Inside Camp - X TM

 Chapter IV

By Lynn-Philip Hodgson

The Hams

In 1978, Eric Curwain (a.k.a. Bill Simpson) gave me an exclusive interview which was unlike any other. He talked about how he recruited the Ham operators that would become the backbone of Hydra, W/T (wireless / telegraph) operators and agents abroad.

 Again I would like to call upon Eric’s own words as he described it to me through his autobiography, ‘Almost top Secret’.

" Among the fraternity of radio Hams in Ontario there was little difficulty in finding recruits to man the communications network planned for the Western hemisphere; that is, for countries other that the United States. Communication between Britain’s SIS headquarters in England and their office in New York was provided by a radio link of the Federal Bureau of Investigation which, thanks to the efforts of William Stephenson, had become a stout comrade in arms for Britain. Our Buckhamshire radio H.Q. in England kept up a daily contact with New York. It must be admitted that the American operators were quicker with their Bug Keys than the British with their ‘up and down’ keys the naval style we could not discard.

" Armed with permission from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police I contacted the Department of Transport Inspector in charge of radio regulations for Ontario and asked him the names of the best Hams. Among the first mentioned was that of Fred Saxon, then employed in the City Hall. He was the ideal man for us; a first-class Morse operator,  DX enthusiast (expert in maintaining radio contacts around the world), cheery and positive in outlook and a good disciplinarian.  We at once named him Wire Chief of the newly erected radio and land line installation at Camp - X located near Oshawa.

"Under the direction of Bill Stephenson’s electronics expert, Colonel Benjamin De Forrest  (Pat)  Bayley, Fred and his constantly expanding group of operators soon had radio and teletype linking us with the rest of the world, including London, New York and Washington........................

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