Spy story

Spy who masterminded Operation Mincemeat was granted deathbed request to read official verdict into the mission that was one of the greatest coups of the Second World War

Operation Mincemeat was a spectacular plot used to deceive the Germans and helped change the course of World War Two. 

It started when a homeless tramp from South Wales was found dying in an abandoned warehouse near King's Cross in London and was taken to St Pancras Hospital, where he died.

He was believed to have swallowed rat poison in a suicide attempt, which caused fluid to build up in his lungs - consistent with death at sea.

The dead man's name was Glyndwr Michael, and he was 34 years of age a the time of his death. 

The coroner agreed to keep Michael's body in a cold store while the architects of the plan - Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley - set about the task of creating a new identity for their corpse.