It was the most secret training facility in the western hemisphere,
and it contained the most cutting edge spy technology of its time.
It was also the site of the most mysterious war time deaths in World War II history,
and where some of the Allie's top spies were forged- including famous author Roald Dahl.
One day before Pearl Harbor, Camp X officially opened its doors. The facility was so secret that
even the Prime Minister of Canada, Mackenzie King, had no idea it existed right in his own nation's
backyard. The sprawling training grounds in southern Canada had one simple purpose:
prepare Canadian and American spies for the war against the Nazis.
The United States may have been neutral, but President Roosevelt still favored supporting
Britain and France over the Nazis. However, the US public was sick of European wars,
and formally declaring war on Germany would have been political suicide. Instead, the United States
initiated several key programs to help the Allies stem the tide of Nazi Germany, including the
famous lend/lease act that saw many American warships end up in the hands of the British.
But Roosevelt didn't think the US could stay neutral for long.
At the rate the war was going, Britain would eventually fall and if that happened,
Nazi Germany would control all of Europe. As he secretly prepared for war though one
thing was abundantly clear- the United States was far from ready.
The nation had no official intelligence agency, and even less experience conducting spy
operations. If the US was to join the war effort, it would need a very quick crash course on spying.
Luckily, Britain was only too happy to repay the US for its war material by training up its first
official spies. A nation with a vast spy network, Britain had plenty of experience in intelligence
gathering, sabotage, and recruiting partisans- all the critical skills a World War II spy would need.
But the US's official neutral stance meant that nobody could know Britain was training the first
generation of American spies, so British advisors began to help the US create its first intelligence
agency covertly. They opened up an office in New York City called “British Passport Control”
which served as a direct liaison with the Americans and the Special Operations Executive-
a British espionage outfit. As the US gathered together suitable recruits for its first permanent
national intelligence agency, they would need a place where training could take place covertly.
Building such a facility in the US was out of the question- if word got out the British were
training American spies it would be a violation of the US public's desire to stay out of the war.
Thus Canada was chosen instead- it had remote enough areas that German spies would have
difficulty learning of the operation, let alone reaching it, and the Canadian people supported the
British war effort. Despite their support though, the Canadians wanted to join the war on their own
as an independent nation, and thus the existence of Camp X was kept secret even from the Canadian
Prime Minister for fear he would shut it down. As we’ll see later, Germany may have been all
too aware of the top secret camp though… Vancouver businessman A.J. Taylor was
paid off to buy 260 acres near Oshawa, Ontario under a fake real estate company's name. Then,
construction began on barracks, classrooms, and a radio equipment room which would come to be known
as 'The Hydra'. It would be from here that some of the most important intelligence of World War
II would pass- but first Camp X had to get started on training recruits.
The terrain was perfect for training spies and undercover agents. The sprawling compound included
forests, hills, swamps, and even a long stretch of coastline to train in boat
handling and swimming. The frigid waters of Lake Ontario perfectly simulated the
bone-chattering chill of the Atlantic and Mediterranean in winter- and given
that many operatives would end up being inserted behind enemy lines via submarine,
made for perfect swimming and boating practice before the real deal.
All training was handled by British instructors, who had vast experience in intelligence gathering
and guerrilla warfare thanks to the sprawling nature of the British empire. Even before
World War II British agents had been in operation everywhere from Turkey to South Africa and China,
lending them a degree of experience the Canadians and Americans could only dream of.
Thus the entire training regimen was left up to the expertise of each instructor.
One of the first skills Camp X recruits learned was mapmaking and land navigation,
integral skills for any spy operating behind enemy lines. The sprawling wilds of Camp X
were perfect for land navigation exercises, and the techniques taught at Camp X remain
in use even by regular US armed forces today. Next, recruits would learn how to move around
stealthily which included lessons in active and passive camouflage. These skills too continue to
be taught to modern American and Canadian military forces, and include the application of camo paint,
field camouflage of the individual and equipment, and more passive techniques such as where to stand
within the illumination of lamps and street lights so as to best disguise yourself- the
human eye has a limited exposure range and standing at the right spot of a light cone
can actually make it very difficult to see you or make out clear details.
