Gertrude Hiscox facts for kids
Gertrude Blount Hiscox (born August 23, 1910 – died 1969) was a British woman who worked with Nazi Germany during World War II. In 1941, she was found guilty of breaking a wartime rule and was sent to prison for five years.
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Early Life and Political Groups
Gertrude Hiscox was born in Hendon, a town in Middlesex, England. Her parents were James Hiscox and Ethel Blount.
Before World War II, Gertrude was very involved in certain political groups in Britain that had strong, sometimes extreme, ideas.
Joining the British Union of Fascists
In 1934, she joined a group called the British Union of Fascists (BUF). She became an organizer for the BUF in a part of London. She was also the girlfriend of Richard Alister "Jock" Houston, who was another well-known member of the BUF. He was known for spreading hateful ideas about Jewish people. They lived together in Streatham.
Gertrude Hiscox worked as a travel agent. She specialized in holidays to Germany and visited the country often starting in 1935.
The Link and Right Club
In July 1937, she helped start an organization called The Link. This group aimed to improve friendship between Britain and Germany. She was also part of another pro-German group called the Right Club. This group was founded by Captain Archibald Maule Ramsay, who was a Member of Parliament (MP).
On August 31, 1939, just before Britain declared war, Gertrude wrote a letter to Hitler. In the letter, she promised her support to Germany if a conflict started. Britain declared war on September 3, 1939. The letter was stopped by wartime officials and sent back to her.
Sharing Secret Information
In 1940, Gertrude Hiscox was held under a special wartime rule called Defence Regulation 18B. This rule allowed the government to hold people who were seen as a risk during the war. However, by early 1941, she was released. She then lived in Chiswick, London, with a woman named Norah Briscoe. Norah worked as a typist at the Ministry of Supply.
The Ministry of Supply was a very important government department during the war. It was set up in 1939 to make sure the British armed forces had all the equipment they needed. Norah Briscoe had also been a member of the BUF and supported Germany.
In March 1941, Gertrude Hiscox invited a friend from the Right Club to her home for tea. What she didn't know was that this friend was actually a secret agent from MI5, Britain's security service. The agent was watching the activities of the Right Club members. During their conversation, Norah Briscoe told the agent that she worked in a sensitive part of the Ministry. She also said she was keeping copies of documents she thought would be useful to Germany and wanted to pass them on. These documents contained important information about where war factories were located, what important materials were in short supply, and where submarine bases were being set up in Northern Ireland.
Arrest and Trial
The MI5 agent arranged a meeting. When Gertrude Hiscox and Norah Briscoe handed over the secret documents at the flat of a supposed German agent, they were arrested. This happened on March 17, 1941. They were then sent to Holloway Prison.
On June 16, 1941, Gertrude Hiscox and Norah Briscoe had their trial at the Old Bailey. The trial was held in private, meaning only those directly involved were allowed to be there. Both women pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally sharing information that could help the enemy. The trial was very quick, lasting less than an hour. Both Gertrude Hiscox and Norah Briscoe were sentenced to five years in prison.
Life After Prison
After her release from prison, Gertrude Hiscox continued her life with Jock Houston. She started using his last name, Houston, in November 1944. She officially changed her name by a legal document in May 1946.
Gertrude Houston passed away in 1969 in Ipswich.
See also
- Leonard Banning
- Norah Briscoe
- Tyler Kent
- John Lingshaw
- Dorothy O'Grady
- Pearl Vardon
- Anna Wolkoff
