I was going to do this topic a while back, but I'm doing it now instead. Let's talk about knitting morse code and the role of art in espionage.
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| Morse Code Shawl example |
Some think the arts are only for children, others don't, but the spy trade takes all forms. Wars produce espionage. Having to send messages to the other side and infiltrate for information takes unusual methods and unusual people, some of which look perfectly ordinary to the average human. Put simply, a spy should blend into the environment. What is more common than knitting during a World War when women are told to knit gloves and hats for the troops?
Knitting
No surprise here, women were a prominent force in the spy world, mostly because knitting for the troops and sitting in the domestic sphere knitting was a social norm. Female spies could blend in and knit knots of morse code into their sweaters for days, all under the enemy's constant view. It was perfect. You give the sweater to your lovable, soldier fiance and he passes it on to intelligence, who unravel it and hold it against a marked door frame to reveal a message. It is a form of Steganography, which physically hides messages in plain sight. Men and women could both do this method of code, since morse code and knot patterns worked so well in, not only knitting, but embroidery and all string arts. Drop stitches here, add stitches there, tie a few extra knots here, and no one is the wiser. British, Soviet Union, and United States have all used this method of hiding messages in yarn.
That doesn't mean it was fool-proof, especially since the US caught on to this method and banned the sharing of knitting patterns internationally in case an innocent pattern wasn't so innocent. The UK, at one point, banned knitting because of a growing paranoia about secret messages in knitting. Foolproof? No. Smart? Yes.
Some cases of this code aren't in stitching. In some situations watching someone under a cover of knitting or embroidery is a better cover than holding a newspaper. It makes you look preoccupied, so people ignore you. A woman knitting in front of a window, or several women around train stations (all recording train movement in their knitting for Belgian Resistance) is subtle enough to work. Also, smuggling messages, plans for aircraft, and anything else can be done in a knitting bag or disguised as a ball of yarn. Below I include the brief descriptions of real spies who did what I have described in this section.
UK - Madame Levengle - She sat knitting in front of window, tapping messages with her heels for her kids to record (while pretending it was homework) in the floor below, all while living with a German Marshal. The German suspected nothing.
Soviet Union (WWII) - Elizabeth Bently - She ran two spy rings sending damaging information about the US to the Soviet Union. She also smuggled out early plans for the B-29 and other aircraft in her knitting bag.
United States (Revolutionary War) - Molly Rinker - She spied for George Washington while knitting, putting scraps of paper in a ball of yarn, then throwing the yarn off a cliff down to a soldier below.
Britain (WWII) - Phyllis Latour Doyle - She parachuted into Normandy, was friendly and unthreatening, and knitted morse code messages to Britain.
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| Phylis Latour Doyle |
Art on Canvas
Welcome to the 1950's. This is Cold War territory - no physical fighting, just a couple of countries verbally sparring. Think psychological warfare. Canvas art for the use of government intelligence included propaganda posters, as well as abstract art shows. The US' thoughts on how art could change and form the country wasn't wrong logically, but it was manipulation. The success of these artists made intelligence services want them. Abstract art shows also allowed some artists to defect across the Iron Curtain. Eventually, the government lost control of these artists, after the 1950's ended, and they made their views on Vietnam very, very clear. They couldn't be held back or controlled for long. Art to portray an ideology or view on the current events continues even today. Psychological warfare is probably still happening, especially with political tensions high and a health crisis going on that gives government more control than before. I would encourage you, my readers, to keep this in mind.
Underground Railroad Quilts
This is not proven, but some think and fully believe that safe houses on the Underground Railroad had quilts on clotheslines and windowsills that were encoded with visual cues about the area slaves were in. Anything from a bowtie meaning to dress in disguise and in high status to a log cabin meaning people were safe to speak to and seek shelter from to a zigzag pattern that means to zig zag because you might be stalked by hounds. The problem is that some patterns weren't even around then. Also, concrete evidence of these quilts is either slim or none. If a quilt that supports this theory is found it is generally in bad shape, been through a flood for example.
Another point was also made; as this does count as espionage, most probably won't spill their secrets so easily. Bottom line, if it happened the quilts are gone and secrets get buried with the dead. Southern ways are pretty unyielding and racism is still here - especially southern racism. It didn't die so quickly, and not as quickly as we'd like. If you supported abolition as a family back then you could die doing this Underground Railroad. Would you flaunt these quilts soon after, or even ten years after? No. Abolitionists in the south weren't popular, so you could still be seriously hurt or blackballed, even murdered for it. My point? The concrete evidence of this practice is probably destroyed by time or the owners themselves, in order to save their own lives.
With the current racism even today there is also a consideration of who will tell whom what. Back then the climate was even worse, so do you as a reader think a former black slave, or relative of one, would tell a white man or woman all the details of their escape from slavery and give up the codes that saved so many lives? It is possible they don't feel comfortable doing so, whether you are for abolition or not. If abused by a person who is white for a long time, one doesn't just sit back and spill their beans. A black interviewer is more likely to get more information.
Sources:
https://blogsofwar.com/julia-tatiana-bailey-art-as-espionage-in-cold-war-america/Pictures:
Fringe Association
Daily Mail
Spring Hill Historic Home
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