Dorothy O’Grady – The Sandown Spy: Exhibition Comes to Niton

Following the success of our recent exhibition at Havenstreet, we are pleased to be bringing the story of Dorothy O’Grady, the “Sandown Spy”, to Niton for another special exhibition.

If you weren’t able to make it to Havenstreet earlier this month, this is another opportunity to discover the remarkable and rather mysterious story of an Isle of Wight woman whose wartime activities brought her to the attention of the authorities.

The exhibition will be held at the White Lion Pub in Niton on Saturday 5 September, from 11am until 3pm, and admission is free.

Who was Dorothy O’Grady?

Dorothy O’Grady’s story is one of those fascinating pieces of Isle of Wight history that has remained largely hidden for decades.

During the Second World War she became involved in activities which attracted the attention of the British authorities. She was eventually arrested, tried and sentenced to death. That sentence was later commuted to 14 years imprisonment, of which she served nine.

But what exactly was Dorothy doing?

That is one of the questions we have been trying to answer through our research.

The surviving wartime records provide tantalising glimpses into her activities, while other evidence has only recently come to light. The more we have uncovered, the more complicated her story has become.

A remarkable wartime photo album

One of the most unusual items in the exhibition is Dorothy O’Grady’s own photograph album.

This is not simply an old family album.

When Dorothy was arrested, it was subsequently confiscated by the authorities. Inside are numerous photographs, including ordinary family and personal pictures, but also photographs of locations of military and strategic importance.

There are even clues suggesting that the album was examined very carefully by the authorities.

The album carries official markings and stamps associated with the MIRS Library and the Enemy Documents Section of the Cabinet Office. These markings suggest that after its confiscation it was examined, catalogued and retained within official government or intelligence collections.

Perhaps even more intriguing are the photographs which are no longer there.

In places, you can see gaps within the album, suggesting that images were removed at some point. Whether these were photographs considered particularly sensitive by the authorities is something we cannot say with certainty – but it certainly raises questions.

What did those missing photographs show?

And why were they removed?

These are the sorts of questions that make Dorothy’s story so intriguing.

The documents behind the story

Alongside the album, the exhibition includes copies of the wartime documents we have uncovered during our research.

These records provide an opportunity to look beyond the stories that have been repeated over the years and examine some of the original evidence surrounding Dorothy’s arrest, imprisonment and wartime activities.

Some of the documents raise more questions than they answer, but together they help to build a picture of the events surrounding one of the Island’s lesser-known wartime stories.

We have also continued researching the surviving prison and government records, looking for further information which might help explain Dorothy’s movements, associations and exactly what the authorities believed she had been doing.

A story still being investigated

One of the most interesting aspects of researching Dorothy O’Grady is that this is very much an ongoing story.

Every new document, photograph or archive reference has the potential to change what we know.

The exhibition therefore isn’t simply a display of old photographs. It is an opportunity to see the evidence for yourself and consider what it tells us about Dorothy and the extraordinary circumstances in which she found herself during the Second World War.

For us, this is exactly what local history should be about – taking the surviving evidence, asking questions and trying to understand the people and events behind it.

See the exhibition in Niton

If you missed the exhibition at Havenstreet, we would love you to join us at the White Lion Pub in Niton on Saturday 5 September.

The exhibition will be open from 11am to 3pm, with free entry.

You will be able to see the rare photograph album, photographs of wartime Isle of Wight locations, copies of the documents we have discovered, and the latest research into the story of the woman who became known as the Sandown Spy.

It is a fascinating, sometimes unsettling, and still incomplete story – but one which deserves to be remembered.

Dorothy O’Grady – The Sandown Spy
White Lion Pub, Niton
Saturday 5 September 2026
11am–3pm
Free entry

Come along and discover the story for yourself.