William J. Oliver
Encyclopedia
William Oliver aka 'Oliver the Spy' aka W.J Richards - was a 19th century informer, and suspected agent provocateur
, employed by the English Home Office against the Luddites and similar groupings. He appears to have played a significant role in thwarting the Pentridge or Pentrich Rising of 1817, leading to the execution of Brandreth
, Ludlam and Turner. See e.g. E. P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class
William Oliver was a building surveyor who had been imprisoned for debt before he was recruited by the foreign office.
His shadowy role is commemorated in Charles Lamb's poem, 'The Three Graves'. See say .
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
, employed by the English Home Office against the Luddites and similar groupings. He appears to have played a significant role in thwarting the Pentridge or Pentrich Rising of 1817, leading to the execution of Brandreth
Jeremiah Brandreth
Jeremiah Brandreth was an out-of-work stocking maker who lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, who was hanged for treason. He was known as "The Nottingham Captain"...
, Ludlam and Turner. See e.g. E. P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class
The Making of the English Working Class
The Making of the English Working Class is an influential and pivotal work of English social history, written by E. P. Thompson, a notable 'New Left' historian; it was published in 1963 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, and later republished at Pelican, becoming an early Open University Set Book...
William Oliver was a building surveyor who had been imprisoned for debt before he was recruited by the foreign office.
His shadowy role is commemorated in Charles Lamb's poem, 'The Three Graves'. See say .