The Illustrated War News, 7 October 1914: "The Spy at Work", the innocent landscape "decoded"

A full-page drawing of a harbour, lettered for lighthouse, forts, town, railways and Admiralty buildings, shown as the plan 'decoded' from an innocent-looking landscape sketch on the facing page. Tells: the closing line, 'Such is one of the many insidious devices of the spy ... and spies have been very active!', gives no case, count, date or source for the code or the spying, and asks readers to be alarmed.

Date

October 7, 1914

Period

First World War

Made by

The Illustrated War News (Illustrated London News and Sketch, London)

Region

Western and Central Europe

Country

United Kingdom

Medium

Newspaper pages

Issuer type

Media

Regime

Asquith Government

Leader

Herbert Henry Asquith

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Warn or inform

Themes

Security and surveillance, War and the military

Event

World War I

Techniques

Fear appeal

Regime

Asquith government

Leader

H. H. Asquith

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

Internet Archive (University of Florida Digital Collections copy), retrieved October 2, 2026

Rights

Out of copyright per IA/UF staff review; published London 1914 (before 1931)
The Illustrated War News (Illustrated London News and Sketch, London), 7 October 1914, p. 29. Internet Archive item illustratedwarne1121lond, digitised by the University of Florida; item rights field: 'Copyright status reviewed by UF staff - Out of copyright'.

THE ILLUSTRATED WAR NEWS, OCT. 7, 1914.—29

THE SPY AT WORK: THE INNOCENT LANDSCAPE AS "DECODED" BY THE ENEMY FOR WHOM THE DRAWING WAS MADE.

[Continued.] Moreover, dark shading would become light, and vice versa, so that the portion of the landscape shaded dark would be "decoded" as representing water. The landscape, received by the spy's Government, is read in accordance with the code, and the result is a plan, as shown on the right-hand page, of the harbour and forts. The letters, which are merely inserted to help our readers, and would not, of course, appear on the plan, signify the following:—A. Lighthouse. BB. Forts. C. Town, or approximate area covered by buildings. D. Railways. E. Admiralty buildings or Town Hall. Such is one of the many insidious devices of the spy which, if successful, may cause the deaths of many brave defenders of their country, and spies have been very active!