W. J. Richards [Oliver the Spy]

(1774 c.-1827)

NAME AUTHORITIES: DNB: Richards, W. J. [alias William Oliver; called Oliver the Spy] (1774?–1827), spy and agent provocateur LBT ID: WiRicha1827	B/BAP: 1774 DIED: 1827-08
SOURCES: DNB
Government informant who in 1817 infiltrated radical groups and was accused by the Opposition of fomenting riots; after being exposed he emigrated to the Cape Colony.
REFERENCES TO W. J. Richards [Oliver the Spy]: Creevey, Thomas, 1768-1838, The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903) Ch XII: 1817-18 Found 1: ¶ 3