On a rainy summer afternoon, on 2 June 1941, Dr Henry Dicks arrived at the heavily fortified MI6 safe house in Surrey, having been called to examine Hess, who was a British prisoner.
He was led up to the first floor and into a guarded room for a one-on-one meeting with the man who had been second in line - after Hermann Goering - to succeed Adolf Hitler.
By trying to understand Rudolf Hess and his loyalty to Hitler, Dicks hoped to glean useful insights into what was seen as the collective madness of the Nazi leadership.
In the media, Hess had appeared square-jawed and strong, often pictured striding side-by-side with Hitler. In the flesh, that illusion was soon shattered.
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