Vernon Kell

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Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell (born November 21, 1873 in Great Yarmouth , † March 27, 1942 in London ) was an English officer and the founder and first director-general of the British secret service MI5 .

ancestry

Kell's father, Waldegrave Kell, served as a major in the 38th Infantry Regiment. His mother was Georgiana Augusta Kell, née Konarska. She was the daughter of the Polish émigré Aleksander Konarski, who served as a field surgeon in the 1st Podhalian Rifle Regiment and participated in the Polish November Uprising. He was a winner of the Victory Medal 4th class in gold. Konarski's wife was British by birth.

Career

After graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , Kell participated in the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1900 in the crackdown on the Boxer Rebellion . Kell was fluent in German, Italian, French and Polish. During long periods of work and study in China and Russia, he also learned Chinese and Russian. In Tianjin he also worked as a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph . In 1902, Kell returned to London from China . From 1902 to 1906 he worked for the War Ministry on an analysis of the German secret service. He may have been promoted to captain during this time. Growing concern about German espionage led to the establishment of the first professional British secret service in 1909. Kell was hired by the War Department and the Admiralty, together with Mansfield Smith-Cumming , to set up this intelligence agency. The two decided to share their responsibilities. From 1910 Kell headed the Department of Home Affairs, Smith-Cumming the Department of Foreign Affairs. These two departments were later named Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service (better known by their abbreviations MI5 and MI6). During the First World War , Kell headed section MI5 (g), which dealt with Indian aspirations for independence in Europe and Indo-German conspiracy. Kell was subordinate to officers Robert Nathan and HL Stephenson, among others. Kell also worked with Scotland Yard , which at the time was headed by Basil Thomson. During the war, Kell managed to track down German support networks for the Indian independence movement. In May 1940, Kell was retired by Winston Churchill after thirty years of service. He was the longest-serving British intelligence chief in the twentieth century. Shortly before his death, he was knighted.

Awards

Kell received the following awards:

reception

Kell served as a model for the main character in Bert Couless radio play version based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story "His Last Bow". In it he is portrayed as a highly intelligent and polyglot officer who has great respect for Sherlock Holmes and has read all of his works. Kell convinces Holmes to support the British war effort by tracking down the head of a German espionage organization.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ H. Montgomery Hyde , A matter of official secrets , The Times , December 4, 1976
  2. ↑ Christopher Andrew: The Defense of the Realm. The Authorized History of MI5. London 2009, p. 21.
  3. ↑ Christopher Andrew: The Defense of the Realm. The Authorized History of MI5. London 2009, pp. 25-27.
  4. ^ Richard J. Popplewell: Intelligence and Imperial Defense. London 1995, p. 218.
  5. ^ Richard J. Popplewell: Intelligence and Imperial Defense. London 1995, p. 220.
  6. ↑ Christopher Andrew: The Defense of the Realm. The Authorized History of MI5. London 2009, p. 227.
  7. ↑ HISTORY: WORLD WAR II - During World War II, the Security Service played a key role in combating enemy espionage, intercepting German communications and feeding misinformation back to Germany. ( Memento from August 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ^ London Gazette September 21, 1917 P9863
  9. ^ London Gazette September 25, 1917 p9946
  10. ↑ London Gazette 6 June 1919 p7426
  11. ^ Portrait photograph of Kell at Plate 1 of Christopher Andrew's Authorized History of MI5
  12. ↑ Portrait photograph of Kell at Plate 1 of Christopher Andrew's Authorized History of MI5 (partly obscured)
personal data
SURNAME Kell, Vernon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kell, Vernon George Waldegrave
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English officer and the founder and first director general of MI5, the British secret service
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Great Yarmouth
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1942
Place of death London