Real Cold War spy story set to unfold in Schomberg

March 29, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

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An artifact and tale from the Cold War have roots right here in King Township.
This weekend, the public will, for the very first time, get to see an infamous piece of history, and meet the storytellers themselves at a book launch.
It was the spring of 2012 when an incredible discovery was made in Schomberg. Kit Andrew, after reading a few chapters of Mike Welham’s book, The Crabb Enigma, realized that for most of his life, his family had in their possession possibly one of the most famous artifacts from the Cold War years.
A world-famous missing person, decorated WWII war hero, frogman and spy, Commander Lionel Kenneth Phillip Crabb’s (OBE, GM) swordstick had been found. In fact, it had really never been lost. Feared missing since his Crabb dies in 1956, while diving under the Soviet warship The Ordzhonikidze, during the Khrushchev and Bulganin peace talks in England. His swordstick had been safe in Canada in the Andrew household for many years.
Crabb experts and authors, Mike and Jacqui Welham, were contacted in France and apprised of the fact and instantly flew to Canada to view the swordstick. There they met with Andrew and his father Christopher who had personally known Crabb. Of this meeting came an immense amount of unknown information about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the Crabb affair and his best friend and supposed handler Maitland Pendock, Christopher Andrew Senior’s stepfather. Soon after, a new book titled “Crabb and The Grey Rabbit” was written.
The Welhams and the Andrews are proud to announce the publishing of this incredible story of international significance to share with the world – the true story of Crabb! Could it be that he was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond? Crabb and Pendock worked for the MI-6 and Ministry of Information during WWII and were real life double-zero agents. The Crabb affair is one of the most sensitive government secrets and is protected by an unprecedented 100-year secrecy rule in the United Kingdom. The truth of this story will not come to light until 2056, unless you read Crabb and The Grey Rabbit that is.
This April marks the 60th anniversary or the diamond anniversary of Commander Crabb’s disappearance. This internationally significant event will be marked this coming April 2 at 2 p.m. in Schomberg at The Schomberg Pub, located at 226 Main Street. The ceremony will include the first ever public viewing of the famous swordstick and will include an opportunity to meet with the authors of several books about Commander Crabb and his associates including the most recent, Crabb and The Grey Rabbit.
On April 19, on the very day that Crabb went missing 60 years prior, Andrew will visit Portsmouth Harbour in England to mark the epic day that the British war hero vanished without a trace.
This story about two great men combines fact and fiction. Lionel Crabb, a WWII hero, who, through his exploits as a frogman, was awarded the OBE and the George Medal; and Maitland Pendock, an obscure “businessman” with a love of the arts, who moved in the shadows and served in the wartime Ministry of Information as their link to the Secret Intelligence Service – MI-6.
These two very distinctive personalities, from very different backgrounds, became firm friends. From Shanghai in the 1930s to the Cold War in the 1950s, they moved in the world of espionage. When Crabb disappeared in 1956, Pendock became the focus of the Security Service because of Crabb’s connection to the head of the Royal Navy, Lord Louis Mountbatten. It had been a great adventure, but in the end, they knew too much.
Mike and Jacqui Welham have published books with mainstream publishers and have been commissioned to write specialist nonfiction works as well as a growing list of conspiracy novels. They are best known for their research, which began in the 1980s, into the life of Commander L.K.P. Crabb. That culminated into their first two books on the subject, Frogman Spy and The Crabb Enigma.
Andrew pointed out he started the pub in Schomberg in 1994. He spent from the age of 3 until he was 20 in this stunning home.
“The story of Crabb and Pendock and the world famous swordstick came to light for me as a young man living at this address with my family, so I felt it the most appropriate place to host the exciting international launch of the book that tells the true story of this 60 year old, world renowned missing persons Cold War mystery. This is a real life 007 story of espionage and spying, still shrouded by mystery. There are many powerful people who don’t want this story told, but against the grain, we tell the truth about what happened to the legendary Commander Lionel Crabb.”