Difference between revisions of "John Bingham (Lord Clanmorris)"
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| − | In the summer of 1950, Bingam was invited by [[Maxwell Knight]] to rejoin his [[MI5]] section, now known as F4.<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.147.</ref> | + | In the summer of 1950, Bingam was invited by [[Maxwell Knight]] to rejoin his [[MI5]] section, now known as F4.<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.147.</ref> Concurrently with his return to MI5, Bingham embarked on a career as a novelist, with ''My Name is Michael Sibley'' about an innocent man accused of murder.<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.155.</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | Among the agents recruited by Bingham was a family friend, [[Louis Denaro]], assistant managing director of [[International Nickel]].<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.159.</ref> he later recruited Denaro's Czech contact, [[Emil Smidak]].<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.160.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1952, he recruited [[Julie Pirie]], the former secretary of the [[Duchess of Atholl]] to infiltrate the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]].<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.161.</ref> This led to [[Operation Tie Pin]] and [[Operation Party Piece]], on the latter of which Bingham worked with [[Arthur Spencer]] of [[MI6]].<ref>Michael Jago, ''The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham'', Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.171.</ref> | ||
According to Mike Hughes, Bingham became head of MI5's F4 agent-running section after Knight's retirement in the mid-1950s.<ref>Mike Hughes, [http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spies_at_Work,_Chapter_9:_Spies_at_Work Spies at Work], Chapter Nine.</ref> | According to Mike Hughes, Bingham became head of MI5's F4 agent-running section after Knight's retirement in the mid-1950s.<ref>Mike Hughes, [http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spies_at_Work,_Chapter_9:_Spies_at_Work Spies at Work], Chapter Nine.</ref> | ||
Revision as of 21:06, 23 July 2015
John Bingham, Lord Clanmorris, (1908-1988) also known as Michael Ward, was a British novelist and intelligence officer, reputed to be the inspiration for the character George Smiley, created by his former colleague David Cornwell (John Le Carré).[1]
Bingham was the son of Maurice Bingham, Sixth Lord Clanmorris and Leila Cloete, a descendant of one of the earliest Dutch settlers in South Africa.[2] He was educated at Cheltenham College.[3]
Through a family contact with Lord Rothermere, Bingham found a job on the Hull Daily Mail in 1930.[4] He moved to the Sunday Dispatch in 1933.[5]
He was briefly a member of the British Democratic Party in the 1930s, a move which led to criticism from his uncle, the MP for Belfast East, Herbert Dixon.[6]
MI5 B Division
It was through Dixon's contacts that Bingham gained an entrée to MI5, using suspicions about what he later decided was an innocent German acquaintance.[7] He was subsequently interviewed by Maxwell Knight, who introduced himself as Captain King.[8]
After Knight was authorised to recruit five new officers by the head of MI5 B Division, Guy Liddell, on 18 June 1940, Bingham was one of the first approached.[9] For much of World War Two, he worked as Maxwell Knight's deputy in B5(b) section at 308 Hood House, Dolphin Square.[10]
However, among his first tasks, carried out directly for Liddell, was the creation of an MI5 press section, which would eventually be run by Derek Tangye.[11] He subsequently became heavily involved in MI5's Double Cross deception operations against German intelligence.[12] He interrogated potential agents among aliens being processed at the Royal Patriotic Schools.[13] He also posed as an Abwehr officer to trap British nationals attempting spy for the Germans, notably Irma Stapleton, arrested on 19 November 1941.[14]
In 1942, he conducted security investigations on General Charles De Gaulle, along with Bill Younger, and on Lady Diana Cooper.[15] Using the name 'John Bentley', he also investigated the Portuguese diplomat Rogeiro Menezes.[16]
In the summer of 1944, Bingham was ordered to continue associating with right-wing pro-German groups, despite the imminence of German defeat.[17] With B Division work winding down, Bingham was seconded to the Allied Control Council in Germany in 1945, on the initiative of Guy Liddell.[18] Based in Gehrden, Hanover, Bingham spent much of his time interviewing refugees and attempting to weed out Soviet agents.[19]
Return to Fleet Street
He returned to London in June 1948.[20] He rejoined the staff of the Sunday Dispatch under editor Charles Eade, a former PR advisor to Lord Mountbatten.[21] One of his first article was a detailed attack on the career of Aneurin Bevan, prompted by Bevan's attack on conservative voters as 'lower than vermin'.[22]
MI5 F4
In the summer of 1950, Bingam was invited by Maxwell Knight to rejoin his MI5 section, now known as F4.[23] Concurrently with his return to MI5, Bingham embarked on a career as a novelist, with My Name is Michael Sibley about an innocent man accused of murder.[24]
Among the agents recruited by Bingham was a family friend, Louis Denaro, assistant managing director of International Nickel.[25] he later recruited Denaro's Czech contact, Emil Smidak.[26]
In 1952, he recruited Julie Pirie, the former secretary of the Duchess of Atholl to infiltrate the Communist Party of Great Britain.[27] This led to Operation Tie Pin and Operation Party Piece, on the latter of which Bingham worked with Arthur Spencer of MI6.[28]
According to Mike Hughes, Bingham became head of MI5's F4 agent-running section after Knight's retirement in the mid-1950s.[29]
Bingham inherited the title of Lord Clanmorris in 1960.[30]
He retired from MI5 in 1979.[30]
Notes
- ↑ Smiley's model, LA Times, 23 December 2007.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.15.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.22.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.58.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.62.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.81.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.81.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.83.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.87.
- ↑ Anthony Masters, The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming, Grafton Books, p.101.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.89.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.91.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.92.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.95.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.99.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, pp.99-100.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.110.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, pp.111.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.139.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.133.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.139.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.141.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.147.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.155.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.159.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.160.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.161.
- ↑ Michael Jago, The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Biteback Publishing, 2013, p.171.
- ↑ Mike Hughes, Spies at Work, Chapter Nine.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 The Man Who Was George Smiley: The Life of John Bingham, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, accessed 5 June 2015.