These skills would be critical for a spy undercover or behind enemy lines,
who would need to utilize them to effectively use the next skills taught to all Camp X recruits:
how to kill with knives, blades, and bare hands. Sometimes a gun is simply too loud,
or perhaps a spy may find themselves disarmed or out of ammunition. Knowing
how to kill quickly and quietly can make the difference between life and death,
and various hand-to-hand techniques were taught to Camp X recruits early in their training.
These combat styles could range from traditional boxing to techniques used by African bushmen and
Asian guerillas- here once more the British empire's sprawling nature helped pull together
disparate techniques from around the world and distill them down to a cohesive fighting style.
Former Shanghai policeman, Major Dan Fairbairn, also famously taught at Camp X briefly,
bringing with him eastern martial arts. He would eventually make the move south to train the
Americans directly, but not before instilling his philosophy that no form of combat was out
of bounds in a fight for your life, including a swift kick to the enemy's testicles. Fairbairn
had been involved in over 600 fights or riots during his time in China, and he brought nearly
thirteen years of experience brawling and stabbing Chinese criminals and separatists
to Camp X. He would go on to create a specialized blade still carried by modern spies and commandos,
the Fairbairn-Sykes knife, a stiletto like blade that was lethal in the right hands.
However, spies also needed to know how to remain inconspicuous. These techniques covered various
things such as how to look as if you weren't really paying attention to a sharp-eyed guard
when you were in fact carefully noting the number and composition of a passing
German unit. Such techniques for gathering intelligence in plain sight were critical
for spies operating within enemy or occupied civilian populations,
as German intelligence agents were themselves constantly on the lookout for informants and
Allied spies as German units maneuvered throughout Europe. A good spy however also had to look the
part of a normal civilian wherever in the world he or she was sent to, and thus this
training would also cover cultural customs and even dress in various regions of the world.
To help foment dissent and raise a resistance movement, Camp X recruits were also trained in
the forging of documents to fool German officials, and the creation of effective propaganda. Here the
British were also quite adept, but they had learned many lessons from Germany's masterful
use of propaganda within its own borders and in occupied territories. Propaganda would often lead
directly to a Camp X recruit's next objective: raising and training a guerilla movement. Thus
recruits were taught how to be good teachers themselves, as well as how to create a variety
of improvised weapons and explosives to use for sabotage and to equip a guerilla force with.
Explosives training was a major part of Camp X training, and with so many recruits training
in the handling of explosives, the few local residents that did exist were routinely subjected
to the far-off blasts of detonations. This was to Camp X's disadvantage, as no facility could remain
secret for long if it was constantly blowing stuff up- however, it inadvertently helped cover up its
real purpose as the facility was soon believed to be used for experimentation with explosives.
Lastly, recruits were trained in a variety of firearms, including not just American and British
models, but German as well. A good spy would need to be able to pick up and operate any firearm they
came across, and Camp X would feature special training for spies operating in different parts
of the world, ensuring that each recruit knew how to handle any firearm models native to the region.
However, marksmanship wasn't the only thing that mattered in forging a future spy, and Camp
X recruits underwent rigorous training in what came to be known as 'instinctive gunfighting'.
This technique- also still taught today- involves familiarizing an individual with
a firearm so intimately, that they are able to lay down effective and accurate
fire even without looking down the weapon's sights. While training techniques differ,
typically an individual is taught how to use a firearm 'from the hip'
at various predetermined ranges- for example, an individual may be trained to shoot from the hip
accurately at a range of ten meters, then at a range of twenty meters, and so on. Eventually,
the individual is so familiar with firing from the hip at specific ranges that they are able to
accurately measure the distance to a target and place effective fire on target without
bringing the weapon sights up to their eye. It is a difficult skill to master, but much like riding
a bicycle, once one has the hang of it, firing from the hip accurately becomes instinctive.
