Geoffrey J. Morton
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey J. Morton, BEM was a member of the Palestine Police who shot dead Avraham Stern
, the leader of a radically militant Zionist group which staged an insurgency against British rule in Palestine during World War Two with the aim of creating a Jewish state.
Once Morton had passed his higher language examination in Arabic he received accelerated promotion under Spicer's patronage, reaching the (sergeant-major equivalent) rank of Head Constable
at the beginning of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, only his steel helmet prevented a coping stone from smashing his skull during one riot in Hiafa. In 1936 he was awarded the British Empire Medal
, he married in 1939. By April 1938 he was an Assistant Superintendent
in charge of the Jenin
Division. Jenin was the hotbed of rural Palestinian
resistance to British rule, along with Nablus
and Tulkam, and Bernard Montgomery praised Morton for his performance which included a particular talent for rooting out arms caches, sometimes by an imaginative use of ruses which belied his rather solemn demeanor. He was noted for his coolness under fire in several skirmishes although he downplayed this by saying that Arabs were bad shots.
launched a wave of retaliatory actions, these reached a crescendo on Sunday, 14 November 1937. As the Arab revolt wound down Avraham Stern's faction diverged from the Irgun (which ceased operations during the war so as not to give any aid or comfort to Nazi Germany which it regarded as the greatest enemy of the Jewish people) and led his group Lehi
on a campaign against Britain's rule. Stern lent heavily on examples from Jewish history such as the Zealots and Bar Kokhba
, maintaining that heroism in the face of overwhelming odds would bring success. Opponents accused Stern of being overly influenced by integral nationalism
and naive about the danger posed by Nazism, he regarded war between Western democracies and Nazi Germany
as "a conflict between Gog and Magog". Lehi concentrated its armed struggle on the British, Stern claiming that they were the real "enemy" rather than Germany which was a "persecutor". Stern had very little support in the wider Jewish community for his violent campaign against the British Mandate for Palestine.
The investigation into the April 11th 1938 deaths of two British policemen killed by booby trap bombs planted on a train packed with Arabs found that one Avrham Stern was behind the bombing, it was the first time Morton had heard the name. Morton became head of CID
in the Lyddal division covering Arab Jaffa and Jewish Tel Aviv, narrowly escaping death when his automatic pistol jammed during a gunfight with an Arab wanted for multiple murders, he managed to shoot dead his opponent. Although he uncovered several big Jewish arms caches during two years in Lydda division this had no effect on Stern's group. The austerely charismatic Stern, a poet and teacher who was referred to as "the light" by his followers, became ever more ruthless in his methods and mercilessly targeted Jewish members of the Palestine Police, regarding them as 'hirelings'. In November 1941 Ya'acov Soffioff, an off duty Jewish constable, was shot dead while walking with his wife and young daughter. The gunman was identified as Zelig Jaques, one of Stern's closest associates.
. Morton chose speed and surprise over the delay that cumbersome reinforcements would involve and he raced to the apartment block with only five detectives, on arrival he posted three men outside and led Wilkins and another CID
man to the room. There were three men inside, relaxing after a day of exchanging information on how to make IEDs - Jaques, Abraham Amper (both leading lieutenants of Stern) and Svorai. The fourth man, Yoske, had gone to the lavatory; the noise of the door opening and the voice making a garbled inquiry about "Mr. Schiff" was taken to be him returning and consequently the three men were caught off guard when Morton threw open the door. Immediately on entering he saw Jaques in front of his wife, two other men were lying on beds; Morton shouted in Hebrew "Don't stand up". When the suspects did just that he opened fire killing Jaques and Amper, Svoai received flesh wounds as did Yoske who was shot in the buttocks by an detective outside while attempting to escape though the lavatory window. The building is now marked by a plaque commemorating the deaths and last headquarters meeting of Stern (in which a plan to assassinate Oliver Lyttelton was finalized).
