M.I.9: The Ingenious Secret Service of World War Two

What was M.I.9?

M.I.9 stands for Military Intelligence, Section 9, and was an ingenious branch of Second World War military intelligence, tasked with assisting evaders and escapers. Established on 23 December 1939, M.I.9 was based for most of the war at Wilton Park, Beaconsfield.

It was headed by Major Norman Crockatt, who as a Royal Scots officer, had been decorated in the First World War, and very ably ran this new department and the difficult task of negotiating the hidden intelligence world, together with traditional government bureaucracy and personal politicking.

The Air Ministry had begun formulating plans to assist downed aircrew shortly after the outbreak of the war, while the War Office opposingly believed that thinking about capture was defeatist, and the Admiralty initially ignored it as a possibility.

‘Escape-mindedness’ was the central philosophy of M.I.9. It sought to provide guidance and physical assistance, ranging from what to expect and how to deal with interrogation to up-to-date information on escape tips, escape lines and aids. It also intended to inspire those who had the misfortune to find themselves behind the lines in hostile territory, keen to avoid capture (evaders) or those in enemy hands or incarcerated in camps (escapers).

What did M.I.9 do?

M.I.9 created and supported a network of escape and evasion lines across war-torn Europe to ensure the safe return of Allied fighters. These escape lines were essential in the Total War against Nazi Germany. Every individual was vital to the fight, and failure wasn’t an option.

Spread from Most Secret - MI9 escape and evasion devices showing a black and white series of gadget photographs including an RAF button luminous compass, brass service fly button, pipe and fountain pen.

A map and compass were regarded by M.I.9 as the key requirements for escape and evaders, and these would be the initial aids that Christopher Clayton Hutton worked on. Here we can see how Hutton devised ways of hiding these essential tools: compasses were disguised as RAF buttons, hidden in fountain pens and even secreted away in pipes.

Ingenious inventors, such as Christopher Clayton Hutton, created an array of gadgets to aid evaders and escapers, from silk maps concealed in garments, secret compasses, tiny radio receivers hidden in cigar boxes and ration boxes among other items.

M.I.9 designed uniforms that could easily be adapted to ensure escape and evaders could blend in with civilians. Badges and buttons could be removed from uniforms, stripes and sleeve piping torn off and jackets worn inside out to reveal a perfectly disguising walking suit. The M.I.9 suit disguise shown here had a precedent with the grey wool-cloth lining of Captain Gilbert Insall’s RFC tunic from the First World War – he wore it reversed to resemble a civilian jacket.

Most Secret: M.I.9 Escape and Evasion Devices

For the first time since its creation in 1942, IWM has published a facsimile of Most Secret: M.I.9 Escape and Evasion Devices.

A copy of the book is held in the rare books section of IWM's library, and now almost an exact reproduction of the original M.I.9 volume is available to buy. Once given the highest British security classification at that time, indicating the importance and confidential nature of what it contains, the book has now been reproduced.

It is believed the books were produced for an American mission to Britain in February 1942 under Major General Carl Spaatz. T and contains illustrated descriptions of various escape gadgets created by M.I.9 up until 1942 such as silk maps, compasses and ration boxes, and indicates how these were smuggled into prisoner(s) of war (POW) camps.

The Americans were keen to learn about British escape and evasion work, and copies of the book were laid on a large mahogany table in a secure space where they could be examined without prying eyes.