The Sad Story of Churchill’s Iceman Geoffrey Pyke - WW2 Documentary Special
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- Geoffrey Pyke is remembered as an eccentric scientist who spewed out ideas like giant aircraft carriers made of icy Pykerete. But there was much more to him than that. He was a spy, a special operations mastermind, and his novel ideas contributed to the success of D-Day.
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Hosted by: Astrid Deinhard and Anna Deinhard
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Ian Sowden
Written by: Sebastian Brandstetter
Research by: Sebastian Brandstetter, Spartacus Olsson
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Map research by: Sietse Kenter
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Source literature list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Archive footage: Screenocean/Reuters - www.screenocea...
Image sources:
State Library Victoria
Wellcome Collection gallery
United States Signal Corps. Library and Archives Canada
Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
Underlying Truth - Howard Harper-Barnes
Reading Through Closed Books - David Celeste
Other Sides of Glory - Fabien Tell
The Spy - Wendy Marcini
The Plan - Wendy Marcini
London - Howard Harper-Barnes
The Inspector 4 - Johannes Bornlöf
Sailing for Gold - Howard Harper-Barnes
Last Point of Safe Return - Fabien Tell
Leave It All Here - Fabien Tell
Defeated STEMS INSTRUMENTS - Wendel Scherer
Penumbra (Scaled Down Version) - Martin Landh
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
Do you have a soft spot for any similarly under-appreciated or misremembered men and women from this war and beyond?
@@markmierzejewski9534my condolences to you and your family on your loss.
Great work by all involved today 👍
Absolutely great show, Ladies. Thank you sharing.
Jasper Maskelyne? Kurt Koenig (German Deserter who it was planned would lead an SOE sabotage operation in Bremen and Hamburg)? 'Gus' March Phillips? Colin Gubbins?
YES, please. the one girl who gave the correct weather forecast from a special cap on western UKoast at good timing for d=day? (saw it in an Arte doc , not sure); and I'd love to discover unknowns ones indeed 🙏🙏 💫✨💥✨💫🙏🙏
😘
Pyke was a cousin of 1970's famed UK 'television scientist' Magnus Pyke. Who, during the war, was partially responsible for calculating the nutritional requirements for rationing - in fact his 1945 'Manual of Nutrition' is still in print and available from the Uk's food standards agency.
For those of you outside the UK, he's best known for the sample of him bellowing 'Science!' on Thomas Dolby's 1982 single "She blinded me with science" (That was used as the theme for the pilot episode of 'the big bang theory')
But Geoffrey Pyke is a hero of mine - his entire ethos seemed to be 'Think wrong and do it wrong'. I was introduced to him (not literally) by my cadet C.o., a former SBS officer who told me of the time he used firemen, a compressed air mortar gun, and smoke bombs to gain access to a facility guarded by commando's after the commandoes senior officer said Pyke's group were a waste of time. The guards at the gate of the facility were startled to notice a fire engine barreling down the road at them, bell ringing as it approached. The fire engine screeched to a halt and the driver leaned out an yelled at the commando's "Open the bloody gate! There's a fire in the magazines! The whole place could go up!",
'Bollocks there is.' replied the guard commander.
"So whats that bloody smoke then?"
The guard commander turned around to see reddish smoke billowing up from the vicinity of the magazines, and needless to say the firemen were allowed to enter.
As my former cadet C.O. said - "Never underestimate anyone and remember the second half of the SBS motto 'By Strength & Guile'."
Pyke also painted the words "Bomb Me!" on the roof of an armaments factory (much to the alarm of the local ARP!) - when Luftwaffe pilots were captured after being shot down on local raids, the said they'd seen the sign and thought 'Nobody writes that on something important' - so the disregarded the factory as a target.
That's some great added info! Thank you!
- TimeGhost Ambassador
I've met Magnus Pyke who gave a very entertaining talk on his cousin, pykrete etc. He was a very lively and interesting person who obviously had a deep affection for his cousin.
@@trevorkirby3781 Yes, Magnus was evangelical on the importance of science - in the 1970's he was voted the 3rd most well known scientist (behind Newton & Einstein). For those of us of a certain age, his windmilling arms were a sight to behold as he enthused about whatever subject he was talking about.
Astrid and Anna. What a winning combination. Great documentary.
Anna side-eyeing, eyebrow-wiggling, and flat-out EYE ROLLING while Astrid speaks is Everything 🤔😂😂. I'll bet she does a hell of an Astrid impression after a pint.
'Astrid & sidecar - two wheel drive & all terrain - absolutely unstoppable'! : )xx
These two are quite a team!
Now I want to see Indy & Sparty trade places and imitate each other in their respective series
She is astounding! More of her!
