In the autumn of 1942, a decision was tentatively made to invade Sicily. As the Germans were bound to anticipate that Sicily would be a likely target, the question arose as to how to fool them into deploying their forces elsewhere. As British officers were continually being flown around the coast of Spain to North Africa, a plan was devised to plant a body, carrying false papers, in the sea off Spain - as if coming from a crashed plane. In order to convince a post-mortem that the 'officer' had indeed drowned, the body of a man who had just died from pneumonia - in which form of death there is liquid in the lungs - was found. On the understanding that his true identity would always remain secret, consent was obtained from the dead man's relatives and, from that time forward, he became 'Major William Martin, Royal Marines', and his body was placed in cold storage as a plan was devised.
The body of 'Major Martin' was to carry two letters for delivery to Africa, one from Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Nye, Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and one from Lord Louis Mountbatten, both of which intimated that Sardinia was the target of the assault. In addition to his identity card, the 'Major' was assumed to be a brilliant, but nevertheless extravagant, man, and in his pocket was a letter from Lloyds Bank Head Office calling on him to pay off an overdraft of nearly £80. Assuming that every young officer had some romantic attachment, 'Major Martin' carried a photograph of, and two letters from, his 'girlfriend' 'Pam'. These letters were folded and unfolded continually to look as though they had been read and re-read. Probably his engagement was the cause of his overdraft for he also had in his pocket a bill for £53 for an engagement ring. With the addition of the usual paraphernalia - old bus tickets, keys, theatre tickets, scraps of paper, etc - 'Major Martin' was ready for his mission.
With the Prime Minister's approval, HMS Seraph sailed at 6 pm on 19th April, 1943 - with 'Major William Martin' safely stored in a six-foot metal canister packed with dry ice. For ten says Seraph surfaced only at night. Then, on the morning of 30th April, 1600 yards off Huelva, Spain, Seraph surfaced and 'Major Martin' was slid out of his canister into the sea. He was sighted by a Spanish fisherman later that morning, and recovered by the authorities. A post-mortem revealed that death was caused by 'asphyxiation through immersion in the sea'. The German agent in Huelva 'played his part' and his superiors were alerted to the existence of the documents. To complete the plot, 'Pam' sent a wreath to the 'Major's' funeral in Spain, and his name was inserted in the casualty list which appeared in 'The Times' of 4th June 1943.
The success of 'Major Martin's' mission can be measured from remarks in Field-Marshal Rommel's personal papers, which reveal that when the Allies invaded Sicily, the German defence was led astray - 'as a result of a diplomatic courier's body being washed up off Spain'. These missions were vital to the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D Eisenhower, and Seraph's exploits saved thousands of Allied lives. General Patton himself praised the Seraph's conduct during the invasion of Sicily, and Lieutenant Jewell subsequently received the Legion of Merit - the highest American honour that can be bestowed on a foreigner. When Seraph was scrapped in 1963, a Seraph Memorial was erected in Citadel campus at the Military College of South Carolina, and includes the boat's periscope, fore hatch, plane wheels and other items from the Barrow-built submarine.
