Tomás Harris (10 April 1908 at Hampstead, London - 27 January 1964 at Majorca, Spain; motor accident) was a Spanish-speaking officer with MI5

MI5

The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 who worked with Garbo

Juan Pujol (alias Garbo)

Joan Pujol Garcia , also known as Juan Pujol García , MBE , was a double agent during the Second World War who was known by the British codename Garbo and the German codename Arabel...

, an important double agent for the British.

Harris and Pujol

Together they made up a fictional team of 27 fake sub-agents, who were created in order to convince German intelligence that Garbo was a reliable spy. This resulted in what became known as The Garbo deception

Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude was the codename for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy during the build up to the 1944 Normandy Landings...

.

Pujol's and Tomás' Network of Fictitious Agents

AGENT SUB-AGENT

|Agent ONE -------------------------|J(2) KLM pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 and courier
|KLM steward

Flight attendant

Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...

  |
|-resigned in 1943 |J(3) Head of Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 MOI

Ministry of Information

The term Ministry of Information may refer to the following:* Ministry of Information , part of the Cabinet of Egypt* Ministry of Information , part of the Cabinet of Equatorial Guinea...

 Section
| |
| |J(4) Censor in MOI
| |
| |J(5) Secretary in Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....

|
|Agent TWO -------------------------|2(I) WIDOW
|William Gerbers | Mrs. Gerbers
|-died in Bootle

Bootle

Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles  to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1942
|
|Agent THREE -----------------------|3(I) Pilot Officer
|BENEDICT |
|-"Carlos", a Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n student |3(2) Officer in British 49th Infantry Division

British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division

This military division was formed on 1 April 1908 as the West Riding Division in the Territorial Force of the British Army.- First World War :...

| in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

  |
| |3(3) Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 seaman and deserter

Desertion

In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...

|
GARBO/ARABEL --|Agent FOUR ------------------------|4(I) ALMURA
(Juan Pujol) |CHAMILLUS | radio operator
|-Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

ian NAAFI

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes

The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families...

 waiter based |
| in Chislehurst

Chislehurst

Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 (London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

), England |4(2) Guard based in Chislehurst
| |
| |4(3) US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 NCO

Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

 based in London
|
|Agent FIVE ------------------------|5(I) Agent FIVE's cousin in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, USA
|MOONBEAM
|-a Venezuelan based in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

,
| Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

|-brother of "BENEDICT"
|
|Agent SIX
|Field Security NCO
|-died in 1943
|
|Agent SEVEN -----------------------|7(I) Soldier in British 9th Armoured Division

British 9th Armoured Division

The 9th Armoured Division was a Second World War British Army formation. The 9th Armoured was created on 1 December 1940 and dispersed and disbanded on 31 July 1944. The division never saw active service during the war...

|DAGOBERT |
|-Ex-seaman in Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

  |7(2) DONNY
| Leader of World Aryan Order
|
|7(3) Wren

Women's Royal Naval Service

The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...

 in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

)
|
|7(4) DICK
| India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n fanatic
|
|7(5) DRAKE in Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

, England
|
|7(6) Welsh fascist

Fascism

Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

 in South Wales
|
|7(7) DORICK in Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

, England

Further reading

In January 1999 The Security Service released Tomás Harris's case files on GARBO. Harris's "Summary of the Garbo Case 1941-1945" is also published, entitled Garbo: The Spy who saved D-Day (ISBN 1-903365-58-9).

Tomas Harris was an Art Dealer, Artist, Goya Specialist and MI5 Officer (Garbo's case officer). He resided with his wife at Chesterfield Gardens, Mayfair

Mayfair

Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...

, W1.

External links

• MI5 Profile

www.tomasharris.com More information about the life of Tomas Harris