I mean from what I know Anna is Astrid's daughter so that would make a lot of sense
a sad ending to a story about a brilliant man. Genius and eccentricity often march together
I expected a great report on Geoffry Pyke, but I didn't expect to cry at the end. Hell of a end to a genius; that letter hit too close to home.
An old saying goes "You can get many of your ideas done if you don't want credit for them". This episode was, so far, one of your best, amazing Miss Deinharts!!!❤👍🤟
This one made me cry and I was not expecting it. Even the WaH series only gets tears but the letter at the end is what got me. The way he asked his son to forget him. Reminded of someone I miss who I haven't seen in two years and I don't know where he is now or what he's doing, but I loved him so much. And he said the same thing. "Forget about me."
“Too much sanity may be madness-and maddest of all; to see life as it is, and not as it should be.”
-Don Quixote
Pykrete, and making ships from it, was tested in the American Great Lakes. They found that it would work very well, was quite durable, would have been able to make an aircraft carrier as Pyke conceived of. The largest problem would have been the refrigeration plant a ship would have to have, required to keep the ice cold and stable so it remained hard. So, what Pyke created was possible, and feasible, even in 40's technology. Great appreciation of you covering the life of Pyke, who has been one of the unsung heroes of the war.
It was able to carry fuel, bombs, and other stuff? It was more than a floating shelf?
Thank you ladies for putting your own twist to this tale. I will never look at a snowmobile the same again!
I knew of many of his WW2 inventions but had never heard of his exploits in the Great War. Thanks very much to the Deinhard sisters. 😘
Sisters? Mother and daughter, you mean. 😉
@@bryceallen9548
Really! I was certain they were sisters. 👯♀️ 😂
My poor attempt at humor after a very sad tale.
Thanks for watching!
You have to wonder if Quentin Tarantino got some of his ideas for Inglourious Basters either directly or indirectly from this man’s life / ideas.
Hey Sebastian here, yes he did! The way the Americans carve the swastika into the foreheads of nazis in the movie is directly inspired by the stickers left on the foreheads of dead enemies by the FSSF !
This is one of the greatest episodes ever. These 2 work so well together. I'm donating even more to this channel!
❤
YES! THANK YOU!
Pyke is WAY under-appreciated!
What a great episode, and I do so love the first ladies of the Time Ghost Army! So touching and sad at the end. A man who did so much was to die thinking he was a complete failure and asking his family just to forget him. What an awful fate for a man who really did save so many with ideas that others took credit for. At least I am glad that people are now realizing that this man may have seemed crazy at the time, but was in fact, ahead of his time with much of his thinking. God bless his soul and God bless Astrid and Anna! This American veteran sends a salute skyward in his honor.
I am not crying, you are. 😢
I remember first hearing about Pykerete on Mythbusters, really interesting material.
This is probably one of my favorite videos made by this channel. Definitely seems like both Astrid and Anna had a lot of fun making it, and it showed. That letter was very heartbreaking to hear.
Thanks for your kind words.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
I can't help but feel the experience of this wonderful human being hits very close to home.
They are even better together. Great episode.
Geoffry Pyke reminds me of Neil Cicierega in that whenever I hear about them/something they made, I go: "wait, that was them‽"
Astrid and Anna are a terrific team, just delightful... ❤
So sad to think of, that man was a true hero. Terrible the way he died. Poured his heart into things and it was far too personal for him to just keep creating, a feeling I know all too well.
Well covered, thanks team for bringing awareness to this brilliant soul.
Anna and Astrid, the content of your WWII videos is both essential and interesting, and your manner of presentation is absolutely superb! Well done, ladies! 👍❤👍❤
And you two are fantastic!!
A wonderful story told beautifully by Anna and Astrid! Thank you ladies!
great smile coming out of me. Astrid always does a great job. The addition of Anna adds to the presentation. Well done team :) Got my weekly dose of "Dawlins" :) All the best, Avec mes Salutations des plus distingues ... mesdames.
His relative Magnus Pyke was a popular British TV scientist in the 1970s, the archetype of the 'Mad Scientist'.
What a sad ending to a great story. And as always brilliantly presented by Astrid and Anna. I actually love this double presentation, hope we will see it for the remainder of the war.
I cannot wait to see the blooper video from this episode. Thanks to you both.
Dadgum, that was a sad letter. What a neat guy. This episode sort of gave me a "It's a Wonderful Life" feeling, only without the angel saving the main character.
Such a tragic ending to a beautiful soul. I hope the men that swindled him received the justice they so deserved in whatever form it came.
These two are a treat to watch!
Glad you enjoyed, thank you for the very lovely comment! I'll let them know 😀
- Jake
After hearing how Pyke got to Berlin in WW I, Leonard Cohen's famous refrain line suddenly makes a whole new kind of sense.
In Canada I knew the story of the aircraft carrier and I thought the idea was good if we were cold blooded.
