THE DANETTA CODE: THE DANETTA CODE, #1

By Gordon Cramer

INTRODUCTION

THE DANETTA CODE & THE SOMERTON MAN CASE

There was more than 1 mysterious death…

Early in the morning of December 1st. 1948, the body of a man was found on Somerton Beach near Glenelg in South Australia. He had died of poisoning.

Despite efforts at the time and since the man has never been identified. However, in May of 2021, the remains of the man were exhumed with the intent of extracting DNA samples which could lead to at least identifying from where he came. At the time of writing this book, results have not been published.

It has long been held that the man may have been a spy involved in espionage related to weapons developments and testing that were underway in South Australia at the time. This may or may not be the case.

 

Apart from the man found on Somerton Beach, at least 3 other mysterious deaths from that same era have been identified with a possible 4th. The existence of a link between three known cases has been substantiated. The link was found in 3 distinct pieces of documentary evidence. It takes the form of an acrostically coded name, 'DANETTA'. The exact same acrostic method and code name were used in each case.

 

Other documents have been found containing codes that were concealed using a technique developed by British MI6 in 1943 and which is documented in one of their manuals. These coded documents and the technique used to recover the concealed codes are included in the series.

 

In the course of this research, I have had access to a range of relevant files from MI6, MI5, CIA CREST database, FBI Vault and input from a serving FBI agent as well as Australian Military Intelligence and ASIO. Separately I have spoken with Alexander Vassiliev, the ex-KGB author of Vassiliev's notes.  (A copy of those notes is included in this series). The latter provided valuable information about the case of a Soviet Diplomat and ex NKVD man whom I had been researching in connection with the Somerton Man because of their physical resemblance. This man was recalled from New York to Moscow in July 1948.  He boarded the Soviet ship, the POBEDA, at the end of July, the destination was ODESA.

 

There is a lengthy story behind that voyage which included the diversion of the ship to Cairo to collect some 2000 Armenians to be repatriated and who were subsequently landed at BATUMI on the Black Sea. During the last leg of the journey to ODESA, there was a major fire on board the POBEDA, 40 passengers and 2 crew perished. Amongst those who died was a high-ranking Chinese Nationalist officer, second in command to Chiang Kai-shek, who was defecting to the Soviet Union. An Australian Government Minister at the time, had a close friendship with Chiang Kai-shek, Leader of the Chinese Nationalist Government.

 

Some days after the POBEDA left Cairo, a ship carrying European displaced persons from Marseilles also docked in Egypt, Port Said. The name of the ship was the DERNA. It was heading for Fremantle and Melbourne. It is known that several new crew members joined this ship in Port Said as did a number of stowaways.

Regarding the Soviet Diplomat, the last photograph taken of him was in 1947, (there have been no photographs of this man found since then). I have the original hard copy of that particular photograph. CIA files show that all of this man's files and photographs were destroyed in 1954. A request for information regarding the man and whether he had been recruited by US intelligence sources drew the Glomar response, 'We can neither confirm nor deny…'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gordon Cramer
• Release date: May 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201908799

Book preview

SECTION 1.

THE ADELAIDE RAILWAY STATION

30th November 1948

‘... the one man who could possibly have identified the person who left the suitcase, was never interviewed by the Police...’

Our story begins on the day before the man’s body was found on Somerton Beach:

Another fine day greeted Adelaideans and visitors alike on this date, the daytime temperature was in the upper 60s F and there was little in the way of wind.

The front page of the Advertiser featured stories about early talks on the formation of an Atlantic Treaty organisation, the beginnings of NATO. And a most interesting article on the arrival of a 15 strong Russian delegation into Darwin to attend the impending ECAFE Conference to be held at the Lapstone Hotel in the Blue Mountains.

Elsewhere in the pages of the days Advertiser was an article regarding the visit to Adelaide of Sir Henry Tizard, he spoke at length on the subject on future uses of Atomic Energy and held a meeting with Sir Thomas Playford, Governor of South Australia. 

In a local picture theatre, The Mayfair, a thriller entitled 'I Met A Murderer' starring James Mason was playing that week.

Several interstate trains arrived that day, 30th November, commencing their journeys in various interstate cities including Melbourne, Sydney, and, via Port Augusta, from Perth.

It was sometime between 11 am and Midday on November 30th. 1948, that someone deposited a relatively new brown fibre suitcase at the left luggage department of the station.

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THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE, showing the left luggage counter at Adelaide Railway Station, was taken in the late 20s early 1930s after the completion of extensive alterations and upgrades to what is now an iconic building that houses, amongst other things, a very modern Casino. In its time it has served as a movie set for many Australian movies including Breaker Morant.

It was here that a suitcase that was later associated with the man found on Somerton Beach, was deposited.

Below is a photograph of the actual left luggage ticket that was attached to that suitcase by one of the employees:

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THE SUPERVISOR FOR that area was a Mr. North, in a later statement made at the Coroners Court, Mr. North nominated an employee, believed to be a Mr. Alec Craig as the person who in fact took in the suitcase and made out the ticket you see above.

When we reach the chapter on the Inquest, you will read that Mr. Craig did not attend the court as he was on holidays. This fact is possibly one of the most crucial aspects of the case.

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THERE WERE TWO OTHER Craigs employed by SAR at the time, both of whom were much younger than Alec Craig.

MR. ALEC CRAIG WAS an older man, he would have been 65 years old in 1948 whilst the others named Craig were 18 years and 25 Years old respectively.  The photograph above, taken in Adelaide in1948, shows the heavy nature of the work expected of Railway Porters. It is likely that this kind of work was carried out by younger and fitter men leaving the somewhat easier task of running the left and lost luggage department to the older employees.

There is no record of Mr. Craig being interviewed by the Police, neither does it appear that the coroner asked the question of the Police just why this man was not interviewed. You see this was the only man known to have interacted with the person who left the suitcase, he could have described him including his voice, the way he walked and what clothes he was wearing. That is, if the person concerned was in fact a man.

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