Karel Richard Richter - Wikipedia In November 1940, Richter was recruited by the Abwehr as a spy.[1] During his training in Hamburg and the Hague, Richter bumped into another spy, Josef Jakobs, who was sent to Britain on 31 January 1941. Unlike Jakobs, who was to report on the weather in Britain, Richter had a very specific mission, to check on Wulf Schmidt, a German spy working out of Britain. The Germans suspected that Schmidt (known as Agent LEONHARD) had been turned into a double-agent by the British, which in fact he had, being known to the British as agent TATE. Richter parachuted into Britain on the early morning of 12 May 1941, landing near London Colney north of London.[1] Richter quickly hid his parachute and equipment and spent the next few days and nights hiding in the forest, too nervous to travel to London.[4] When Richter eventually came out of hiding, he was approached by a lorry driver who asked Richter for directions.[4] Unable to give directions, Richter aroused the suspicions of the lorry driver who drove a short distance and reported the strange foreigner to a police officer.[4] The police officer found Richter and, after examining his papers and asking him a few questions, decided to take Richter to the local police station.[4] Richter's identity papers, in the name of Fred Snyder, were clearly forged and did not match the expired Czechoslovak passport in his possession (which was in his own name).[4] Richter was sent to Camp 020 where he was interrogated by officers of MI5.[4] Richter was a difficult agent to break and it was only when he was confronted with fellow spy Josef Jakobs that Richter began to crack.[4]Richter revealed the true purpose of his mission, to check up on agent Wulf Schmidt.[4] BBC - WW2 People's War - My Spy at Cherry Green Trees
