History Extra Podcast: "Why Belgian agents risked their lives spying for Britain"

Host: Spencer Mizzen
Guest: Helen Fry (historian and author)
Episode Date: January 23, 2026

Main Theme/Overview

In this riveting episode, historian Helen Fry discusses the courageous Belgian spy networks that risked everything to gather intelligence for Britain during both World Wars. Focusing on the legendary "White Lady" (La Dame Blanche) network and its successor, the Clarence Service, Fry details the everyday heroism, intricate spycraft, and moral complexities faced by agents and British intelligence officers behind enemy lines. This episode brings to light the critical yet underappreciated role of Belgian resistance in shaping the outcome of 20th-century history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Meaning of "The White Lady" Network

• What was the White Lady?

  • Named after a German legend where the ghostly "White Lady" portends the army's downfall. The network believed their intelligence would similarly herald Germany’s defeat.
  • Helen Fry (02:09): "This World War I network, British network, with Belgian men and women, actually named it the White lady, believing that the information... would ultimately bring down the German army."

• How the Network Began

  • Early British intelligence, led by Mansfield Cumming (MI6's first chief, known as 'C'), realized Belgium's strategic importance for monitoring German troop movements and set up civilian networks accordingly (03:02).
  • Dudoni Lambrecht, a Belgian, independently built a network from December 1914 and eventually reached out to the British (03:02–05:13).

2. Life Under German Occupation in Belgium

• Brutality and Motivation for Resistance

  • The German occupation was harsh, with civilian massacres to suppress resistance (e.g., Dinant: 674 civilians killed) (05:22).
  • Ordinary Belgians often had to share their homes—sometimes their castles—with German officers, living in constant danger while spying for Britain (06:20).
  • Helen Fry (06:20): "The most incredibly courageous thing is that we have some of these men and women ... running a whole intelligence section for the British right under their noses."

• Notable Example:

  • The de Radigues family ran "Post 49" from Connaught Castle, hosting German officers while secretly organizing espionage; matriarch Thérèse de Radigues would later revive her efforts in WWII (07:13).

3. British Intelligence Capabilities & Methods

• Amateur Beginnings

  • At WWI’s outset, MI6 and its Belgian agents lacked formal training, often relying on intuition and improvisation: "They are just making it up as they go" (08:27).
  • Helen Fry (08:27): "They developed methods of spycraft... Some of them really quite funny, like lobbing potatoes with little notes in them... over the electrified wire."

• Innovative Espionage Tactics

  • Couriers smuggled messages through neutral Holland; codes hidden in knitting and mud clods, secret messages in potatoes tossed over electrified fences (10:05–13:49).
  • Knitting patterns translated into coded messages ("Purl one, drop two..." etc.): "A very early GCHQ, we might say" (13:35).

4. Risk and Sacrifice

• Extreme Danger
  • Agents faced death if caught; many were executed or subjected to brutal imprisonment (11:30):
    • "Hugely risky because the Germans would hunt them down... There was a death penalty..."
  • The network did not do sabotage—only intelligence gathering.

5. The Moral Ambiguity of Espionage

• Questionable Characters Among British Officers
  • MI6 officers sometimes had dubious pasts:
    • Captain Tinsley (imprisoned for fraud), Henry Landau (facing deeply troubling allegations), Sigmund Payne Best (bribed border guards with drugs) (15:44–17:09).
  • Helen Fry (16:45): "There are a lot of characters in the history of British intelligence that were not Snow White... They made damn good intelligence officers."

6. The Perils of Memoir Writing

• Henry Landau Controversy
  • Landau broke the Official Secrets Act to write his memoir, recklessly exposing network members (notably Walter Dewey, successor to Lambrecht in WWII) (17:14–18:43).
  • This forced Dewey into deep hiding during WWII, endangering ongoing operations.

