Difference between revisions of "Dick White"

From Powerbase
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Expand/create page with cited sources)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
{{Infobox person
 +
|image=File:Dick_White.jpg
 +
|caption=Dick White, 1928
 +
| name = Sir Dick White
 +
| occupation = Director General of MI5 1953–56; Chief of SIS 1956–68
 +
}}
 
[[Image:DickWhite.jpg|thumb|right|Dick White<br><i>© Crown Copyright 2007</i>]]
 
[[Image:DickWhite.jpg|thumb|right|Dick White<br><i>© Crown Copyright 2007</i>]]
−
Sir [[Dick White]] (1906-1993) was head of the [[Security Service]] from 1953 to 1956, and head of the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] from 1956 until 1972, the only person to have headed both organisations successively.<ref>[http://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/former-dgs.html Former Directors General], MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.</ref>
+
Sir [[Dick White]] (1906-1993) was head of the [[Security Service]] from 1953 to 1956, and head of the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] from 1956 until 1972, the only person to have headed both organisations successively.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120809140602/https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/former-dgs.html Former Directors General], MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.</ref>
  
−
White joined the Security Service in 1936, and was closely involved in operating the successful "[[Double Cross]]" system against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.<ref>[http://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/former-dgs.html Former Directors General], MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.</ref>  
+
White joined the Security Service in 1936, and was closely involved in operating the successful "[[Double Cross]]" system against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120809140602/https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/former-dgs.html Former Directors General], MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Chief of SIS==
 +
White was appointed to head SIS in 1956 after the Crabb affair ended the tenure of Sir [[John Sinclair]].<ref>Stephen Dorril, ''MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service'', Touchstone, 2002, p.621.</ref> SIS lists him among its former Chiefs.<ref>[https://www.sis.gov.uk/about-us/our-chief/ Our Chief], Secret Intelligence Service, accessed 16 October 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
[[Kim Philby]] defected from Beirut to Moscow in January 1963, while White was Chief. Files released by the National Archives show how the service handled his confession and flight.<ref>[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/the-collection-blog/confessions-from-the-cambridge-five/ Confessions from the Cambridge Five], The National Archives blog.</ref>
  
 
==External resources==
 
==External resources==

Latest revision as of 17:10, 16 October 2026

Sir Dick White
Image Dick White.jpg
Dick White, 1928
Born
Died
Nationality
Residence
Occupation Director General of MI5 1953–56; Chief of SIS 1956–68
Known for
Parents
Spouse(s)
Children
Sibling(s)
Education
Predecessor
Website
Dick White
© Crown Copyright 2007

Sir Dick White (1906-1993) was head of the Security Service from 1953 to 1956, and head of the Secret Intelligence Service from 1956 until 1972, the only person to have headed both organisations successively.[1]

White joined the Security Service in 1936, and was closely involved in operating the successful "Double Cross" system against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.[2]

Chief of SIS

White was appointed to head SIS in 1956 after the Crabb affair ended the tenure of Sir John Sinclair.[3] SIS lists him among its former Chiefs.[4]

Kim Philby defected from Beirut to Moscow in January 1963, while White was Chief. Files released by the National Archives show how the service handled his confession and flight.[5]

External resources

Notes

  1. ↑ Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.
  2. ↑ Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.
  3. ↑ Stephen Dorril, MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Touchstone, 2002, p.621.
  4. ↑ Our Chief, Secret Intelligence Service, accessed 16 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Confessions from the Cambridge Five, The National Archives blog.