Army

Exhibition Unveiled on Captured Pre-WWI German Spy

The life and times of one of the first German spies caught in Britain is being told in a new exhibition in Edinburgh.

The exhibition, on German espionage in Scotland before the First World War, tells the story of Dr Armgaard Karl Graves, who undertook a secret mission to Scotland in 1912 under orders from Berlin to obtain vital information about the Royal Navy’s latest weaponry and strength.

Graves’ covert activities are revealed through his code books, secret messages and intercepted letters at the exhibition at the National Records of Scotland.

It uses intercepted documents and items seized from Graves to demonstrate how MO5, the forerunner of MI5, carried out its surveillance and capture of foreign agents.

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland and Chief Executive of NRS, said:

“National Records of Scotland holds fascinating historical material from a range of Scottish organisations, both public and private.

"This exhibition uncovers some of our unique archives to tell an exciting story of espionage and to provide an insight into Scotland’s role in the naval arms race that preceded the First World War”

Graves sent information about ship movements in the Firth of Forth, and naval gun production at Beardmore’s works in Glasgow, to his German spymasters.

He was caught partly thanks to his landlady in the Morningside area of Edinburgh who alerted the police to her suspicious lodger. Graves was later captured and his trial in the High Court was the first in Scotland under the Official Secrets Act 1911.