7. The White Lady Network's Resurrection in WWII

• Reactivation as Clarence Service

  • On the day WWII broke out, Dewey was summoned to restart the network; former agents, now in their 60s and 70s, rejoined the fight (19:03).
  • Knowledge from WWI informed safer, more sophisticated methods. In WWII, loss rates among agents were far lower (2%) (20:22).
  • They played a vital role in reporting German build-up (including V1 and V2 rockets) (20:22).

• Continuity and Heroism:

  • Thérèse de Radigues, then 74, again led the network (19:03).

8. Scale and Impact of Belgian Resistance

• Belgium had over 240 resistance and intelligence networks during WWII—astonishing for a small country (22:37).
• According to Fry, these networks supplied over 95% of military intelligence from behind German lines to British command in WWI (08:27).

9. Research and Uncovering Forgotten Heroes

• Fry’s research relied on newly opened archives in London (Imperial War Museum) and Brussels, with many files still awaiting study (22:52–24:52).
• Most Belgian networks remain understudied, highlighting a major gap in WWI/WWII historiography.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Courage Under Occupation:

  • "We have some of these men and women...living literally with an occupying army in their home...running a whole intelligence section for the British right under their noses."
    (Helen Fry, 06:20)

• On Improvisation and Ingenuity:

  • "They developed methods of spycraft which some of them really quite funny...lobbing potatoes with little notes in them...over the electrified wire..."
    (Helen Fry, 08:27)

• On Knitting Codes:

  • "Those scarves and jumpers get lobbed over the electrified fence...and it makes its way back to an intelligence officer in headquarters...A very early GCHQ, we might say."
    (Helen Fry, 13:35)

• On the Risk:

  • "This was really risky for these men and women...many of them lost their lives. There was a death penalty, but also some of the women had long prison sentences..."
    (Helen Fry, 11:30)

• On Imperfect Intelligence Officers:

  • "I'm not saying it was right, I'm not saying it was wrong, but I just like to do the research and to put the facts on paper. So we understand."
    (Helen Fry, 16:54)

• On the Importance of Remembrance:

  • "We have a duty to remember, a duty to remember to tell the stories of these heroic...men and women because they deserve our respect and our remembrance. We wouldn't, I really believe, be here today without what they achieved in two world wars."
    (Helen Fry, 26:58)

Memorable Story

• Thérèse de Radigues’ WWII Evasion (25:07–26:51):
  • At 79, she refused to go into hiding despite being betrayed. When arrested, she feigned senile dementia, convincing her interrogators she was harmless and securing release. She continued running her sector, providing crucial intelligence until the end of the war.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:09] – Meaning/tradition of "White Lady"
• [03:02–05:13] – How the network started & British motivations
• [05:22] – Life under German occupation/massacres
• [06:20; 07:13] – Heroism of the de Radigues family
• [08:27] – British intelligence’s capabilities behind enemy lines
• [10:05–13:49] – Communications, inventive spycraft (potatoes, knitting, mud)
• [11:30] – Risks and the German response
• [15:44–17:09] – Questionable MI6 officers
• [17:14–18:43] – Henry Landau’s reckless memoirs
• [19:03–20:17] – Resurrection as Clarence Service in WWII
• [20:22–21:49] – Improved tradecraft and WWII achievements
• [22:37] – Scale of Belgian resistance
• [22:52–24:52] – Research, archives, and gaps in our knowledge
• [25:07–26:51] – Thérèse de Radigues’ remarkable WWII episode
• [26:58] – The importance of remembering these stories

Conclusion: Why This Story Matters

• Fry underscores the relevance of these networks today as a warning against complacency and a powerful reminder of the fight for freedom and democratic values:
  • "Democracy is fragile in every generation...We have a duty to remember these heroic...men and women." (26:58)

This episode illuminates the astonishing impact of Belgian agents who risked everything—not just in the lurid drama of espionage, but in the persistent, everyday choice to resist tyranny in the face of overwhelming peril. Their story, as Fry stresses, is one we must preserve and learn from for generations to come.