Prof. Keith Jeffery: MI6, The History Of The Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949
Was British intelligence more Harry Potter than James Bond? With a popular reputation for an almost occult omnipotence the Secret Intelligence Service has been a mainstay of Britain’s defence for more than 100 years. Founded in 1909, MI6 is the longest serving secret intelligence service in the world. Created in response to the German spy scares of the Edwardian period, the Foreign Section of Secret Service Bureau, to give it its proper nomenclature, performed vital work against Germany in the First World War. Under the inspired leadership of C, its anonymous chief, who always signed his name with green ink, it found a new role in combating the nascent Soviet intelligence ‘apparat’. Among its famous operatives against the new Soviet State were Sidney Reilly and Sir Paul Dukes. Despite nearly toppling Lenin’s regime, HM Treasury drastically cut its budget. SIS, starved of resources between the wars limped on to face its greatest threat, Nazi Germany. Armed only with the Enigma secret and a handful of dedicated agents, SIS rose, phoenix like, from the ashes of Treasury parsimony to triumph over German military intelligence. After 1945, the fruits of peace were elusive and MI6 turned its attention to the Cold War with Russia, not realising it nursed a viper in its breast; the Soviet penetration agent Kim Philby.
Prof. Keith Jeffery’s new book MI6, the History of the Secret intelligence Service 1909-1949 tells the exciting story of SIS’s first 40 years, the bureaucratic battle inside Whitehall that led to its formation: how it beat the Kaiser’s spies in 1914; survived inter-war Treasury cuts and fought the soviet Cheka (later the NKVD) in the 1930s. Finally, it offers a sober account of both triumph and failure in WW2 and the early Cold War.
MI6 (Prof. Keith Jeffery) 6.30-8pm Friday, December 9th 2011. The Lecture Theatre, INTO UEA London, 102 Middlesex Street, E17EZ
The event is free and all are welcome. However, space is limited so please reserve a place by e-mailing [email protected]
Prof. Keith Jeffery’s new book MI6, the History of the Secret intelligence Service 1909-1949 tells the exciting story of SIS’s first 40 years, the bureaucratic battle inside Whitehall that led to its formation: how it beat the Kaiser’s spies in 1914; survived inter-war Treasury cuts and fought the soviet Cheka (later the NKVD) in the 1930s. Finally, it offers a sober account of both triumph and failure in WW2 and the early Cold War.
MI6 (Prof. Keith Jeffery) 6.30-8pm Friday, December 9th 2011. The Lecture Theatre, INTO UEA London, 102 Middlesex Street, E17EZ
The event is free and all are welcome. However, space is limited so please reserve a place by e-mailing [email protected]