2. Dead Tramps
I know that we've already spent a fair bit of time in World War 2, but it really does warrant one more visit. You'll like this one. In war, one trick to use is feeding false information to your foes, making them think you'll be attacking one place when in fact another town is your target. A town that would be at low defense after the misinformation spreads. And the best way to spread false intel? Find an already dead homeless man, dress him up as an officer, and throw him in the sea with false Top Secret documents attached to him. The Insanity Glyndwr Michael was born in Aberbargoed in Wales, well he had to be Welsh with a name like that. His father Thomas, a coal miner, committed suicide when he was fifteen years old; his mother later died when he was thirty-one. Michael, whose life had already dealt him a 7-2 off suit, drifted to London where he lived on the streets. His corpse was found in an abandoned warehouse close to King's Cross, after committing suicide by ingesting rat poison which contained phosphorous. At the same time, Operation Barclay was in play. The Allies wanted to invade Sicily, but it was proving tough. The plan was to convince the Nazis that they were targeting Sardinia instead. They were pondering how to get this false info to the Germans, and the meeting probably came to a screeching halt as some of our greatest minds couldn't figure it out. A light-bulb presumably went off over someone's head and he uttered the phrase "...dead tramp?". One man clapped on his own, slowly. Then another joined in. One by one they joined until it became a standing ovation. Maybe. They needed a body that looked as if it had died in the sea and the corpse of everyone's favourite Welsh hobo was the one decided upon. He was refashioned as Major William Martin and what happened next is sublimely absurd. They dressed the cadaver in Marine uniform, and gave him photos of his fake family. Many documents identified him as Major Martin, and the one file containing details of the assault on Sardinia (the fake one) was also placed on the body. In a rare show of self-awareness the Army thought this might be a bad idea, so they decided to ask Churchill what he thought. His response? "(If it fails) we shall have to get the body back and give it another swim." Bizarrely, unlike all the other weapons on the list, this one actually worked. The Germans bought it hook, line and sinker and pulled their troops to Sardinia, leaving Sicily exposed. The dead hobo came good, like they always do, and was buried in Huelva as Major Martin. Once it all came out, a postscript was added to the gravestone; Glyndwr Michael served as Major Martin. He got his due, rested in peace and the rest is amazing history.