Thank you for your service Jeoffrey Pyke. Salute!
Great stuff like always!
How come I’ve never heard of this snowmobile force in my decades of studying WWII? Anna and Astrid, I love it when you two work together! Keep em coming. Anna, let’s have another On The Homefront episodes soon-they are wonderful. Thank you ladies. ❤️
It was a wonderful historical coverage video about Winston Churchill iceman spy .a thrilled introduction by two ladies
Ladies, u are awesome! thank you. great the whole crew!
Anna's reaction at the end when Astrid reads the letter is amazing, donno if it s real or an act, it s that good! love her!
It's real.
Another "crazy" idea that actually happened was the use of Navajo Code Talkers. The Navajo language was nearly impossible for an outsider to learn. The USMC employed those Code Talkers and the Japanese could never crack their code. There was a movie about them that was a bit fictionalized but it did happen. To my Dad, a WWII Marine, they were heroes. There were a surprising number of Native Americans in the Marines, All of them served with distinction.
Thank you for this new video!
What a sad, sad story. However, I was taught about Pykecrete and the aircraft carrier idea at school, in the 70's/80's. I went to private school in the UK and many of my teachers were former officers that had served in WW2.... I wonder if some had served with Pyke..
More to him than an ice aircraft carrier. Thank u TimeGhost
Thanks to you for watching! -TimeGhost Ambassador
Yes Ladies the History Channel did a doc about Pyke 20 years ago. Plus MQM did big article about him some time about him.
It's not fair, everyone beat you down, you did belong here Geoffrey, we wish we could hear your ideas now...Rest in Peace...❤😿
Great presentation, again - thanks again from across the pond. Edited to respect the life of a man who cared more for others and shared, . Thank you
Okay, you (Pyke) made me cry. His farewell letter is realy, really sad. He does not want to be alive anymore, no he has to punish himself even more by completly whipe out his own excistence.
The loneliness of this man is felt true his letter. So thank for shinning a light on him. I think he would have liked and appreciated that. He was searching for acknowledgment and recognition and probably love. Thank you, darlings 😉
Ice Ice baby and now this song in stuck in your head haha
I remember Pykerete, but it's sad that was the project his name is most remembered for.
I know it probably doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things but, could you do a Spies and Ties segment on Operation Elster? I am a native of Maine and it would be so cool to see my state mentioned on this show!!
You guys mention the Special Forces - I have a step-uncle who fought with them, a Canadian, who won an American Silver Star at Anzio before being captured.
I live in a remote rural town in Manitoba with a population of about 5000. At a hockey game I got talking with a fellow who sits near me and find out that his DAD ALSO fought with the same unit!
What are the chances?!
That's pretty wild!
-TimeGhost Ambassador
Hi Astrid and Anna
Nice video to learn about pyke.
Great stuff.
This war still have more hidden person to learn
Thanks.
Thanks a lot for watching it! That is our goal, the shed as much light as possible on the war and its hidden details! -TimeGhost Ambassador
Magnus Pyke , his brother is remembered by Brits born in the 1970s for introducing children to science in enjoying way.
Eccentric in a very British way.
The ending made us really undestand why you all wanted to make this special
that suicide note broke me. He summed himself up as nothing but a failure, when he was one of the greatest
It broke me too.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
Excellent, as always! Cheers.
Interesting episode.Ladies. I always like your Annie Hall look. Got my notice to re-up in th Time Ghost Army the other day. Thinking of promoting myself to support your good work. Take care.
Thank you for this.
Thank you.
When you think Mad Scientist, Geoffrey Pyke is the first one to come to mind.
Fantastic video
We appreciate the kind words!
It is astounding how Pyke did not get credit for Pluto, considering the breakout from Normandy would have been difficult without it.
Not covering Turing's accomplishments after the war is covered by the Secret's Act, but I can't figure that applies to Pluto - maybe how the pumping stations were disguised and their locations, but some French civilians must have come across the pipes ashore at some point.
She told me to keep on watching until the very end! So I did! I swear!
that took a dark turn...
still. it can't all be cloaks and daggers, now,
can it?
Amazing episode.
Thank you!
-TimeGhsot Ambassador
I’m sorry Indy and Sparty, but the Deinhards win the popularity contest on this channel!
Guess the home front got much better in 44-45. As Anna hasn't done anything on it for a while now.
You mentioned in an earlier episode that you would talk about the Turkish spy Cicero, are you still planning an episode on him? Thank you so much!
