Gustave Mell
Suspected spy in South Shields
Mell’s name is included on a list of people suspected of espionage that the fledgling MI5 compiled at the beginning of the war. Other sources about him do not seem to be available and it is quite possible we was just passing through. The German Sailors Mission and Home offered a refuge to Germans who might otherwise have nowhere to stay in this country.
The records of the German Sailors Mission can be found at Tyne and Wear Archives. http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/tyne-and-wear-archives.html
Civil Parish: South Shields
Residence: The German Sailors Home, Milldam, South Shields; Freidricksbadenstrasse 27, Altona-on-the-Elba
Employment: Sailor
Gender: Male
Contributed by Durham County Record Office