From The Daily Mail, September 26:
She could not have been a more unlikely candidate, but a middle-aged literary translator was the first female MI6 spy, according to new research.
Agnes Blake put her life in danger by spying on German officers. Her mission as 'Agent A' was to supply information on any possible German invasion or declaration of war.
As 50-year-old widow whose family links to Germany, she had the perfect cover story, enabling her to visit and gather intelligence without raising suspicion.
She was employed in 1909, when the Secret Service Bureau was founded. She reported to Mansfield Cumming, the first head of Britain's secret intelligence service, on the movements of both active and retired German officers.
She has been identified for the first time by historian Claire Hubbard-Hall, who told MailOnline that she discovered crucial evidence on Agent A in overlooked accounting files of the secret service, held in the National Archives: 'No-one's gone through them.'
Noting the secrecy surrounding intelligence work, she said: 'It's amazing that I've been able to identify her. On 17 December 1909, Agnes made history as the first woman employed as an MI6 agent.'
Blake came from a wealthy family. In the 1820s, her grandfather, Frederick Garraway, made his fortune in Dominica, where he owned a sugar plantation. She established herself as a translator, adapting German plays for the British stage and translating German literary works into English. She even designed and patented a puzzle. Little is known about her husband, other than that they were married for 11 years before his death.
Through her circle of friends, she was recommended to the MI6 paymaster, Sir Charles Hardinge, who realised that she could provide early information on a possible German invasion through her family links....
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