M. E. Clifton James M. E. Clifton James Meyrick Edward Clifton James (April 1898 – 8 May 1963) was an actor and soldier, with a resemblance to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. This was used by British intelligence as part of a deception campaign during the Second World War. Clifton James was born in Perth, Western Australia, the youngest son of notable Australian public servant John Charles Horsey James and his wife Rebecca Catherine Clifton. After serving in the Royal Fusiliers during the First World War, and seeing action at the Battle of the Somme, he took up acting, "starting at 15 shillings weekly with
M. E. Clifton James different, James supposedly burst into tears because he thought he had been exposed as a bigamist, who was receiving a double marriage allowance. Like many of Niven's anecdotes, this one is viewed with scepticism. The ruse was part of a wider deception which aimed to divert troops from Northern France, by convincing the Germans that an Allied invasion of Southern France (Operation Dragoon) would precede a northern invasion. The plan was code-named Operation "Copperhead" and James was assigned to Montgomery's staff to learn his speech and mannerisms. Despite the problems that he had with alcohol (Montgomery was teetotal), and the