As a young Army officer, Robert Baden-Powell was stationed in Malta as an aide to his uncle, General Sir Henry Augustus Smyth. While there, he also served as intelligence officer for the Mediterranean for the Director of Military Intelligence and it was in this role that he had many of the adventures described in this book, travelling to investigate fortifications. Written in 1915, and including Baden-Powell's thoughts on German espionage before and in the first years of the First World War, My Adventures as a Spy describes such techniques as how to convey secret information using drawings of butterfly wings, how to quickly disguise yourself, how to safely produce plans of fortresses and observe troops and how to get past sentries.