Dick White
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| Sir Dick White | |
|---|---|
| Image |  Dick White, 1928 |
| Born | |
| Died | |
| Nationality | |
| Residence | |
| Occupation | Director General of MI5 1953–56; Chief of SIS 1956–68 |
| Known for | |
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| Spouse(s) | |
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| Website | |
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
- Namebase: White Dick Goldsmith
Notes
- ↑ Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.
- ↑ Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 8 July 2009.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril, MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Touchstone, 2002, p.621.
- ↑ Our Chief, Secret Intelligence Service, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Confessions from the Cambridge Five, The National Archives blog.