Page 75 - RADC Bulletin 2021

The Spy Who Smiled
Maj S Darke
Dentist or spy catcher? Well, Captain Hubert David Alfred Pocock was both.
First some background. Hubert, known to his friends as David, was born in Putney in 1913 to an English father and German mother. He spent some five years in Berlin whilst his father was Chaplain to the British Embassy. The family returned to England and David attended Grammar School in Norwich. He then read dentistry at the University College London and later set up a practice in Scarborough. All was going well, he had met a lovely lady, Beryl, whom he married and whisked away to the Lake District for a fortnight’s honeymoon. However, the outbreak of World War Two cut this short. The pair returned home, and David signed up. He commissioned into the Royal Army Dental Corps and was posted to Abergavenny. So, I hear you ask, how did this shy young dentist catch a spy? Believe it or not, it
happened in a pub.
It would have been 1941 or 42, Capt
Pocock was frequenting The Bear Inn, Crickhowell, with some friends, among the party was David Niven, the actor, but that’s another story. A man, unknown
to the party, came into the pub. Capt Pocock felt there was something odd about the fellow, could he detect an accent? Flawless English but with David’s German roots... he was suspicious. Then it became clear. Without causing alarm, he quietly informed his friends of his suspicions, that this gentleman was a German spy. Now they needed to ensure he did not escape. Capt Pocock ordered some of the group to alert the Military Police, others to let down the man’s tyres, whilst the remainder were to keep the visitor talking. Eventually the Military Police turned up and arrested the man who, it turned out, was in fact a spy.
Unfortunately, we do not know what became of the spy, but the real question is what did Capt Pocock spot? It was the gentleman’s teeth. David noticed that when the man smiled he had several fillings, which he described as ‘German continental gold fillings’, that were unlikely to be found in an Englishman at this
time. Only a dental professional! We all look but I don’t suppose many of us have caught a spy because of our curiosity.
Upon finishing his service, Capt Pocock settled in Shropshire and opened a large practice in St John’s Hill, Shrewsbury. His anecdote about how he helped capture
a German spy became a familiar family tale. He retired after 41 years as a dental surgeon, in March 1978, and died in 1991.
Written from information supplied by Robin Pocock, son of Capt H D A Pocock.
RADC BULLETIN 2021 73