38. The Master of Disguise
In 1899, Sidney Reilly was given a permanent position with British Naval Intelligence Department (NID). One of his earliest assignments occurred during the Boer War, when Reilly was sent to Holland to gather information about arms shipments being sent to the Boers in South Africa.
Cool-headed, creative, brave, and a natural at disguises with acting chops that allowed him to do just about any persona, Reilly used his talents to present himself as a Russian arms dealer. That got him invited to inspect various Dutch arms factories, and he returned to Britain with valuable information that impressed his superiors. Between that and other early successes, Reilly soon earned a reputation as one of the NID’s top agents.