Tradecraft – ?
According to some both Harkness and Boxall were not only involved in spying on shipping in Sydney in the war years, they were both highly experienced in the exchange of this information using sophisticated methods involving the use of hidden messages in what appeared to be innocuous objects, re: a copy of the Rubaiyat.
This is not news.
This skill, hiding messages using writing that needs to be magnified to be read comes naturally to some, others need training, a task that must be undertaken in secret, away from prying eyes of which there were many in Sydney during the war years, both friendly and unfriendly.
A secret skill using a secret code taught in a secret place by a secret person for a secret purpose.
In 1948 the English arrived in Australia in the person of Roger Hollis. The game was up. MI5 was in town and good old Aussie had to learn to play spies with the grownups.
I’m thinking that there may have been a few foreign gentlemen of suspicious nature packing their suitcases and exiting the country about that time. This was after they fired up their farewell barbecues with paper, secret paper. Later we got shredders.
Pity old Alf didn’t have one, and whoever dumped the Freeman ROK must have forgotten Harkness’s phone number was written on the back.
The Somerton Man .. 
Is it possible that George had been a spy pre his departure in 1948. If we consider that dad prior to hs death ten years earlier had headed up S.A. ship owners while brother James, a radio engineer, who died innhis jeep far away on new year’s day had held a PMG wieless transmission operator licence since 1927 (5th column in Port Pirie) aged 18. The family moved between five Somerton beachside addresses ie., Partridge, Weewanda & Ferris Sts, Madge/Bickford Tce., plus Patawilya Gve., from the thirties through 1948 but, unlke his more affable kinfolk George forwent the need for socia intercourse and was camera shy to boot. Not sure about his dachshund bitch Valkyrie?
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lonerangerous: at a loss to find any overlapping with the two Jims other than vaguely similar military postings plus service related vehicle accidents of which one, James Graham Phillips of Biickford Tce., Somerton (1911/43) didn’t survive. (note NAA file pics and examining MO’s toe description.
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@ JohnS:- Thanks John, yes it does seem lacking in a junction until you know that Jimmy was probably one of the most knowledgeable tide and current experts in SA. If you absolutely had to have something arrive on a particular beach on Sat 4/12/48 he may have been the type of person that could make it happen.
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JohnS:- Strange as it may seem, being a PMG Technical Officer at these times would bring you into contact with another PMG Technical Officer and Instructor James Duncan McKenzie (Jimmy) Mcintyre who moved around and under all the areas that the other participants of this saga traversed.
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Seems possible that Det. Sgt. Harold Strangway, Seacliff was unknowingly running side by side cases involving two separate George Phillips early in December 1948. One a child rape fiend (see Genelg Court 2/12) and t’other of a lesser nature involving aa then (still) to be identified codger with ballerina toes found dead on Somerton Beach the day before. If only Harry had have known he might have bought a ticket in the casket…sure winner.
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PB: I’d hazard a guess and say, with a certain degree of respect, but a due amount of caution as well. With regards to keeping up appearances for initial ID purposes at least, cold storage at 36F degrees in a dry mix of untreated sawdust was all the rage from notations on my first and final visit to the city police mortuary in ’73. Preservatives like formaldehyde were not recommended for keeping up appearances and I’m rather perplexed by all the fuss with pointless attempts by Safcol to keep Joe Somerton looking better than life just for show purposes. Had Jimmy Durham not been so stingy with the war surplus ectachrome 35, there would have been no need in my opinion, to bother with such prolonged dicking about with a rotting cadaver.
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lonerangerous: right names in George Phillips but absolutely wrong entities otherwise, sorry!
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@JohnS:- agree, 2 x G E Phillips is a nightmare till you try finding defacto wife Ida from the stint in WA. It would seem that Ida Phillips (Kadina) married, or just lived with, George Edward Phillips becoming Ida Phillips (Phillips)????
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John Sanders . How were John Does treated in Adelaide in the forties?
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Sometime ago I was in touch with the historian responsible for looking after the records of Glenside and asked him if he was aware of any unidentified male bodies delivered dead to the SA morgue post war .. he replied no, not in the records. So we must move along.
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Don’t know what happened to the SA’s pre 70s mental hospital shedule certs. that were available on line for research up until five years ago. I can recall getting records on Keith Mangnoson and others so mayhaps someone out there still has means to access.
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The Rubaiyat was a recognition signal
Intelligence would send it to their contact
and instructions intended for that contact
would be in a brief code on a piece of paper
enclosed with the Rubaiyat
Hence the imprint of the code on the Rubaiyat
If you are expecting to be instructed to do something
it just becomes a confirmation
which you can easily read
because you are anticipating that message
Take the Overland train to Adelaide
and go see Jess at Moseley St Glenelg
is the instruction in the message
Jess is his contact in Adelaide
and that’s how her phone number appears on it
He dumps the book
but keeps the crucial recognition part ie Tamam Shud
You only need to show Tamam Shud
as the recognition signal
because it’s as good as the Rubaiyat itself
He wasn’t going to give himself away easily
by being caught with the Rubaiyat on him
He would have shown Tamam Shud to Jess
when he got to her house
but maybe he only made it some distance down Moseley St
and got intercepted otherwise it was high risk to her if he entered her house.
