What could be more dangerous than being dismissed as a frivolous latina airhead with lesbian tendencies? On the surface Elvira de la Fuente Chaudoir was a woman who loved parties and “favour[ed] the companionship of women who may not be careful of their virginity,” according to Deputy Chief Constable Josef Goulder. Notorious for being a beautiful “good-time girl” who loved the spotlight, the Peruvian socialite's real identity was only revealed years after the war had ended. She was Agent Bronx, key to the Allied victory in World War War.
Daughter of a Peruvian diplomat, Elvira looked like she would do all the things expected of her, after being raised in an expensive school in France and marrying at twenty-three. But soon Elvira found that married life didn’t suit her and, when affairs proved not to be enough, she ran away to Cannes with her best friend, Romy Gilbey. When Germany invaded France in 1940, the two were spending most of their time gambling their money away, driving an open-top Renault to St. Maulo before taking a boat to England.
In London Elvira tried to get a job at the BBC but was swiftly dismissed for partying too much. Then, in a casino, overheard as 'being bored' Elvira was approached by Claude Dansey, assistant chief of M16. Dansey convinced Chaudoir to work for him, pointing out that, as her father was currently the Peruvian chargé d'affaires to the Vichy government and she had a Peruvian passport, she could travel to France under the pretext of visiting him. Dansey suggested that she let herself be recruited by the Germans so she could provide false intelligence to the Germans on behalf of MI6. Chaudoir was taught how to use invisible ink to send reports hidden within innocuous letters. Her first code name was "Cyril."
Chaudoir returned to France. In spring of 1941, in a Cannes casino, she met and 'started dating' Henri Chauvel, a wealthy Nazi collaborator and through him, she met Helmut Bliel, a German spy who went by the nickname of "Bibi". After several dates, Bleil suggested that Elvira might make money by providing political, financial, and industrial information about Britain to his unnamed "friends." Bleil gave her the code name of "Dorette" and arranged for her to receive £100 a month disguised as alimony payments, providing her with a bottle of invisible ink which she was to use in letters to Chauvel who would pass them on to Bleil.
Elvira returned to England and reported to MI6, who debriefed her and handed her to MI5 to be put to use as a double agent. MI5 registered concern about her "lesbian tendencies" and they were unable to confirm Bleil's relationship with the German government. As a frivolous, spendthrift socialite with "a colourful sex life". The MI5 investigation concluded, "She is merely a member of the international smart gambling set."
Despite objections by John Cecil Masterman, Chaudoir was added to the Double-Cross System team on 28 October 1942 with a new code name, "Bronx", after her favourite cocktail - a gin Martini with orange. She was given a cover job at the BBC.
MI5 tapped Elvira's phone, both to monitor her for pro-German sentiments and to keep an eye on her financial situation. Under direction of her Double Cross handler, Elvira planted half-truths, propaganda, and invented quotes from real people in her letters to Chauvel.
One of her letters claimed that the British had made excellent preparations to defend against gas warfare as well as stockpiling large amounts of chemical weapons for retaliation, which Masterman believed helped dissuade the Germans from using poison gas against England.
German communications to Elvira indicated that they trusted her reliability as their agent, and her handler in MI5 described the Peruvian as "probably one of our most reliable agents."
As part of Operation Cockade, Elvira told the Germans that the invasion of France was planned for September while other Double Cross agents were sending similar misinformation to their contacts in corroboration.
Planning the invasion, the Allies were concerned about the German forces on the west coast of France, fearing they would mobilize to reinforce the Germans at Normandy. In support of Operation Overlord, Elvira was instructed to send a telegram on 27 May 1944: "Envoyez vite cinquante livres. J'ai besoin pour mon dentiste" (English: "Send fifty pounds quickly. I need it for my dentist."). The bank director immediately passed it on to German intelligence. In Berlin, the message was decoded to mean "I have definite news that a landing is to be made in the Bay of Biscay in one week."
An entire tank division was waiting at the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic coast, well away from where the Allies landed at Normandy on the northern coast. Masterman credited Chaudoir's telegram for the 11th Panzer Division remaining in the southwest of France to defend against an attack that never came.
When the D-Day invasion took place, Chaudoir sent mail to Bleil explaining why her warning had been incorrect, blaming it on her informant. After the initial landing at Normany, Chaudoir and other Double Cross agents passed information to their German contacts that Normandy was just a diversion. Chaudoir's letter said, "Only part of Allied force in Normandy operations, bulk remains here at present" and hinted at a second invasion.
Toward the end of the war, Chaudoir travelled to Madrid to meet with German intelligence, but was unable to locate a single German spy. After she wrote them a scathing letter, they asked her to use the telegram to the bank method again to let them know if an invasion was planned for Scandinavia or northern Germany.
When peace was declared, Chaudoir retired to Beaulieu-sur-Mer where she ran a gift shop called l'Heure Bleu. Chaudoir resided in the south of France after the war until her death. MI5 sent her a cheque for £5,000 in December 1995 in recognition of her war-time service, a measely amount considering she risked her life for the country - just imagine her fate if she had got caught by the Gestapo? She died in January 1996, age 85. The MI5 files on Elvira Chaudoir were made public on 5 September 2005.
