 2: The second charge is laid under Section 40 of the Army Act. When on active service conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, in that you, at London on or about 3rd February 1943, when Officer Commanding Special Section, Carrier Pigeon Service, improperly informed Major C. Cassidy, M.C., Royal Army Medical Corps, who was then visiting your office that certain pins then affixed to a map of part of north-west Europe on the wall of the said office indicated localities connected with operations involving the dropping of carrier pigeons by parachute in enemy occupied territory.
CHARGE 3: The third charge is laid under Section 41 of the Army Act. When on active service committing a civil offence, that is to say unlawful communication of information contrary to Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 as amended by the Official Secrets Act 1920, in that you, at London on 15 March 1943, having in your possession information as to carrier pigeon operations in enemy occupied territory to which you had access owing your position as a person holding office under His Majesty unlawfully communicated the same to Nora McIntyre and Helen Margaret Isherwood, who were not persons to whom you were authorised to communicate it nor persons to whom it was in the interests of the State your duty to communicate it.
The JUDGE ADVOCATE STATED: The charges are signed by Lt.-Col. Bland at Chelsea on the 13th April 1943. He commands the Holding Battalion of the Scots Guards.
The charge sheet is endorsed “To be tried by General-Court Martial” and was signed by Col. G. M. Cox, A.A.G., for the Lieutenant-General Commanding London District at London on the 15th April 1943.
The full story is told in the book “ ASPECTS OF EVAN : THE LAST VISCOUNT TREDEGAR by Monty Dart and William Cross. ISBN 9781905914159. This book contains a complete transcript of the Court Martial and the sentence passed.
This disgrace led to Evan eventually leaving the army giving a leg injury as the reason. Evan's army career was ended after only a few months.
This article has been posted in response to the history fraudsters at Tredegar House , those writing in Wales on Line about Evan Morgan's part in the Second World War and their followers. Any queries please contact the Author, William Cross, by e-mail.