I’d say they played him for a while before this,
the knew what he was up to or had done
got his confidence, played the game that he was on the team
and set a trap in Adelaide
If he arrived by Pan American Airways into Sydney
PAA flight charts show a connecting flight to Melbourne
PAA booking services in the US included Melbourne
Then he had to take the train to Adelaide so as to not expose his identity booking an extra flight to Adelaide.
No ID needed by train.
It was expensive to fly in 1948, only the well-heeled did
so he would have had expenses paid by the party
ie the country who wanted his services.
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Dumping the Rubaiyat may have been a necessity on his part, just in case he was ‘asked to assist the police in their enquiries’ etc. If it was so necessary to rid himself of the Rubaiyat why not burn it/tear it up etc. Instead, so we are told, it ends up on the back seat of a parked car in Jetty Road, plus the bonus of revealing a local telephone number of a ‘Sister’ and her shonky car dealer partner.
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I’d say he had lunch at the St Vincent Hotel in Jetty Rd Glenelg
The Chemist shop was in the same building as the pub
The Chemist’s car was parked out the front of the pub
He had an ale or two with his counter lunch
Sitting at the bar by himself got to thinking about it
How exposed he might be by hanging on to the Rubaiyat
Tore out the Tamam Shud and stuffed it in his pocket
He left the pub to head for Moseley St a few steps away
Possibly telephoned Jess from the pub to see if she was home
He had her phone number on the Rubaiyat so he knew it
She telephoned the authorities – he’s on his way pick him up.
As he left the pub he had to dispose of it quickly
No bins around, where’s the nearest thing to chuck it
The open car window
Thinking someone would just drive off with it
and throw it in the bin later
You left your car windows down when at the beach in those days
Let the air in so it doesn’t cook when you get back in to drive off
Nobody is going to pinch it, you’ve got the keys in your pocket
Not very careful as a spy after a couple of ales
He left a trail
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Why did he tear out the slip?
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We’ve covered that
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Had to tear the TS slip out of the ROK before delivery in order to fullfil the million to one shot provisor set by Lionel Leane. Tell me if’n it don’t make sense.
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Clarity por favour, je ne comprendez pas.
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Let’s not forget mon ami, back in ’43 when Leane helped out with the safe bust at Freeman’s Prosect pharmacy, that sorta created a bond between em and a mate took care of his mate back then, s’il vous plait!
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Les SAPOL Gendarmes are ne sont pas dinges de confiance, no ?
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Safcol was the best that money could buy in those days I expect..ne concederais-vous pas?
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I’d say he left LA on Pan American Airways flight 835 on Tuesday 23 November 1948 7:45pm on a DC-4. He would have booked and paid for the connecting flight from Sydney to Melbourne before departing the US. PAA would telex Australian National Airways Pty Ltd and book it for him. Aircraft Sydney to Melbourne would have been an ANA DC-3.
Arrival time Sydney was Friday 6:30pm, so after landing he went into the city and checked into a hotel. The following morning he picked up a couple of things. The razor and strop marked Kent Street Sydney, Pelaco shirt, Stamina brand trousers. He had a shave and tidied himself up after his 2 day flight from the US (Canton Island refuel was early Thur morning, Suva is Fri morning, crossed International Date Line and you lose a day). Arrives Sydney Friday 26 November 6:30pm
He took the ANA flight Sydney to Melbourne on Saturday 27 Nov
He went into the city and checked into a hotel.
He telephoned Jess and she said we will send you instructions.
She posted the Rubaiyat with the message inside on Saturday c/- the hotel front desk. He got it on the Monday 29 Nov
He checked out of the hotel and got on the Overland train that evening and arrived in Adelaide the following morning 30 Nov
He went to see Jess in Moseley St as instructed in the message
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Then along came Jones
Tall thin Jones
Slow walkin’ Jones
Cool Talkin’ Jones
Along came long, lean lanky Jones
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He needed a passport
to get into Australia on Friday 26 Nov 1948
I’d say it would have been a US passport
and likely a genuine one
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Then if he had a US passport wouldn’t his prints be on file? They just can’t find records from that time to match the prints they took from the body? Sounds like a simple task.
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Provided this is still accurate
and not forgetting we are talking about 1948:
There are currently no fingerprinting requirements for U.S. passports. A proof of your citizenship, either in the form of a birth certificate, a previously issued passport, consular report of birth abroad, naturalization certificate, or a certificate of citizenship is required. None of these things are linked to a fingerprint.
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Not with diplomatic credentials of either country in his hidden fob pocket he wouldn’t. For example Vaib Louis Solomon was part of Finance (deep cover) so he had exemption; on the other hand wife Claire had to take the Mariposa option via Seatle WA.
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There are a few different types of US passports
Regular, Diplomatic, Official, Service
Finding out which one our man had
when he arrived in Sydney on Friday 26 November 1948
tells us about him
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