Finding Hester

Finding Hester uncovers one of the stranger tales from the Second World War: Operation Mincemeat. During this operation, a corpse dressed as a British pilot was dropped in the ocean near Spain. The corpse carried forged documents, which ended up in German hands, convincing them to move their troops to the advantage of the Allied forces.

This operation was perhaps most popularly recounted in Ben Macintyre's 2010 book, Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II. Recently, the event has been retold in a 2021 film and is currently the plot of an Olivier-winning West End musical. Operation Mincemeat has never been more familiar to the public.

To sell the ruse of the corpse, MI5 needed to create a credible backstory for the fictitious pilot. His briefcase was filled with receipts, cigarettes, a photograph, and, importantly, two fabricated love letters.

In an interview with MI5 secretary Jean Leslie, conducted by Macintyre for his book, the name of the woman behind those letters was revealed to be 'Hester Leggett'. This name has been repeated ever since, including in both the film and the musical.

However, Hester Leggett does not exist.

The false identity was discovered by a group of fans of the musical. Although much is known about the other key figures portrayed in the musical, Hester remained a mystery. When the group began researching her, they found out she was actually Hester Leggatt.

This misplaced vowel made all the difference, leading to the uncovering of a substantial amount of information about the real Hester. Finding Hester tells the story of how the musical fanbase found her school records, her family, her real love letters from the Second World War, and definitive confirmation from MI5 that they had identified the right person.