Morton successfully sued four publishers of books which claimed he murdered Stern, including the English publisher of Menachem Begin
's book The Revolt
.
containing sixty sticks of gelignite
which was hidden in a roadside ditch. It was detonated as a car containing Morton, his wife (who worked in Jaffa
as a teacher) and two bodyguards passed an orange grove close to their home. Because the car had moved out to overtake a bicycle they were not caught by the full force of the blast and although their car was wrecked the occupants escaped with concussion. A few days later there was a reminder of the prescient ruthlesness allied to explosive expertise which led Morton to fear Stern gang members would blow themselves and the police up when faced with arrest; improvised explosive devices were found in the official cemetery where they had been planted in anticipation of the attendance of dignitaries from the Mandate authority at Morton's interment, had the bomb attack on his car succeeded.
In August Morton was told he had been working too hard and was to be sent on extended leave for the good of his health. On his return nearly a year later he was promoted to deputy superintendent but kept away from active service - being given work on film censorship and similar non-jobs. In death Stern, once widely disdained in the Jewish community, had begun to take on the mantle of a martyr. This change in attitude coincided with the threat from the Nazis ending with their expulsion from North Africa; the British were no longer looked on as needed, moreover America was becoming ambivalent about Jewish terrorism. Morton was treated as an embarrassment to the authorities, especially as rumours about the circumstances in which Stern met his death were widely given credence. Less than a year after returning from Britain Morton had no regrets about leaving Palestine for good.
. Stern had ordered his assassination in 1941, however an irregular schedule made Wilkin particularly difficult to target. Stern's death shortly after being arrested by Wilkin gave added impetus to the order, (even though he was said to have stopped a detective who seemed about to shoot Stern immediately after finding him). In 1944 Wilkin was reported to be back in Tel Aviv and operatives combed the city for him, he was recognised at the King David Hotel
, tracked back to a police barracks and carefully surveilled. After their watchers had established that Wilkin regularly walked to his office, Stern's group struck and aged 35 Wilkin was shot dead on the morning of 29 September I944.
(though even there he was warned that it was likely an further attempt would be made on his life) before ending his career in 1954 as deputy police commissioner of Nyasaland
. He liked Africans and Africa and this was a happy period of service although, unlike some contemporaries, he viewed the Apartheid system of South Africa with considerable distaste. Returning to England he worked in personnel and security at an engineering firm, his memoir Just the Job: Some Experiences of a Colonial Policeman was published in 1957. Morton died at the age of 89, he was survived by his wife, son and a daughter.
, Geoffrey J Morton is played by Matthew Macfadyen
. Winterbottom has already shot documentary footage with the surviving participants in the events.
Avraham Stern
Avraham Stern , alias Yair was a Jewish paramilitary leader who founded and led the militant Zionist organization later known as Lehi .-Early life:Stern was born in Suwałki, Poland...
, the leader of a radically militant Zionist group which staged an insurgency against British rule in Palestine during World War Two with the aim of creating a Jewish state.
Early life and career
Geoffrey Jackson Morton grew up in South London, following grammar school he began work in a dairy firm where his father was managing director but after becoming a special constable during the General strike of 1926 he decided on a career in law enforcement. Despite lacking the military background which recruiters preferred Morton succeeded in joining the Palestine Police in 1930 but after passing through the army-style basic training he was assigned to a transport unit. Frustrated at the lack of opportunity for police work he left the force in 1932 however he rejoined six months later on hearing about sweeping changes being made by the New Inspector General Roy Spicer.Once Morton had passed his higher language examination in Arabic he received accelerated promotion under Spicer's patronage, reaching the (sergeant-major equivalent) rank of Head Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
at the beginning of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, only his steel helmet prevented a coping stone from smashing his skull during one riot in Hiafa. In 1936 he was awarded the British Empire Medal
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
, he married in 1939. By April 1938 he was an Assistant Superintendent
Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:*Superintendent , Superintendent of Police, SP, Senior Superintendent of Police or SSP - a police rank*Superintendent or Superintendent of Prison, Superintendent of Jail, Senior Superintendent of Jail - a rank in prisons - head of a district, central or special prison...
in charge of the Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
Division. Jenin was the hotbed of rural Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
resistance to British rule, along with Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
and Tulkam, and Bernard Montgomery praised Morton for his performance which included a particular talent for rooting out arms caches, sometimes by an imaginative use of ruses which belied his rather solemn demeanor. He was noted for his coolness under fire in several skirmishes although he downplayed this by saying that Arabs were bad shots.
