Spy Roses: The Gardener Who Came Back From Camp

A backyard rose breeder is accused of endangering national security. Can he prove his innocence when his life's work is used against him?

Spy Roses: The Gardener Who Came Back From Camp

This episode tells the story of Frank Rilett, an ordinary man whose extraordinary hobby of rose breeding led to his internment during World War II. Discover how his meticulous records and unusual equipment were misinterpreted, and what it meant for his freedom.

Person: Frank Rilett Date: 1942 Location: Turramurra, Sydney, Australia Status: Detained, interned Event: Wartime internment

- Frank Rilett, a clerk by profession, began breeding roses in his backyard in Turramurra, Sydney, in his mid-fifties. - He had no formal training in botany or genetics, learning from books and correspondence, and developed a famous climbing rose called 'Titian'. - By 1942, authorities became suspicious of Rilett's activities, including his detailed notes and diagrams. - Commonwealth security services officers arrived at his home with a warrant, finding a long-range radio antenna on his roof. - His precise rose-breeding notebooks and hand-drawn property diagrams were seized, interpreted as potential coded communications and spy plans.

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