UNITED KINGDOM

Biographies

R - Z

Read, Anthony, and David Fisher. Colonel Z: The Secret Life of a Master of Spies. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1984. New York: Viking, 1985.

According to Phillips, IJIC 1.1, Lt. Col. Sir Claude Edward Majoribanks Dansey "was an intelligence mover and shaker ... from the turn of the century through World War II." He was allowed "to establish his own European Service -- the 'Z Organization'" but that organization was "penetrated beyond redemption by Nazi intelligence." This book "deserves a place on the bookshelf of any serious student of the British silent services." On the other hand, Sexton advises that the work "[s]hould be used with caution."

Rose, Kenneth. Elusive Rothschild. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2003.

West, IJI&C 17,3, says that this biography of Victor Rothschild, "while not entirely uncritical,... either neglects to mention the most significant" controversies of Rothschild's life, "or simply misrepresents them." One problem is that the author "simply does not understand the basics of the field [i.e., intelligence] he is attempting to investigate.... As a detailed analysis and assessment of the evidence of Victor's loyalty or treachery, Elusive Rothschild has very little value."

For Andrew, Sunday Times (London), 16 Mar. 2003, the author's "well-written, often entertaining biography is full of insights into Rothschild's extraordinarily varied career.... The complexities of Rothschild’s subterranean attempts to rescue his reputation are such that even Rose occasionally loses his way.... Elusive Rothschild is, none the less, a memorable biography of an immensely talented man."

Sherry, Norman. The Life of Graham Greene, Volume II: 1939-1955. New York: Viking/Penguin, 1995.

Surveillant 4.3: "This is Sherry's second volume [of three] on the life of MI6 officer and author Graham Greene, focusing on the time in Greene's life when he was writing novels as 'cover,' traveling, and engaging in espionage."

Simpson, John, with Mark Adkin. The Quiet Operator: Special Forces Signaller Extraordinary. London: Leo Cooper, 1993.

Foot, I&NS 9.3: "Len Willmott (1921-1993) ... entered the British Army as a boy signaller in 1937, operated in secret in Poland, Greece, France, and Holland during the Second World War, ran some line-crossers from east to west Germany, helped sort out the SAS from some of its worst tangles in Malaya, and emigrated to New Zealand to work in the security service when the army dropped him.... [Simpson] writes good, clear ... English, and tells the story as straight as he can ... and always tells the reader whether he knows or is guessing."

Souza, Corinne. Baghdad's Spy: A Personal Memoir of Espionage and Intrigue from Iraq to London. Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Publishing, 2003.

Peake, Studies 48.1, identifies this as the work of a daughter "to tell of the life of an Iraqi who married a British woman and who worked two decades for SIS, first in Iraq and later in London, while running his own business.... In the end, her real complaint is that her father ... did not receive the SIS recognition or pension he deserved."

Welham, Michael G., and Jacqui. Frogman Spy: The Mysterious Disappearance of Commander Buster Crabb. London: W.H. Allen, 1990.

Surveillant 1.1 identifies this as a "new examination, by two military researchers, into the mysterious disappearance of CDR Lionel 'Buster' Crabb." Peake, Studies 52.4 (Dec. 2008), notes this work "reported new but inconclusive evidence that Crabb has surviced, served the Soviets, and died in a Czech nursing home."

See also, Don Hale, The Final Dive: The Life and Death of "Buster" Crabb (Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton, 2007); J. Bernard Hutton [pseud., Joseph Heisler], Frogman Spy: The Incredible Case of Commander Crabbe (New York: McDowell Obolensky, 1960. London: Spearman, Neville, 1960); Marshall Pugh, Frogman: Commander Crabbe's Story (New York: Scribner, 1956); and Nicholas Elliott, With My Little Eye: Observations Along the Way (Norwich, UK: Michael Russell, 1993), pp. 23-27 [cited in Peake, Studies 52.4 (Dec. 2008)].

West, Nigel, ed. [Rupert Allason, M.P.] The Faber Book of Espionage. London: Faber & Faber, 1993. 1994. [pb]

Surveillant 3.4/5 calls this a "splendid compilation of the writings and biographies of some of Britain's most secret servants." For Warren, WIR 15.1, The Faber Book of Espionage "works well," even though it is "a potpourri of British authors who have worked within the intelligence business." Of "greater importance" than the excerpts themselves are West's profiles of the authors and his historical introduction to each chapter. "West has produced a bedside reader that informs as it entertains."

West, Nigel. [Rupert Allason] "The Legacy of Graham Greene: Superspy." World Intelligence Review 13, no. 6 (1994): 1, 3.

This is a quick look at three biographies of Greene and their treatment of his association with British wartime intelligence: Anthony Mockler, Graham Greene: Three Lives (Edinburgh, Scotland: Hunter Mackay, 1994); Michael Shelden, Graham Greene: The Man Within (London: William Heinemann, [?1987]); and Norman Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene, Vol. 1, 1904-1939, and Vol. II, 1939-1955 (New York: Viking: 1990, 1994).

Greene served with MI6 from 1941 to 1944, when he moved to the Foreign Office. His stint with MI6 included postings in Lagos, Freetown, and the Portuguese desk in Section V (Counterintelligence), where he was Kim Philby's subordinate. According to West, "Sherry's account is fairly accurate..., the more accurate one overall.... [B]ut the least flattering account, written by Shelden, provides the most meat for the intelligence cognoscente." Mockler's book "has some additional details concerning the counterespionage scene in Lisbon when Greene was supervising Section V's Portuguese desk. Mockler, however, relied heavily on Malcolm Muggeridge's memoirs."

Wilkinson, Peter, and Joan Bright Astley. Gubbins and SOE. London: Leo Cooper, 1993.

Surveillant 3.4/5 says that there is a "good section on the complications of running an organization dedicated to Special Operations which must cut across all areas of turf from other Bureaus, and the organization itself was divided between helping resistance groups and guerrillas, or engaging in subversion and sabotage."

According to Seaman, I&NS 11.2, this book is not so much a biography "as an examination of the most significant part of Gubbins' professional career as the driving force behind SOE." Both of the authors had a "close professional and personal attachment" to Gubbins, and they are able to give the book "a real insider's view."

Windmill, Lorna Almonds. A British Achilles. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword, 2005.

According to Foot, I&NS 21.3 (Jun. 2006), this biography of George, second Earl Jellicoe serves as "a sound guide to the maze of sub-units and semi-secret services with which the eastern Mediterranean abounded" during World War II. The reviewer sees Windmill's description of Jellicoe's wartime service with SAS, of which he was second in command, and his formation of the Special Boat Section as stronger than her handling of Jellicoe's later life.

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