While each trainee received all of this general training, each group's
instructor was completely free to modify or edit the curriculum as they saw fit. Often,
groups of trainees would have their training modified for the specific part of the world
or missions they would undertake. Thus trainees tasked with carrying out human
intelligence gathering operations in eastern Europe would have different
training from those tasked with blowing up Japanese infrastructure in China.
Training was intense, and there was no telling when a new training exercise would take place.
Recruits could be sitting at chow or in the middle of a classroom lecture when
suddenly it would be interrupted by a mock gun battle. Afterwards the recruits were
grilled with questions such as number of attackers, number of rounds fired,
uniforms worn by the attackers and what types of weapons they were carrying. This was to best
simulate reality in a real-world operation, when chaos could be unleashed at any moment.
After ten to eleven weeks of intense training, graduates would either be sent out on their first
missions or sent for additional training elsewhere. However, those recruits showing great
proficiency with electronics and codebreaking would be invited to join Hydra Radio. This top
secret radio facility was installed within the training grounds themselves, and had windows
seven feet high so as to prevent any snooping from the outside. Inside this nondescript radio
room top secret messages were exchanged with spy agencies and spies all over the world,
their coded messages relayed from one radio station to another. Hydra was where
all-important intercepts of German u-boats from South America were dispatched to be decrypted.
Camp X was one of the most secret installations the Allies ever operated during the war,
but there is reason to believe that the Germans were not only aware of Camp X, but actively took
steps to sabotage it. Some of the most mysterious deaths of WWII would occur to Camp X personnel.
One of these deaths was that of 29 year old political warfare instructor
Kenneth Wilson. Wilson was dispatched to Toronto to train agents at Camp X,
and driven to and from the camp to his hotel via a staff car. Early one morning
though he phoned the hotel assistant manager asking if a doctor was present. The manager
offered to fetch one but Wilson said he was feeling better and to disregard the request.
At about 9:30 am though he once more asked for a doctor and one was immediately dispatched.
The doctor saw Wilson who appeared to be in good health and stayed with him for an
hour before leaving. Suddenly at around 11:15 am Wilson's condition rapidly deteriorated.
Before doctors could arrive back at the hotel, Wilson was dead from sudden heart failure.
Another incident involved the death of 25 year old Howard Benjamin Burgess, who had just been
made chief instructor. Suddenly one day he simply dropped to the ground unconscious while at Camp X.
By the time the camp doctor arrived, Burgess was bleeding from various orifices. He would die three
days later, the official cause listed as cerebral hemorrhage. Interestingly the official records
from the death certificate and burial permit showed that he died of acute glomular nephritis-
a wasting kidney disease which should have left Burgess an emaciated mess before killing him,
which stands in stark contrast to the young, healthy 25 year old that dropped dead suddenly
in 1942. To add to the mystery, one retired head nurse broke a vow of silence to say
that Burgess had actually died of a gunshot wound to the right temple.
Training accident, or perhaps German assassins and saboteurs? There's reason
to believe that Nazi spies were themselves actively trying to kill key Allied spies.
The legendary Major Dan Fairbairn was himself nearly the victim of possible sabotage,
when the building he was sleeping in suddenly went up in ferocious flames. While no one was
ultimately killed and Fairbairn saved by two guards who pulled him through an open window,
the fire was fierce enough to raze the entire building.
Could this all have been a coincidence, or were Nazi spies really trying to eliminate the Ally's
most senior and experienced spy trainers? We may never know, because any records of such
activities were either never kept or ultimately lost after the war. What we do know is that the
men and women of Camp X would go on to play a pivotal role in winning the war both in Europe
and in the Pacific, and the free nations of the world owe them a deep debt of gratitude.
Now go watch 10 Craziest CIA Covert Operations, or click this other video instead!