Cheadle Historical Society - A Lesson in Winning a Propaganda War
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Thursday 15th January 2026 saw Cheadle Historical Society members and visitors gather together, filling the New Life building on Tape Street. They'd come out on a dark, cold evening to listen to Philip Brough, a Cheadle historian and long-term friend of the Society.
His presentation, The Biggest Aspidistra, was a story of the British transmitting propaganda to Germany, one of Britain's best-kept secrets. Millions are aware of Lord Haw-Haw, but our success story in this field has been well hidden.
We had acquired the world's most powerful transmitter (the codename given to this was The Biggest Aspidistra) from RCA in America. It was too powerful; our engineers then tweaked it to make it even better! Sited in Crowborough, Sussex, it was extremely successful. We managed to cause all sorts of confusion in Germany with misinformation. It was also used to interfere with Luftwaffe transmissions.
Philip's talk was captivating as we learned about the work of Sefton Delmer, the pioneer behind Britain's dark propaganda mission to help win the war. Delmer, head of the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), was responsible for helping Britain influence the hearts and minds of both military personnel and ordinary people. Initially on shortwave (military radio), where information, mostly lies and often sensational, was taken back to soldiers' families and friends, and later broadcasting directly to ordinary people.
Philip shared story after story about how Operation Aspidistra came to be, the work of Der Chef - an apparent disgruntled Nazi officer, how Delmer acquired and used the transmitter, which enabled widespread communications to not only go out but pose as legitimate existing stations and evade being shut down at the touch of a button.
Hitler broadcast a speech from the Reichstag offering peace terms. Delmer responded immediately, stating that the British hurl the terms "right back at you, in your evil-smelling teeth". When, in 1945, Delmer learned that he had been placed on Germany's Special Search List for arrest after the invasion of Britain, he concluded that it was this broadcast that had put him there. Delmer's instant (but unauthorized) rejection had a great impact on Germany, where Joseph Goebbels concluded it had to have come from the government. It hadn't.
The hour and a half talk flew by, and whilst it seems like just an interesting story from history, it is one that is very relevant for today, where misinformation is also rife, but anyone can take to the airwaves we now call the internet.
What I learned from this is that whilst independent, accurate journalism—something we pride ourselves on at COGNEWS—is crucial, it is equally important to inform people about the things that matter to them. This is how Delmer's misinformation was so widely used. For me, it was both a cautionary tale for current events and a spur for COGNEWS to provide the best quality, accurate information local people want to hear!
Further reading:
The man who tricked Nazi Germany: lessons from the past on how to beat disinformation by Peter Pomerantsev:
Dates for Your Diary
The Caldon Canal
The Historical Society's next meeting is on February 19th, 7:30 p.m. prompt at New Life. Visitors £3.00
The topic is the Caldon Canal, how this very important local canal aided our local coal, limestone, ironstone, lime, copper, and pottery industries. Presented by Julie Arnold of the Canals Trust.
Alton Towers Gardens
On Thursday, March 19th, Jake Price & Stephen Waring will give a very interesting presentation entitled "The History of Alton Towers Gardens." A very important topic, no doubt it will include rafts of information that most people will not be aware of. Visitors £3
Come and hear about the well-known saying "He made the desert smile"!
Cheadle Historical Society - A Lesson in Winning a Propaganda War - created 30th January 2026