It’s here: Do the Germans Know About Operation Overlord? - WW2 Documentary Special
ruclips.net/video/KXfZHjnmpto/видео.html
@@spartacus-olsson Thank you Spartacus
What isn't told was the technologies that had to be developed to create those novel concepts . This shows up in NASA , that new technologies arise from novel concepts and needs . So Pyke was very correct in his thinking , what is the NEED , then how do you go about filling that need . As a Tool & Die engineer I live this same thought process . The really sad part is we are greatly under appreciated . As a gunsmith I explain it this way I present a big block of wood and a big chunk of metal to people that don't like firearms , and tell them HERE YOU MAKE A GUN FROM THIS ! Along that line the US military mothballed the un needed arsenals after WW2 in the last 2 years they have been reactivated , humm.. But that reactivation process will take years to integrate current technologies with those of the 1940's , and further more years to train people to develop the mindset to manufacture something most know nothing about .
Unfortunately, thinking outside the box is not part of military convention.
"So don't you dare turn off until the very end - else you are not my darlings anymore" - am I allowed to pause to go to the shops before the close? I really need to get bread for tomorrow :/
altogether you Dads Army fans DONT` T TELL HIM PIKE
What a sad story. Another let down by the establishment because they don't have the correct last name or go to the correct school.
I'm not surprised. Look what they did to Turin.
Really sad.
I wonder how many other people shed a tear.
To see your emotions was lovely thank you darling
Thank You_ Thank you, thank you you, and thank you all. ANd Love You All
Thank you for the lovely comment!
Poor guy. I too, often lamented my lack of back bone in my mid teens to simply drop out of high school and get a GED.
Now we have schools with no interest in academics. I conclude that no loving parent in the US ever places a child in government schools.
I think you need to redo some of the earlier stuff as a pair. You time so well with each other.
Great stuff ladies!!!!
The video title is missing the second "e" in GeoffrEy. Other than that, brilliant, as usual. And the end was... brilliant, too, but in a very special way
Ah, thanks for pointing that out. It has been corrected. Thank you for watching.
Watching these two is hilarious, how many takes do these shows take haha
He wanted to be forgotten, so this episode is a treachery to his will.
Man, what a sad end :(
The fuel pipeline laid under the channel, codename "Pluto" and the artificial harbor, codename "Mulberry", were so crucial for the success of Operation Overlord as it had been later realized when it took much longer than originally planned to liberate the Port of Cherbourg. The fuel and supplies that had hauled through were the lifeline of the advancing large invading amphibious force. Later on, the famous Red Ball Express, another Yankee can do ingenuity and logistical knowhow had managed to push forward all supplies and ammunition needed as communication lines had become longer.
Cool one ladies , knew about this one well before 😀😀
Why is Anna so funny this episode 😂 It suits her
There where ca. 400 000 german solidiers in Norway at the end of the war in May 1945. A serious forcse kept away from the battles on continent. Sounds like Pyke may have played a part in this in some way. Maybe.
It is interesting that if there had been a German Pike (Jewish), Turning (homosexual) or almost anyone in the SOE (a collection of Misfits and eccentrics with a leavening of conventional characters) they would have been murdered, imprisoned or at the very least ignored.
True… and it’s very fitting that these men and women were essential to win the war against those Nazis.
@@spartacus-olsson I read but would really love to know if it is true that there was an Austrian doctor who pleaded with the Nazis to use his patients with unusually high mathematical skills rather than murdering them. They refused to listen and killed his patients on mass. His name was Dr Asperger. In England Bletchley Park was filled with the neuro non typical who for some it was the first time in their lives were valued and had work they found interesting and fulfilling. Some failed after the war and some went on to have richer lives than they would otherwise had. If anyone knows the answer or can point me to a book I will be indebted.
@@sheilbwright7649 Dr, Asperger’s anti-Naziism has been found to be a construct he created after the war to distance himself from the murderous policies enacted against the disabled by the Nazis. In reality, although he wasn’t instrumental in creating and operating the T4 euthanasia program, he referred patients into the system, fully aware that they either need killed. This article outlines the research showing that: tidsskriftet.no/en/2019/05/essay/asperger-nazis-and-children-history-birth-diagnosis#:~:text=Although%20Asperger%20never%20joined%20the,Herta%20Schreiber%20in%20Am%20Spiegelgrund.
You to are wonderful.
13:32 Can you explain think outside of the box? I know the expression what it means
It means to explore possibilites outside of what is commonly admitted.
I'd look for examples, but Pyke's life is the best illustration of it. :')
One smart Habakkukie.
Good, I can take being scolded in a German accent by someone in a RUclips video off my bucket list!
Also, there is clearly not enough information out there about the potential role of undercover amateur golfers in the war effort.
You may have earned best comment of the week with that opening…
Fascinating.
I loved this episode. I knew about Pykrete and Pluto...but the rest of the story is fantastic and fun. Sorry he was a bad businessman.
Just bought the book to read the details.
Ouch
THE TWO RONNIE'S COME TOO MIND , DONT DO IT 😂😊.
Got a tear outa me. Sad end.
Indeed it was, thank you for watching.