Walter Dicketts

Walter Arthur Charles Dicketts (31 March 1900 – 16 August 1957) was a British double agent who was sent by MI5 into Nazi Germany in early 1941 to infiltrate the Abwehr and bring back information about any impending invasion of Britain.

Before his two years as a double agent, he was an RNAS officer who had worked in Air Intelligence during the latter part of World War I and had served several prison sentences for fraud. As he was unable to regain a commission in the RAF or work for British Intelligence due to his criminal past, Dicketts volunteered to work for the British Double Cross team.

Early life Walter Dicketts was born in Southend-on-Sea, the son of Arthur, a stockbroker's clerk, and his wife Francis. Dicketts attended the local grammar school and in 1915 he ran away from school and enlisted with the RNAS During the early part of their marriage Dicketts met Dora Viva Guerrier, a dancer with the famous Tiller Girls, and began a relationship, resulting in the birth of Dicketts' only daughter, Effie. The following year he had a second son by Phyllis and several months later a son to Dora, who was given away at birth.

He married two more times to Vera Fudge and Judith Kelman and maintained a second mistress called Kathleen "Kay" Holdcroft during his marriage to Vera. Kay "Dicketts" played an integral role as part of his cover during his mission to South America in 1941. Dicketts was the father of six children.

Work with MI5 Dicketts was sent by MI5 into Nazi Germany in early 1941 to infiltrate the Abwehr and bring back information about any impending invasion of Britain. As part of the Double-Cross System Ritter arranged for Dicketts to be brought to Hamburg to be interrogated by members of the Abwehr. Dicketts was drugged, Dicketts remained in Hamburg and later in Berlin for four weeks.

When Dicketts returned to England with Owens their stories did not match and MI5 spent many hours interrogating their two agents, trying to establish who was telling the truth. In the end Dicketts' account was believed over Owens', who was imprisoned until 1944 for betraying Dicketts to the Germans before he even went into Germany, and for informing Ritter that the radio transmitter he had given him before the war, was now under MI5 control. MI5 were never certain of Owens' loyalty, and several months later he was sent to South America shortly before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Dicketts' mistress Kay was given false papers in the name of Mrs Dicketts despite her "husband" being legally married at the time. and served several prison sentences for fraud (forging cheques and obtaining money by false pretences) in the UK, as well as one in Austria and one in France. Dicketts married four times and maintained two mistresses during two of those marriages. Police and media described Dicketts variously as elusive, well educated, well spoken, with charming manners and a charming smile.

Later life After leaving MI5 in 1943 Dicketts imported oranges into England from South America and became involved in a variety of different businesses, including property development. When his businesses began to fail, Dicketts and his wife Judith fled to East Grinstead, where he established himself as a wealthy philanthropist called Charles Stewart Pollock. He became very successful, owned a manor house, and drove around in a white Rolls-Royce. The money he obtained from investors was used to repay other investors and in classic Ponzi scheme style, his businesses began to collapse and Dicketts was unable to repay his debts and soon gave himself up to police. which named Arthur Owens but not Walter Dicketts. Dicketts was described by his German codename Brown, and was pictured being drugged by the Abwehr who removed his opening signet ring having apparently killed himself, and Owens died in December of the same year of cardiac asthma, a condition secondary to heart failure that is marked by breathing difficulty.

In 1972 John Cecil Masterman published The Double Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945, an intimate account of wartime British military deception, in which Celery is mentioned, but not identified as Walter Dicketts. His family did not discover his role with British intelligence in both world wars until his security services file was released by the British National Archives in 2006. It was at this time that his family discovered the existence of his other wives, mistresses and children.

In 2017, his granddaughter Carolinda Witt, published a biography of Dicketts' called Double Agent Celery – MI5's Crooked Hero.