Alexander Scotland - World War II and The 'cages'

World War II and The 'cages'

After the First World War, Scotland returned to South-West Africa and then obtained what he describes in London Cage as a "roving job with a famous commercial enterprise." This brought him to South America, where he worked between 1927 and 1933. While in South America, Scotland says he made "discreet inquiries" about the large German communities in those countries. Scotland returned to England in 1933, and made several trips to Germany in the ensuing years. During one of his trips to Germany in 1937, Scotland says, he met with Adolf Hitler at a friend's house in Munich, and discussed South-West Africa.

In early 1940, Scotland was recalled to duty. He says in London Cage that he was commissioned a major and was posted to France in March, but official records say he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in April. He was assigned to the British Expeditionary Force in France, where he was assigned to organize prisoner of war interrogation centers, and to instruct officers on treatment and interrogation of prisoners. He found British forces ill-equipped to deal with war prisoners, with the staff assigned to such duties consisting of writers and journalists, some with background in security work but none with training or knowledge of military intelligence. Scotland returned to England in the Dunkirk evacuation a month later, and in July 1940, he was transferred to the Intelligence Corps.

Upon his return to England, Scotland was put in charge of the Prisoner of War Interrogation Section (PWIS). A "cage" for interrogation of prisoners was established in each command area, manned by officers trained by Scotland. The prisoners were sent to prison camps after their interrogation at the cages. Nine cages were established from southern England to Scotland, with the London cage also being "an important transit camp." The cages varied in facilities. The Doncaster cage used a portion of the town's racecourse as a camp, while the Catterick and Loughborough cages were in bare fields. The London Cage, located in a fashionable part of the city, had space for 60 prisoners, was equipped with five interrogation rooms, and staffed by 10 officers serving under Scotland, plus a dozen noncommissioned officers who served as interrogators and interpreters. Security was provided by soldiers from the Guards regiments selected "for their height rather than their brains." Scotland does not describe in detail the wartime functions of any of the cages, including the eponymous London cage, in his London Cage memoir.