The choice of Michael over other possible candidates reflected a set of specific constraints. The body had to be male, of appropriate physical build and apparent age to pass as a Royal Marine officer in his thirties. It had to be available — meaning the person had died and had no relatives who would be missed or who would ask questions. It had to have died from causes that would not be immediately apparent in a routine examination. And it had to be available on a timeline that matched the operational planning for Mincemeat.
Michael met these requirements. He was thirty-four, which was consistent with the age of a major. He had no living close relatives who would notice that a body registered as William Martin had previously been registered as Glyndwr Michael. His death from phosphorus poisoning was not externally apparent. And he became available at a point in the operation’s planning when Montagu and Cholmondeley were ready to proceed.
The question of consent is one that has been raised by commentators, and it is worth addressing directly. Michael gave no consent, because he was dead and had been dead before anyone thought of using him. There is no evidence that he had any contact with British intelligence before his death, or that he knew anything about what would happen to his body. He was used because he was available and suitable. The ethical dimensions of using a dead person’s body in this way were, apparently, not dwelt upon extensively at the time, in the context of a war in which millions of people were dying.