Witch Way Did He Go?

Here’s a weird story for you: The Scotsman reports that British intelligence agent-turned-author Ian Fleming, the creator of superspy James Bond, allegedly helped frame a Dundee, England, housewife as a witch in the 1940s. Academic and filmmaker Robert Hartley “claims fresh research into the trial documents--released to the National Archive--points to a state conspiracy to crack down on security leaks ahead of D-Day,” which culminated in the 1944 conviction of Scottish medium Helen Duncan, the last person to be convicted under the UK’s Witchcraft Act of 1735. As The Scotsman explains:

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Duncan, a mother of six, was a celebrated medium performing séances for the wives and widows left at home during the [Second World] war.

Her technique was to go into a trance and produce ectoplasm through her mouth and nose which would form human shape and speak.

However, on 19 January, 1944, during a sitting in Portsmouth, Duncan conjured up a sailor from HMS Barham to talk to his surprised mother--who didn’t know he was dead. The sinking of HMS Barham had been kept a secret by the navy for three months for operational reasons.

Fears that Duncan could be a spy led to an investigation by MI5 and Naval Intelligence who were alarmed by her access to secret information.

Only months before D-Day, Duncan was arrested and put on trial at the Old Bailey accused of contravening the Witchcraft Act of 1735.

“The authorities were terrified about potential security leaks and Duncan was in danger of disclosing military secrets during her séances,” said Dr Hartley.

Wikipedia adds more to the background of this case:

Duncan’s trial for witchcraft was a minor cause célèbre in wartime London. A number of prominent people ... testified that they were convinced that she was authentic. Duncan was however, barred by the Judge from demonstrating her alleged powers as part of her defence against being fraudulent. In a memo to the home secretary, [Prime Minister Winston Churchill] fulminated about the “obsolete tomfoolery” of the charge. However, he could not prevent a guilty verdict on count one. The Judge then discharged the jury from giving verdicts on the other counts, as he held that they were alternative offences for which Duncan might have been convicted had the jury acquitted her on count one. Duncan was jailed for nine months.

On her release, Duncan promised to stop conducting séances; however, she was arrested after another one in 1956. She died a short time later.

“After examining all the available documents for a new book on the conspiracy, Helen Duncan: The Mystery Show Trial,” The Scotsman reports, “Dr. Hartley suggests that among those responsible for the conspiracy to convict Duncan was James Bond author Ian Fleming, who was a key figure in the intelligence services at the time.

“‘I am convinced Naval Intelligence were working with MI5 and when I began looking at that connection, Ian Fleming’s name kept cropping up as being involved with people either involved in the case or on the sidelines,” said Dr. Hartley.

There have been numerous efforts over the years to win Helen Duncan a pardon. Shifting the blame onto Fleming’s shoulders at this late date might seem the stuff of rich espionage fiction, but is it really any more ridiculous than some of the plots Fleming himself came up with in his time?

(Hat tip to The Elegant Variation.)