William Wickham, Master Spy: The Secret War Against the French Revolution by Michael Durey

Author:Michael Durey [Durey, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Political, History, General
ISBN: 9781317313984
Google: 49o5CgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 27166368
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2009-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Arson and Assassination

Even though his recent chequered career ought to have made him an object of suspicion, Orr managed to get closer to the centre of the conspiracy than historians have previously thought.186 Late on the night of 26 February 1799 Flint sent Wickham a memo, to inform him of a long conversation he had just had with Orr (Flint called him 'S—'). Orr had met Flint immediately after spending two hours in the company of Thomas Doyle, one of the United Irishmen's most trusted messengers who passed orders from O'Connor and others in Kilmain-ham to the leadership group in London. Doyle, a thirty-two-year-old printer, had been on Wickham's radar for several months; he had avoided arrest by fleeing to Ireland from Liverpool in November.187 At one time Doyle had been in Guernsey, attempting to suborn the Irish troops stationed there. He was a veteran messenger, having crossed from Ireland on secret missions several times.188 Orr described him vividly as 5'9" or 10" tall, with four wrinkles in his forehead; a long nose, turned up at the point; a large mouth and rather thick lips; and with cropped brown hair and dark eyes. A little 'in-kneed', Doyle wore a blue coat with yellow buttons, a spotted waistcoat and broad-striped corduroy breeches.189 It says much for the colourfulness of London fashions that Doyle thought this suitable attire for a man working under cover.

Doyle was in fact indiscreet in another way, for he told Orr that he had brought with him from Dublin propositions 'which have been entrusted to only three of the leading members here for the purpose of putting them into execution'. Presumably after further rounds of drink, he proceeded to tell Orr the main elements of the United Irishmen's plans for when the expected French invasion of Ireland took place. They included the burning of naval dockyards in England and the assassination of Pitt and other Cabinet ministers. Orr thought that the conspirators believed that 'Both or either of these measures ... would effectually create such an alarm in this country as would prevent government from sending more forces to Ireland at the moment of the intended French expedition'.190

Assassination plots were rife in this era. Even Wickham had been the object of one. In September 1798 Sir James Craufurd reported that he had received evidence from a man calling himself Waisson that a group of émigrés in London had taken out a contract on Wickham, whom they blamed 'for removing so many of the emigrants from London'.191 Wickham had not taken this seriously, nor did Pitt concern himself overmuch with the threat to himself when he received Orr's report on 27 February. He was more interested in discovering who the three 'leading members' were, for Doyle had kept their names secret from Orr, and how best this evidence could be used in yet another parliamentary secret committee report that was on the point of publication. His advice was to let Doyle run and to organize the arrest of the groups at their final meeting before Doyle was due to leave for Ireland.

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