FORMER SPY TED’S MEMOIR IN PRINT
A FORMER British spy who lived in Oylegate for more than a decade following his retirement, has written a memoir ‘ Sailor, Airman, Spy’ which has just been published by a Rosslare company.
Ted Hayes who became a British spy in Berlin during the Cold War in the 1960’s, grew up in Ballsbridge, Dublin in the 1940’s and became a sailor at 17, working on ships that plied their way around the coasts of Britain and up to Iceland and back.
After forsaking the sea, he went to Belfast and joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to Scotland where he trained and worked as a fitter on aircraft engines and was later posted to Northern Ireland.
After some years, he tried without success to return to his native Dublin, and eventually took the offer to train as a linguist at a secret location in England from where he was sent to Berlin.
‘ The doors of our train carriage were slammed shut and locked. There was no turning back as we were headed behind the Iron Curtain to the small democratic annex of West Berlin’ Ted writes in ‘Sailor, Airman, Spy’ which has been published by Three Sisters Press run by Michael Freeman.
Ted and his childhood sweetheart Annette (nee Doyle) from a North Wexford family, lived in Oylegate for 11 years before Annette sadly died a year ago.
Ted was active in the community in Wexford, talking about his life experiences on Christian Media Trust broadcasts on South East Radio. He had previously been a presenter with Mater Hospital Radio in Dublin.
The 124-page book which is sub-titled Memoir of a Cold War Veteran, will be officially launched by the Reverend Horace Kinlay at Brabazon in Sandymount, Dublin this Thursday, September 13 at 3pm.
Among those due to attend the launch are Ted’s cousins Brian Hayes MEP and Arthur Murphy, RTE radio presenter of ‘Mailbag’ and his friend Leslie D.A. Forrest, the former Dean of Ferns.
‘Sailor, Airman, Spy’ is available in bookshops nationwide.