The Stern Gang or Lehi
The leader of the right wing Zionists, Ze'ev Jabotinsky was ambivilant about reprisals on Arabs but in response to terrorist attacks on Jews the IrgunIrgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
launched a wave of retaliatory actions, these reached a crescendo on Sunday, 14 November 1937. As the Arab revolt wound down Avraham Stern's faction diverged from the Irgun (which ceased operations during the war so as not to give any aid or comfort to Nazi Germany which it regarded as the greatest enemy of the Jewish people) and led his group Lehi
Lehi
Lehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
on a campaign against Britain's rule. Stern lent heavily on examples from Jewish history such as the Zealots and Bar Kokhba
Bar Kokhba
Bar Kokhba is a name of Simon bar Kokhba, the leader of the Bar Kokhba's revolt, the second of the Jewish-Roman Wars.Bar Kokhba may also refer to:...
, maintaining that heroism in the face of overwhelming odds would bring success. Opponents accused Stern of being overly influenced by integral nationalism
Integral Nationalism
Integral nationalism is one of five types of nationalism defined by Carlton Hayes in his 1928 book The Historical Evolution of Modern Nationalism....
and naive about the danger posed by Nazism, he regarded war between Western democracies and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as "a conflict between Gog and Magog". Lehi concentrated its armed struggle on the British, Stern claiming that they were the real "enemy" rather than Germany which was a "persecutor". Stern had very little support in the wider Jewish community for his violent campaign against the British Mandate for Palestine.
The investigation into the April 11th 1938 deaths of two British policemen killed by booby trap bombs planted on a train packed with Arabs found that one Avrham Stern was behind the bombing, it was the first time Morton had heard the name. Morton became head of CID
CID
-Criminal investigation:* Criminal Investigation Department, the branch of British police forces and many other Commonwealth police forces to which plain clothes detectives belong...
in the Lyddal division covering Arab Jaffa and Jewish Tel Aviv, narrowly escaping death when his automatic pistol jammed during a gunfight with an Arab wanted for multiple murders, he managed to shoot dead his opponent. Although he uncovered several big Jewish arms caches during two years in Lydda division this had no effect on Stern's group. The austerely charismatic Stern, a poet and teacher who was referred to as "the light" by his followers, became ever more ruthless in his methods and mercilessly targeted Jewish members of the Palestine Police, regarding them as 'hirelings'. In November 1941 Ya'acov Soffioff, an off duty Jewish constable, was shot dead while walking with his wife and young daughter. The gunman was identified as Zelig Jaques, one of Stern's closest associates.
