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  1. #1
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    Default The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    "Frederick ‘Fritz’ Joubert Duquesne (pictured below ca. 1900) was a South African born German soldier who served as a spy during the First World War. During the war, he went by many different aliases, including Frederick Fredericks, George Fordam and Piet Niacud (Niacud is the the pronunciation of Duquesne in reverse). Between 1914 and 1916 he was responsible for the sinking of 22 British merchant ships in South America through the planting of bombs disguised as ‘mineral samples’, and one of his bombs killed three British sailors. After one of his accomplices was arrested and he identified Duquesne, the spy fled to Argentina and placed an article in a local newspaper that reported he was killed by Amazonian natives in Bolivia.

    After briefly stopping in New York to attempt to take out insurance policies on the cargo on the ships he sank, Duquesne made his way to Europe in June 1916. Posing as Russian Duke Boris Zakrevsky, the German spy joined Lord Kitchener aboard the HMS Hampshire in Scotland. He then signalled the German submarine that sank the cruiser, killing Kitchener, made his escape on a life raft, and thus earned his new nickname ‘The Man Who Killed Kitchener’. This act also earned him the Iron Cross. There is some debate to the validity of this story though.

    After this, and up until his arrest in November 1917, Duquesne took on the persona of Captain Claude Stoughton, an Australian war hero. Using his charisma, intelligence and command of several languages, Captain Stoughton made several appearance before New York audiences to tell war stories, promote the sale of Liberty Bonds and make patriotic speeches for organisations such as the Red Cross. Historian Jon Mooallem described Duquesne as ‘an adrenaline junkie’ and believed it possible that he ‘simply liked attention, the performance.’"
    https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatWar...type=3&theater

  2. #2
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    Interesting character; he fought next to my great grandfather during the Anglo-Boer war. For some reason the people in his unit thought he was a Frenchman - he might have been posing as one. That was what great grandfather told my father as a child. If memory serves correct he died in 1947 in an American jail.

  3. #3

    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    Johan Kruger wrote a book about this. Die Dag Van Die Lord. A great read.

    Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    Quote Originally Posted by Ds J View Post
    Interesting character; he fought next to my great grandfather during the Anglo-Boer war. For some reason the people in his unit thought he was a Frenchman - he might have been posing as one. That was what great grandfather told my father as a child. If memory serves correct he died in 1947 in an American jail.
    The border between Germany (and it's predecessors) and France (and it's predecessors) was moved quite frequently, usually after a war. The people living in the border region, usually have relatives across the Rhine too. Determining nationality is usually done by inspecting passports and similar documents, as the names and the language spoken is not a clear identifier. Much like our brothers and sisters living in Namibia.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African



    "An explorer, a big game hunter, a raconteur, a saboteur and a certified lunatic. These are just a few of the personas adopted by a man who is considered one of the most iconic and notorious spies of the 20th century.Yet for a man of his spying prowess, few today know his real name. Known at various points of his life either as The Black Panther, the Duke, or the man who killed Kitchener, he was handsome, charismatic, intelligent, and fluent in several languages. To some, he was just a common shyster and a conman, while to others, he was a master spy and saboteur.For a man as enigmatic and complex as South African-born super spy Fritz Duquesne, the truth probably lies somewhere in between."

  6. #6

    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    Duquesne was a nut case. I would not believe anything about him.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    There was no shortage of crazy larger than life nutters playing the Atlantic rim from the mid 1800's till roughly the end of WW2.

    Look up Joseph Silver for another example of a saffer linked black belt but job.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    While he may also have been a 'but' job he was better known for being a nut job.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: The Man Who Killed Kitchener Was a South African

    Concentration Camp Kitchener? At least one good deed then to make up for whatever else Duquesne might have done.

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