New recruits to MI5’s “watchers” division during the Second World War received some highly practical – and occasionally unconventional – advice: avoid false beards, carry plenty of spare change for the Tube, and, if the moment comes to instruct a taxi driver to “follow that cab,” make sure you’re ready with a generous tip.
These instructions, part of a declassified training booklet for rookie operatives, are now on display at the National Archives in Kew, west London, as part of a new exhibition on MI5’s wartime activities. Far from the glamour of screen spies, the booklet emphasises the demanding and often monotonous reality of surveillance work.
