Josef Jakobs Josef Jakobs Josef Jakobs (30 June 1898 – 15 August 1941) was a German spy and the last person to be executed at the Tower of London. He was captured shortly after parachuting into the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Convicted of espionage under the Treachery Act 1940, Jakobs was shot by a military firing squad. He was not hanged because he was captured as an enemy combatant. Jakobs, who was a German citizen, was born in Luxembourg in 1898. During the First World War, he served in the German infantry, rising to the rank of "Leutnant", in
RAF Upwood by another medium bomber unit, No. 35 Squadron, flying both Blenheims and Ansons. Both Upwood squadrons were not destined to see front-line combat as, on 8 April 1940, they were merged into the new No. 17 Operational Training Unit RAF and tasked with training aircrews. Although the Upwood units were not taking a direct part in the war, they did see some action. On two occasions in 1940 and once in 1942 the airfield was attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft. However, only one person was killed during these raids. On 1 February 1941 a German spy, Josef Jakobs, was captured by