Peter Dorschel
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Peter Dorschel was an East German spy convicted in Scotland in June 1967 of offences contrary to the
Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all infor ...
, involving the sale of information to the USSR.


Background

Peter Dorschel was a ship's cook. Little is known of his background other than that he came from what was then the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and had visited Britain on occasion prior to 1967 when employed as a seaman. He had worked legally under the English permit system and in January 1967 had married Christine, an English model, at Lübeck. Some time prior to May 1967, and probably during his
honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...
, he had been approached in his home country by two compatriots who were operating as agents for the USSR. They proposed to provide finances enabling Dorschel to acquire a small hotel in Dunoon, Scotland, by use of which he would be able to obtain information from local US service personnel regarding fleet movements and facilities at their
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
nuclear submarine base at the
Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...
. The information would be passed on by Dorschel to the agents. In April, Dorschel rented a house at
Hunter's Quay Hunters Quay ( gd, Camas Rainich) is a village, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Situated between Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operating between Hunt ...
. This provided him with a good view of activity at the Polaris base.


Arrest and trial

Dorschel was living at 10 Webster Grove,
Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...
, England, when he was arrested on 26 May 1967 in connection with his activities. Then aged 26, he was accused of inciting another man, William Alexander MacAffer (sometimes spelled ''McAffer''), "to obtain documents which might be or were intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy, for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State." MacAffer was a 30-year-old bookmaker who lived at Argyll Street in Dunoon. Another who was involved in the conspiracy was Garry Lee Ledbetter, a US Navy
shipfitter A shipfitter is a marine occupational classification used both by naval activities and among ship builders; however, the term applies mostly to certain workers at commercial and naval shipyards during the construction or repair phase of a ship. T ...
from Dexter, Missouri, US who was stationed on , the submarine tender serving the Polaris fleet at Holy Loch. Ledbetter supplied two documents to MacAffer, who in turn supplied them to Dorschel. Although arrested and initially charged in Manchester, the case against Dorschel was transferred to Scotland when related arrests were made there. Dorschel pleaded guilty on 19 June 1967 at Dunoon Sheriff Court. With
Nicholas Fairbairn Sir Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn, (24 December 1933 – 19 February 1995) was a Scottish politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Kinross and Western Perthshire from October 1974 to 1983, and then for Perth and Kinros ...
acting in his defence at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, Dorschel was sentenced on 23 June to seven years' imprisonment. Having heard the prosecutor describe Dorschel as a probably a "little fish" and amateurish, the sentencing judge recorded that '' The Times'' reported that, despite the seriousness of the charge, the court hearing had been "marked by some moments of levity on the public benches and drolleries from the legal participants". One instance giving rise to this was a statement regarding Dorschel's naivety: he had been asked to supply photographs of
Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...
and
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
to his spymasters and had instead sent picture postcards. Fairbairn noted that "If this is how foreign espionage in matters as important as nuclear submarines is conducted, we have little to fear from it."


Alleged accomplices

Dorschel had co-operated from the outset with the investigation and Fairbairn said that he had received no training nor had any particular ideological basis for his activities. At the time of Dorschel's sentencing, the US Navy reported that investigations were still proceeding with regard to Ledbetter. Later, Ledbetter was charged by the Navy with supplying a training booklet and another unspecified document to a man and a woman. Dorschel gave evidence '' in camera'' against Ledbetter at the court martial in August 1967. MacAffer and his sister, Frances Isabella MacAffer (or Hardless], both attended but refused to supply information. Ledbetter, who had been subjected to a polygraph test, was found guilty. He was sentenced to six months' hard labour and discharged from the navy. Although charges had been laid against MacAffer, they were dropped in September 1967. The Crown Office, who were responsible for prosecuting, said that it was unable to provide a reason for this. MacAffer, whose sister was the girlfriend of Ledbetter, then claimed that he had notified the US and British authorities of Dorschel's initial approach to him and had been trying to trap Dorschel since that time. He also claimed that he had been told there were six East Germans involved in the spy ring. Official bodies of both countries denied his claims of co-operation. MacAffer faced further charges in October 1967, relating to alleged avoidance of customs duty and illegal off-course bookmaking that had been discovered in May.


Later events

Dorschel was released in January 1970 and deported to West Germany. Later in that year, his wife, Christine, who had been aged 21 at the time of the trial and had promised to "stand by" him, divorced him on the grounds of cruelty. In granting the '' decree nisi'', the judge chose to overlook her admitted adultery. She said at the time of the divorce that she thought Dorschel was possibly serving in the merchant navy of the USSR.


References


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorschel, Peter East German spies German people imprisoned abroad German people convicted of spying for the Soviet Union Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom People from Prestwich Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births