Difference between revisions of "MI5 B Branch (1938-1953)"

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(B4)
(B1f or B5(b))
 
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Counter-subversion.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.</ref>
 
Counter-subversion.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.</ref>
 
*[[Roger Hollis]] - B1 c.1946.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.263.</ref>
 
*[[Roger Hollis]] - B1 c.1946.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.263.</ref>
 +
*[[Graham Mitchell]] - B1 c.1949.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.</ref>
 +
 
====Bla====
 
====Bla====
 
Double agent section.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.248.</ref>
 
Double agent section.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.248.</ref>
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*[[Hugh Astor]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.</ref>
 
*[[Hugh Astor]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.</ref>
 
*[[Cyril Mills]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.</ref>
 
*[[Cyril Mills]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.</ref>
*[[Charles Cholmondeley.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.</ref>
+
*[[Charles Cholmondeley]].<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.</ref>
 
*[[Ronnie Reed]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.287.</ref>
 
*[[Ronnie Reed]]<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.287.</ref>
 +
 
====B1b====
 
====B1b====
 
Analysed [[Abwehr]] decrypts and other intelligence related to the double-cross system.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.</ref>
 
Analysed [[Abwehr]] decrypts and other intelligence related to the double-cross system.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.</ref>
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[[London Reception Centre]].<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.</ref>
 
[[London Reception Centre]].<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.</ref>
 
====B1e====
 
====B1e====
[[Camp 020]] wartime interrogation centre.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.</ref>
+
[[Camp 020]] wartime interrogation centre.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.</ref> Reformed in 1948 to investigate communism in the Civil Service and the professions.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.</ref>
*Captain [[Robin Stephens]]
+
*Captain [[Robin Stephens]] c.1941
====B1f====
+
*[[Graham Mitchell]] - B1e c.1948.<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.</ref>
 +
 
 +
====B1f or B5(b)====
 +
According to Christopher Andrew, Maxwell Knight's section was became B1F section of B Division in 1938.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.</ref> However, other sources refer to Knight's wartime section as B5(b).<ref>Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.46.</ref>
 
*[[Maxwell Knight]] - B1F c.1939.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.</ref>
 
*[[Maxwell Knight]] - B1F c.1939.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.</ref>
 +
*[[Bill Younger]] - Knight's personal assistant.<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[John Bingham]] - Knight's deputy.<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Philip Brocklehurst]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Norman Himsworth]] - responsible for supervising anti-communist operations..<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Tony Gillson]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Rex Land]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Guy Poston]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Joan Wheatley]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
*[[Joan Miller]].<ref name="Masters101">Anthony Masters, ''The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming'', Grafton Books, p.101.</ref>
 +
 
====B1G====
 
====B1G====
 
Counter-Spanish espionage.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.261.</ref>
 
Counter-Spanish espionage.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.261.</ref>
 
====B2====
 
====B2====
 
Counter-espionage.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.</ref>
 
Counter-espionage.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.</ref>
 +
*[[Robert Hemblys-Scales]] c.1948.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.370.</ref>
 +
*[[Arthur Martin]] - B2b c.1948.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.370.</ref>
 
*[[R.T. Reed]] - B2b c.1952.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.331.</ref>
 
*[[R.T. Reed]] - B2b c.1952.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.331.</ref>
 +
 +
====B3a====
 +
Liased with [[Security Intelligence Middle East]]. Responsible for dealing with Zionist terrorism and other Middle Eastern matters.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.352.</ref>
  
 
===B4===
 
===B4===
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*[[Kathleen Archer]] - B4a c.1939.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.</ref>
 
*[[Kathleen Archer]] - B4a c.1939.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.</ref>
 
*[[Roger Hollis]] - B4a(3) c.1939.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.</ref>
 
*[[Roger Hollis]] - B4a(3) c.1939.<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage'', Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.</ref>
====B3a====
+
 
Liased with [[security Intelligence Middle East]]. Responsible for dealing with Zionist terrorism and other Middle Eastern matters.<ref>Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.352.</ref>
 
  
 
===Other Officers===
 
===Other Officers===

Latest revision as of 22:16, 31 May 2015

MI5 B Branch was a key investigative branch of MI5 from the 1920s to the 1940s.

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

B1

Counter-subversion.[10]

Bla

Double agent section.[13]

B1b

Analysed Abwehr decrypts and other intelligence related to the double-cross system.[21]

B1d

London Reception Centre.[25]

B1e

Camp 020 wartime interrogation centre.[26] Reformed in 1948 to investigate communism in the Civil Service and the professions.[27]

B1f or B5(b)

According to Christopher Andrew, Maxwell Knight's section was became B1F section of B Division in 1938.[29] However, other sources refer to Knight's wartime section as B5(b).[30]

B1G

Counter-Spanish espionage.[33]

B2

Counter-espionage.[34]

B3a

Liased with Security Intelligence Middle East. Responsible for dealing with Zionist terrorism and other Middle Eastern matters.[38]

B4

Responsible for Soviet counter-espionage.[39]


Other Officers

Notes

  1. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.127.
  2. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
  3. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.327.
  4. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.126.
  5. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.98.
  6. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.127.
  7. 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.
  8. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
  9. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.580.
  10. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.
  11. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.263.
  12. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.
  13. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.248.
  14. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
  15. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.
  16. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
  17. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
  18. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.
  19. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.285.
  20. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.287.
  21. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.249.
  22. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
  23. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
  24. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
  25. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.251.
  26. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.250.
  27. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.
  28. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.384.
  29. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
  30. Anthony Masters, The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming, Grafton Books, p.46.
  31. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 32.6 32.7 32.8 Anthony Masters, The Man who was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight, The real-like spymaster who inspired Ian Fleming, Grafton Books, p.101.
  33. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.261.
  34. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.324.
  35. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.370.
  36. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.370.
  37. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.331.
  38. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.352.
  39. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
  40. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.264.
  41. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
  42. Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups: Six Decades of espionage, Mainstream Publishing, 2012, p.66.
  43. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.150.