The Secret World: Behind the Curtain of British Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War

330 Pages·2020·7.309 MB·English

by  Hugh R. Trevor-Roper, E.D. Harrison

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Hugh Trevor-Roper was the most brilliant historian of his generation. An
expert in the history of early modern Britain and Nazi Germany, he was
Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University and latterly Master
of Peterhouse, Cambridge. He received a life peerage in 1979. He was the
author of numerous books, including his famous investigation of Hitler’s last
days. During World War II, Trevor-Roper served in the Secret Intelligence
Service, giving him a remarkable insight into the work of the intelligence
services in Britain. His Wartime Journals were published by I.B.Tauris in 2012.
Edward Harrison is an historian and writer specialising in World War II.
He attended Trevor-Roper’s lectures while at Oxford University and has
taught history in Britain and the US. He has held Visiting Fellowships
at Oxford and an Anthony de Rothschild Fellowship in History of the
Churchill Trust. He is the author of The Young Kim Philby: Soviet Spy and
British Intelligence Officer (2012).
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HugH Trevor-roper
THe SecreT
World
BeHind THe curTain of BriTiSH
inTelligence in World War ii
and THe cold War
ediTed By edWard HarriSon
foreWord By Sir MicHael HoWard
Published and reprinted in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com
Distributed in the United States and Canada
Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Copyright main text © 2014 The Literary Estate of Lord Dacre of Glanton unless
otherwise indicated
Copyright foreword © 2014 Sir Michael Howard
Copyright preface, introduction, editorial matter and endnotes © 2014 Edward
Harrison
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this
book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
The right of Hugh Trevor-Roper to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by The Literary Estate of Lord Dacre of Glanton in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part
thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978 1 78076 208 1 (hb)
ISBN: 978 1 35016 079 8 (pb)
eISBN: 978 0 85773 703 8
ePDF: 978 0 85772 447 2
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by JCS Publishing Services Ltd, www.jcs-publishing.co.uk
Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Editor’s Acknowledgements vii
Foreword by Sir Michael Howard ix
Abbreviations and Glossary xii
Editor’s Preface xv
Editor’s Introduction: Hugh Trevor-Roper’s Secret War 1
1 Sideways into SIS 35
2 Admiral Canaris 49
3 The Philby Affair 66
4 Deception 120
5 Ultra 136
6 Percy Sillitoe and Dick White 152
7 Anthony Blunt 159
8 Michael Straight 168
9 Peter Wright 180
10 Otto John and Reinhard Gehlen 190
Appendix 1: Correspondence with Patrick Reilly 205
Appendix 2: Charles Stuart on Kim Philby 218
Editor’s Notes 232
Bibliography 280
Index 291
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Illustrations
1 Hugh Trevor-Roper: an informal photograph taken in Christ Church,
c.1950.
2 Lady Alexandra Howard-Johnston in her gown to meet Princess
Elizabeth and Prince Philip in May 1948. She married Trevor-Roper
in October 1954. (Xenia Dennen)
3 Sir Stewart Menzies, Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service,
1939–52. (National Portrait Gallery, London)
4 Peter Koch de Gooreynd, who kept Menzies company at the bar of
White’s. (National Portrait Gallery, London)
5 Sir Dick White, the only person to become head successively of both
MI5 and SIS, and Trevor-Roper’s influential mentor.
6 Charles Stuart: Christ Church historian and Trevor-Roper’s first
recruit to his wireless intelligence unit. (Christ Church, Oxford)
7 Rachel and Patrick Reilly, the diplomat who effectively vetoed
Philby’s becoming Chief of SIS. (Bodleian Library, Oxford)
8 Broadway Buildings, located opposite St James’s Park underground
station, provided SIS with headquarters from 1926 to 1964.
(Westminster Council Archives)
9 Kim Philby, Soviet spy and British intelligence officer. (Getty)
10 Eleanor Philby: the spy’s third wife, whom he abandoned in Beirut.
She followed him to Moscow, where he left her again. (Getty)
11 Melinda Maclean: the American wife of the Soviet spy Donald
