MI5 B Branch (1938-1953)
MI5 B Branch was a key investigative branch of MI5 from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Contents
History
In 1929, an early incarnation of B Branch was responsible for 'investigations and inquiries'.[1]
Following a 1938 re-organisation, B Branch acquired responsibility for counter-espionage and counter-subversion.[2]
Post-1953
In Dick White's 1953 re-organisation of the service, B Branch became responsible for personnel and establishments.[3]
Organisation
Directors
- Joseph Ball - 1926.[4]
- Oswald Allen Harker[5] - c.1929.[6]
- Guy Liddell - 1939-45[7]
- Dick White c.1946.[8]
- John Marriott - C.1951[9]
B1
Counter-subversion.[10]
- Roger Hollis - B1 c.1946.[11]
Bla
Double agent section.[12]
- Thomas Argyll Robertson - B1a. c.1941.[13]
- John Marriot[14]
- Christopher Harmer[15]
- Hugh Astor[16]
- Cyril Mills[17]
- Charles Cholmondeley.[18]
- Ronnie Reed[19]
B1b
Analysed Abwehr decrypts and other intelligence related to the double-cross system.[20]
- Helenus Milmo B1b c.1940.[21]
- Herbert Hart[22]
- Patrick Day[23]
B1d
B1e
Camp 020 wartime interrogation centre.[25]
- Captain Robin Stephens
B1f
- Maxwell Knight - B1F c.1939.[26]
B1G
Counter-Spanish espionage.[27]
B2
Counter-espionage.[28]
B4
Responsible for Soviet counter-espionage.[30]
- James Robertson - B4, 1946.[31]
- Kathleen Archer - B4a c.1939.[32]
- Roger Hollis - B4a(3) c.1939.[33]
B3a
Liased with security Intelligence Middle East. Responsible for dealing with Zionist terrorism and other Middle Eastern matters.[34]
Other Officers
- William Alexander - 1919.[35]
Notes
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.127.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.327.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.126.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.98.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.127.
- ↑ Chris Hastings and Fiona Govan, MI6 urged Churchill to nuke Berlin The fear of Germany's V2 rockets in 1944 led Britain to consider the ultimate reprisal, Sunday Telegraph, 1 December 2002.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.580.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.263.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.248.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.287.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.261.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.331.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.264.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
- ↑ Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.352.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.150.