From Refugee Rescuer to Drug Trafficker: The Duality of Harold Derber – Thoughts on “The Wireless Operator” by David Tuch

by Gabor Por · March 24, 2026

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There was an intriguing article in the Atlantic a couple of months ago about how our ancestors really felt. It focused on the work of Rob Boddice, who explores the history of emotions and senses. It was very much on my mind as I was reading about Harold Derber. Derber had a most interesting life, which would have been too exciting for most of us, as David Tuch meticulously documented in his “The Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade.” The title and subtitle convey a great deal about his life, but not all. Read the book to get the whole picture; it’s worth it. Tuch conducted thorough research, gathered many documents, and used them as the basis for the book about his unknown cousin. He did much more, though: filled in the gaps with a narrative that turned the (not-so-dry) facts into a fascinating story, a spellbinding docudrama.

But how did Derber really feel? What were his motivations and drives? We can never know how he or anyone else really felt. Boddice argues in Emotion, Sense, Experience that history should view emotions and senses as deeply connected rather than as separate fields. In his early life, Derber must have experienced a lof ot pain, like most of his contemporaries. Maybe not while he was part of the Manchester Jewish Lads’ Brigade, but certainly, when he witnessed the devastation of the Blitzkrieg, he surely had to take on the partial responsibility of his role to support his family. The latter led him to finding the path to becoming a radio operator, studying at the College of International Marine Radio Telegraphic and then working for years on various ships during the war.

The rest of his winding life was surely defined by what he sensed in his formative years and his emotional reactions. Trying to understand him was the most challenging part of reading the book. I welcomed that challenge, and I think Tuch did as well. Here are some of the author’s hints:

He may have concealed his Jewish identity to avoid antisemitism or ensure his eligibility under the British quota. Or maybe he was severing ties with values that no longer served him. (Page 51)
Playing with fire, entirely legally, was a perfect summary of Derber’s life philosophy. (Page 139)
Trafficking arms was a necessity, oil a calculated gamble, and refugees a moral obligation. Drugs were simply the next step. (Page 155)
True to his moral code, Derber only trafficked marijuana, steering clear of more lucrative but destructive drugs like cocaine and Heroin. (Page 165)

What do you think about Derber based on just these four short references? The false dichotomy of good guy/bad guy clearly transpires, right? He was Jewish, so he surely incorporated at least some Jewish values, but then seemingly gave them up. But where would you put his strong need to rescue Cubans who wanted to flee their country after the Communist takeover? Was his humanitarian motivation driven by war memories from his teen years? Figuratively speaking, he was trying to part the waters for them, as Moses did, so they could be free. (Technically, it was the other way around, trying to secure ships for them for their voyage.) Being banned from multiple countries would play into the stereotype of wandering Jews. But then he was wandering all his life from one place to another. Yes, by conventional standards, he was a criminal who violated the laws of multiple countries. On the other hand, he had some moral code, see the last quote. So he was not the worst of the worst. I could go back and forth lots of times. To quote Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof: “On the other hand… No – there is no other hand!”

Let me share two personal semi-personal connections. He established a cruise company, Empress Lines Ltd., with several innovative ideas, including recognizing and utilizing the loophole that gambling is legal on international waters, even if on most of the land of the US, it is not or heavily regulated. Read chapter four for the glorious and also dark details. My wife became a travel agent specializing in cruises, so reading chapter three felt like an insider’s history of her new venture. (BTW: Contact her here for any and all of your cruising needs.)

The latest cruise my wife took was on the Magdalena River in Colombia, ending in Cartagena. As recently as a few weeks ago, I had never even heard of this town, so I was quite surprised when I came across it on page 157. Derber spent most of chapter 11 there. These little personal connections make a book even more memorable and relatable. Because the book is so wild and covers such a wide range of the world, I think many readers would find parts of it to connect with.

I never really liked the expression “larger than life,” so I will not use it for Derber either. Let me just say that his life was movie-worthy. The trials and tribulations he went through, not unscathed, would make a spectacular movie with lots of drama and adventure in splendid settings. He was truly an international figure, stepping in and out of spy stories, creative spirits, and ideas, with a strong sense and skill of cultivating useful relationships and always finding ways to proceed. By studying his life, you can learn a lot about little-known pockets of history, too.

I would never have learned about Derber or so many aspects of history I was not familiar with, without David Tuch discovering the black sheep of his family and pursuing his story. But thankfully, he did, and he did a superb job finding archival materials and turning them into a coherent story. Tuch skillfully weaves historical details into a gripping narrative, enabling readers to delve into the complex emotions and motivations that shaped Derber’s decisions. The 45 pictures included in the book made it even more believable and realistic. (Does the latter even make sense, considering that the facts in the books are all real, only the connecting of the dots came from the creative mind of the author?) If you have a touch of an academic vein, you will also appreciate the dozens of properly cited sources. This is not just a recounting of events; it’s a journey into the heart of a man shaped by his times, making the book a compelling read that lingers long after the last page.

The book on the author’s website.
The author’s page on Instagram.

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Year first published: 2025

The book's page at the publisher's site