At this point, questions about the official account begin to arise. The first came from Lieutenant Norman Jewell, the commander of the HMS Seraph, the last man to see “Major Martin” as he was in charge when the body was left at sea. Much later, after retiring, Jewell told the Navy News, “I do not believe the allegations about the identity of the body.” His opinion came from some strange but indisputable facts. First, when he was assigned to Operation Mincemeat, HMS Seraph was in Blyth, Northumberland. He then traveled north of Scotland to Holy Loch to meet the body of Major Martin, who had apparently been driven north of London by Montagu. Why was it necessary? Having picked him up from any naval port in the south of England would have shortened the Seraph’s voyage and avoided the need for a perilous voyage from Montagu. Official testimonies also say that Michael’s body was used in the early stages of preparation for Operation Mincemeat and was placed in cold storage for several weeks in London. But there must have been real concern that any semi-decent autopsy on the corpse in Spain would show that he had not recently drowned nor that he was a capable soldier. Indeed, the body is said to have reached the limit of its “lifespan”, according to Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the eminent physician. And Michael had died from the consumption of rat poison, which could be consolidated by the Germans. At first, the operation did not have access to a recently drowned man who was young and in good physical condition, so the Montagu men may have decided to take risks using their Welsh. Then an opportunity presented itself. On March 27, 1943, the HMS Dasher escort carrier exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde with the loss of 379 men. Immediate blackout news was imposed so neither the Germans nor the British were aware.