Maclean. Her relationship with Philby contributed to the collapse of
his third marriage. (Getty)
12 Michael Straight: an affluent American recruited at Cambridge to
spy for the Soviet Union. (Ramsey and Muspratt, Cambridge)
13 Admiral Canaris: the head of the German Secret Service from 1935
to 1944. (Bundesarchiv)
14 Otto John, the first head of the Federal Office for the Protection of
the Constitution, the German equivalent of MI5. (Getty)
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Editor’s Acknowledgements
My first debt is to Blair Worden, literary executor of Lord Dacre of Glanton,
who generously invited me to undertake this edition. His thoughtful advice
and unfailing encouragement were essential to the book’s completion. Also
vital was the expert and invaluable help from Judith Curthoys, archivist of
Christ Church, who guided me through the Dacre Papers. I have been very
fortunate in the scholars who have previously studied Lord Dacre’s career,
and owe a particular obligation to Adam Sisman and Richard Davenport-
Hines. Sir Michael Howard, who succeeded Lord Dacre as Regius Professor
of Modern History at Oxford, most kindly agreed to write the foreword.
Rodney Allan painstakingly checked the transcription of The Philby Affair
and Admiral Canaris. I am also grateful to others who have generously
provided assistance, in particular Phyllis Acheampong, Anthony P.
Adamthwaite, Richard J. Aldrich, Eilish Burke, Susan and William Chater,
Joanna Chaundy, E.L. Harrison, Anna Henderson, the late M.R.D. Foot,
Laurence Guymer, Patrick Hederman, Roy Hughes, Peter Jackson, Clare
Kavanagh, Helen Langley, Vicky Mitchell, Peter Pulzer, Jane Reilly, Alysoun
Saunders, Gina Thomas, Martin Thomas, W.E.S. Thomas, John and Christina
Harrison, Patricia and Nathan Winter, Danielle Wall and Roberta Wiener.
I wish to thank the following individuals and institutions for their helpful
permission to use or consult material:
The Literary Estate of Lord Dacre of Glanton for permission to publish Hugh
Trevor-Roper’s essays and letters concerning secret intelligence;
The Bodleian Library and Jane Reilly for permission to publish letters of her
father, Sir Patrick Reilly, and a photograph of her parents;
Susan Chater and William Stuart for permission to quote from the papers of
Charles Stuart and to republish two of his articles;
The Very Reverend Christopher Lewis, Dean of Christ Church, for permission
to reproduce an article from the Christ Church Annual Report of 1993;
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viii • The Secret World
Sir Michael Howard for permission to quote from Strategic Deception;
Immediate Media Company London Limited for a licence to republish a
quote and an article from the Listener;
The Independent for permission to republish an article;
The New York Review of Books for permission to republish three articles;
The Warden and Fellows of Nuffield College for permission to reproduce
quotations from Lord Cherwell’s papers;
The Spectator for permission to reproduce two articles by Charles Stuart;
The Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives for quotations
from the Liddell Hart Papers;
Xenia Dennen for permission to reproduce the photograph of her mother,
Lady Alexandra Trevor-Roper.
Every effort has been made to trace the holders of copyright in text or
photographs. If any have been inadvertently omitted, acknowledgement will
be made at the earliest opportunity.
At I.B.Tauris, Lester Crook not only helped in the planning of the book
but also read the typescript and suggested invaluable clarifications.
Joanna Godfrey has been an exemplary editor, providing very prompt and
sympathetic support throughout the project. Alexandra Higson oversaw
the meticulous production of the book, which Jessica Cuthbert-Smith copy-
edited with her customary precision and felicity. Zoe Ross expertly compiled
the index and Steve Williamson proofread.
My greatest debt is to Hugh Trevor-Roper himself. When I met him as an
undergraduate his kindness completely belied his formidable reputation. In
later years he sent me most helpful letters clarifying the mysteries of secret
intelligence. Above all I am grateful to him for writing essays which still held
my attention after repeated readings and which provided distraction during
the most mundane of editorial tasks.
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