Yael Street bomb
When his military chief of staff was arrested Stern took personal charge of operations and ordered attacks on the CID officers who were arresting his men, namely Morton and his subordinate Tom Wilkin. To this end on January 20, 1942 a cunning multi-stage operation was mounted. Firstly, a small explosion created the impression that there had been an accidental explosion at a Lehi bomb factory, this lured members of the Palestine Police to a Tel Aviv apartment block where they were mistakenly identified by the watching Lehi operative as including the intended targets of Morton and Wilkin. Once the policeman were on the roof an explosion was electronically detonated on them from an overlooking vantage point. Deputy Superintendent Solomon Schiff, one of the most senior Jewish policemen (who Lehi had tried to kill in 1941) died instantly. Inspector Nathan Goldman died the day after. Inspector E. Turton, in his first day of a job in Tel Aviv and holder of the King's Police Medal for Gallantry for saving a trainload of Jewish people from a Arab mob, had his legs amputated before dying a week later. Schiff and Goldman were due to testify against Stern gang members who had murdered two Jewish bystanders while robbing a bank official. Stern's men had also placed a third IED under the walkway to the building's entrance which was intended to target the senior officers arriving on the scene after Morton and Wilkins were killed. When Morton and Wilkins arrived in the aftermath of the rooftop bomb they were recognized by the man delegated to trigger the second IED but, contravening an order to trigger the explosion no matter how many bystanders would die, the Lehi operative did not detonate the walkway IED because of Jewish people nearby.Morton's subsequent behavior when making arrests
The bombing death of his colleagues demonstrated the Stern gang's thorough knowledge of police procedures, ingenuity in coming up with novel ploys and mastery of improvised explosive devices. The knowledge that CID men were the prime target of explosives expert zealots had a profound effect on Morton's subsequent behavior when arresting Lehi fighters. As a member of the Palestine police he had received pistol training which emphasized instinctive aiming and the danger of quick-reacting suspects; after the Yael Street bomb those who disregarded a warning to stay still during raids were not given the benefit of the doubt but instantly shot.Dizengoff Street shooting
The authorities offered the large reward of £3000 for information leading to convictions and £1000 for the capture of Stern. One week after the bombing on January the 27th 1942 Morton learned from a Jewish informant that four young men were renting a third floor room at the rear of 30 Dizengoff StreetDizengoff Street
Dizengoff Street is a major street in central Tel Aviv, named after Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff.The street runs from the corner of Ibn Gabirol Street in its southernmost point to the port area of Tel Aviv in its northwestern point...
. Morton chose speed and surprise over the delay that cumbersome reinforcements would involve and he raced to the apartment block with only five detectives, on arrival he posted three men outside and led Wilkins and another CID
CID
-Criminal investigation:* Criminal Investigation Department, the branch of British police forces and many other Commonwealth police forces to which plain clothes detectives belong...
man to the room. There were three men inside, relaxing after a day of exchanging information on how to make IEDs - Jaques, Abraham Amper (both leading lieutenants of Stern) and Svorai. The fourth man, Yoske, had gone to the lavatory; the noise of the door opening and the voice making a garbled inquiry about "Mr. Schiff" was taken to be him returning and consequently the three men were caught off guard when Morton threw open the door. Immediately on entering he saw Jaques in front of his wife, two other men were lying on beds; Morton shouted in Hebrew "Don't stand up". When the suspects did just that he opened fire killing Jaques and Amper, Svoai received flesh wounds as did Yoske who was shot in the buttocks by an detective outside while attempting to escape though the lavatory window. The building is now marked by a plaque commemorating the deaths and last headquarters meeting of Stern (in which a plan to assassinate Oliver Lyttelton was finalized).
Lehi account of the shooting
According to an account sympathetic to Lehi, Morton burst in with his pistol leveled and yelled "Hands up!", as the surprised occupants got to their feet and complied he motioned with his free hand for Wilkin and two other CID men to stay back and shot Ammper in the stomach three times, Svorai in the shoulder and leg and Jaques twice in the stomach.The death of Avrham Stern
Within a couple of days a guard overheard one of the wounded suspects whispering instructions to his mother about consulting someone at the attic room, 8 Mizrach Street, this was the home of Tovah Savorai and in fact Stern's hiding place. Along with two other CID men Wilkin went to search the premises on 22 February 1942, to their triumph and apparent surprise Stern was found in a wardrobe. Wilkin dissuaded a detective who seemed to be on the point of killing Stern and sent for Morton who, fearing there were explosives rigged to go off, had the building evacuated. Morton always insisted that Stern was not shot because he 'attempted to escape' but because, having vowed blow up himself and the police rather than be arrested and without any hope of getting away, he had made a mad rush toward a open window which led to a flat roof. The similarities of the attic room to the location of the Yael Street bomb were forcefully apparent and, concluding that Stern was trying to reach the trigger of an explosive device, Morton shot him dead. Morton was later to win at least three libel actions against those who claimed his averred reason for shooting was a pretext and that had actually murdered Stern in cold blood.Lehi account of the killing
According to Lehi member Tovah Savorai, Stern was on a sofa with hands manacled behind his back and two guns leveled at him when Morton arrived. At this point everyone but Morton, Wilkin and another policeman were cleared from the room, she was put in a car and shortly thereafter heard shots. According to one rumour Morton had jerked Stern to his feet shoved him towards a window and shot him in the head and then again in the chest as he lay on the floor.Morton successfully sued four publishers of books which claimed he murdered Stern, including the English publisher of Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
's book The Revolt
The Revolt
The Revolt is a book about the militant Zionist organization Irgun Zvai Leumi, by one of its principal leaders, Menachem Begin...
