World War Two saw numerous recruits pass through North America’s first training school for espionage operatives, and the skills they were taught would contribute substantially to the defeat of the Axis powers.
James Bond author Ian Fleming claimed to have been among Camp X’s many attendees, and its training manual was penned, ironically enough, by Kim Philby, subsequently revealed to be a double agent working for the Soviets. Other, similar spy schools were to follow, turning out thousands of trained field agents. Observing an archaeological dig at the site where it once stood, Secret Agent School: Camp X (Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th, 8.55pm) offers fascinating insights into the role it played in the emergence of the CIA, and dramatises some of the exploits of its graduates.
