William Stephenson

A hero to me is a man/woman who does good for a respectable cause. I think that they are loyal, brave, unselfish, and someone you can look up to. William Stephenson fits into all of those categories.

William Stephenson was a mysterious man. Even today, scientists argue over who he was and what he did. For example, most scientists thought he was born on January 11, 1896, to the name Stephenson, when in fact he was born on January 23, 1897, to the name Stanger (he changed his name when he was adopted). William Stephenson (aka Little Bill, Intrepid, and the Quiet Canadian) was a well-decorated World War I and II hero. In WWI, he flew a Sopwith Camel Biplane, the nimble Allied warplane accredited for destroying the most enemy planes. In World War II, However, William achieved his greatest claim to fame; he formed Camp X.

Before I can go into very much depth on Camp X, I must first tell you about his WWI experiences. as mentioned before, William Stephenson piloted the Sopwith F.1 Camel during the 'War to end all Wars'. One day, however, when going to aid a French pilot, William was shot down, and was captured by Germans. As a pilot, William wasn't tortured or forced to do manual labor. In the months that he was contained, Will grew bored, and started challenging himself with little games. Little games such as stealing possessions from German soldiers. He stole small objects like pictures, pocket knives, and a can opener. Thats right. A can opener. However, this was a special can opener. The can open opener was revelutionary at the time, and was only for sale in Germany. After Allied forces freed him at the end of the war, William opened a business that made car parts, hardware, and Kleen Kut can openers. Unfortunately, Will soon found himself in the red. He sold out and moved to Britain and started over in the communication market. A friend and him invented a way to send pictures without wires. The fax machine. Slowly, this technology would evolve into movies, television, the possibilities were endless. Will invested in these businesses and struck gold. He made millions. He made friends in high places.

However, all of this was too good to last. In Germany, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi forces were starting to excite. William, realizing this, he warned a young parliament member named Winston Churchill, who tried to warn the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, however, wouldn't listen. Britain was still recovering from the shock of WWI, and didn't want to relive it so soon. However, as Hitler started to expand his territory, more and more countries started to believe him. Thus was the beginning of Bletchly Park. Bletchly Park was a group of code breakers. In Germany, Hitler was using a computer coding system, codenamed Enigma. Soldiers captured an Enigma machine during the course of the war and used it to help them win the war. On September 1st, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. This was the last straw for Britain. The British Commonwealth declared war on Germany, pulling England, Canada, and Australia into combat. Will was sent to the United States to ask for help. It was a win-win situation. The English needed soldiers, U.S. needed a secret service. Both where happy. William set up his office in the British Passport Office. After the United States, William moved on to the latest Allied operation, Camp X. Camp X was a training base for spies, saboteurs, and infiltrators, based in Whitby, Ontario, on the tip of Lake Ontario. There, Will and others trained over 2,000 British, Canadian and U.S. covert operatives in it's four years of service.

After the German surrender-following Hitler's suicide-in 1944, Camp X operated for another year, then closed down. Note; Two agents trained in Camp X where Roald Dahl, author of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', and Ian Flemming, author of the 'James Bond 007' series. As well, William was never paid for his work. William Stephenson was knighted on New Years Eve, 1945. He died in Bermuda in 1989, at the age of 92. William Stephenson was a great man, and probably saved countless lives with his work in espionage. A hero to me is a man/woman who does good for a respectable cause. A hero to me is Sir William Stephenson.