.
Reprisals against Morton
Morton was given a couple of bodyguards but Stern's disciples made determined efforts to avenge their fallen leader and there were reportly two attempts with IEDs, the closest they came was on 1 May 1942 with a huge improvised explosive deviceImprovised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
containing sixty sticks of gelignite
Gelignite
Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...
which was hidden in a roadside ditch. It was detonated as a car containing Morton, his wife (who worked in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
as a teacher) and two bodyguards passed an orange grove close to their home. Because the car had moved out to overtake a bicycle they were not caught by the full force of the blast and although their car was wrecked the occupants escaped with concussion. A few days later there was a reminder of the prescient ruthlesness allied to explosive expertise which led Morton to fear Stern gang members would blow themselves and the police up when faced with arrest; improvised explosive devices were found in the official cemetery where they had been planted in anticipation of the attendance of dignitaries from the Mandate authority at Morton's interment, had the bomb attack on his car succeeded.
In August Morton was told he had been working too hard and was to be sent on extended leave for the good of his health. On his return nearly a year later he was promoted to deputy superintendent but kept away from active service - being given work on film censorship and similar non-jobs. In death Stern, once widely disdained in the Jewish community, had begun to take on the mantle of a martyr. This change in attitude coincided with the threat from the Nazis ending with their expulsion from North Africa; the British were no longer looked on as needed, moreover America was becoming ambivalent about Jewish terrorism. Morton was treated as an embarrassment to the authorities, especially as rumours about the circumstances in which Stern met his death were widely given credence. Less than a year after returning from Britain Morton had no regrets about leaving Palestine for good.
Reprisal against Tom Wilkin
By 1944 Wilkin had become an Assistant Superintendent and head of the CID's Jewish section, a considerable contrast to predecessor Ralph Cairns (killed by Irgun in 1939) Wilkin was a personable 'good' policeman. He eschewed physical coercion however his polite, pleasant manner allied to excellent Hebrew often lulled suspects into making damaging admissions during interviews and Wilkin was seen as the mortal enemy of LehiLehi
Lehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
. Stern had ordered his assassination in 1941, however an irregular schedule made Wilkin particularly difficult to target. Stern's death shortly after being arrested by Wilkin gave added impetus to the order, (even though he was said to have stopped a detective who seemed about to shoot Stern immediately after finding him). In 1944 Wilkin was reported to be back in Tel Aviv and operatives combed the city for him, he was recognised at the King David Hotel
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem, Israel. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally quarried pink limestone and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish Banker. To this day the hotel remains one of the most prominent and prestigious hotels in Israel, and...
, tracked back to a police barracks and carefully surveilled. After their watchers had established that Wilkin regularly walked to his office, Stern's group struck and aged 35 Wilkin was shot dead on the morning of 29 September I944.
Later life
Morton worked in TrinidadTrinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
(though even there he was warned that it was likely an further attempt would be made on his life) before ending his career in 1954 as deputy police commissioner of Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
. He liked Africans and Africa and this was a happy period of service although, unlike some contemporaries, he viewed the Apartheid system of South Africa with considerable distaste. Returning to England he worked in personnel and security at an engineering firm, his memoir Just the Job: Some Experiences of a Colonial Policeman was published in 1957. Morton died at the age of 89, he was survived by his wife, son and a daughter.
In popular culture
In The Promised Land an upcoming film by Michael WinterbottomMichael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
, Geoffrey J Morton is played by Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
. Winterbottom has already shot documentary footage with the surviving participants in the events.