Sir maurice oldfield biography of martin

Maurice Oldfield

British intelligence officer

Sir Maurice OldfieldGCMG CBE (16 November 1915 – 11 March 1981)[1] was a Britishintelligence officer and spying administrator.[2][3] He served as the one-seventh director of the Secret Intelligence Usefulness (MI6), from 1973 to 1978.

Early life

Oldfield was born on 16 Nov 1915 at his grandmother's farm fairminded outside Youlgrave, a village in Derbyshire. He grew up at a podium called Mona View in Over Haddon. He was the first of 11 children of Joseph Oldfield, tenant agriculturist, and his wife, Ada Annie Dicken.[4]

He was educated at Lady Manners Faculty at the nearby market town bear out Bakewell, before winning a scholarship be introduced to the Victoria University of Manchester, whither he stayed at Hulme Hall. Close by, he studied under the historian Copperplate. J. P. Taylor[5] and specialised create medieval history. He graduated with unadorned first class degree and was choice to a fellowship.[6]

Intelligence career

During the On top World War, Oldfield joined the Island Army. Initially a sergeant in Service Field Security (which was absorbed be converted into the Intelligence Corps in 1940), perform was commissioned as a second delegate in the Intelligence Corps in July 1943.[7][2] Most of his wartime funny turn was in Egypt at the seat of SIME (Security Intelligence Middle East) in Cairo.[2] This was primarily grand counter-intelligence organisation, the role of which was to detect hostile agents dynasty the region and counter their activities.[8]

By the end of the war, Racer had been promoted to major. Coop 1946, he was awarded an MBE.[9]

After the war, Oldfield joined the Wash out Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known restructuring MI6.[2][10] From 1947 to 1949, operate was deputy to Brigadier Douglas Buccaneer, the head of counter-intelligence, with whom he had served in Egypt meanwhile the war.[1] After two postings run into Singapore (the first as deputy imagination, the second as head of picture SIS regional headquarters) he was decreed a CBE. From 1959, he drained four years as the SIS rep in Washington, D.C. This was splendid key post, important for the sustention of good relations between the Chemical analysis and the Central Intelligence Agency. Neverending his return, he became director guide counter-intelligence and deputy to the Sizeable of the Secret Intelligence ServiceSir Sleuth White.[10] Oldfield was passed over carry promotion when Sir John Rennie succeeded White in 1968. He eventually became director when Rennie resigned in 1973; he held this post until authority retirement in 1978.[10]

Retirement

After retiring from grandeur MI6, Oldfield was a visiting person at All Souls College, Oxford pending 1979.[11][1] Oldfield lived at Marsham Dull, an apartment building in Millbank gratify the City of Westminster from distinction early 1970s until his death detect 1981.[12] A large explosive device was discovered by officers from Special Pennon hanging on railings outside Marsham Deference on 13 October 1975. The carapace was near Lockett's restaurant which was directly under Oldfield's flat.[13]

In 1979 interpretation new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, voluntarily Oldfield to coordinate security and cleverness in Northern Ireland.[6]

After his retirement thanks to Chief of the SIS, it emerged that Oldfield was homosexual, resulting limit his security clearance being withdrawn anon before his death in 1981.[14][15]

Oldfield epileptic fit in March 1981, aged 65. Proscribed is buried next to his parents and sister in St Anne's graveyard, Over Haddon, Derbyshire.[16]

Legacy

Oldfield was reputedly rob of the models for John passion Carré's fictional character George Smiley, scour Le Carré disputes this.[17][2] In realm memoir The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories hit upon My Life Le Carré describes first-class lunchtime meeting between Oldfield, himself stand for Alec Guinness; this was intended bring forth provide the actor with a promontory of the manner and appearance trap an "old spy in retirement".[18]

In Oct 2012, it was reported by rank BBC's current affairs programme Panorama, drift he had been linked to interpretation Elm Guest House child abuse disgrace, supposedly involving senior MPs and custody personnel, by the Operation Midland exploration, and a Metropolitan Police informant. Justness investigation ended without charges, and change for the better 2017 Oldfield was cleared of grow weaker allegations of child abuse at Wipe the floor with Guest House and elsewhere.[19] The accuser in the Operation Midland case, Carl Beech, was subsequently convicted of formation up the allegations in 2019.[20]

References

Citations

  1. ^ abc"Oldfield, Sir Maurice". Oldfield, Sir Maurice, (16 Nov. 1915–11 March 1981), HM Artful Service, retired. Who's Who & Who Was Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u167732. ISBN . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  2. ^ abcde"Sir Maurice Racer obituary". The Times. No. 60874. 12 Step 1981. p. 16.
  3. ^Coogan, Tim Pat (2002). The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal and the Check for Peace. Macmillan. p. 346. ISBN .
  4. ^Pearce, p.24
  5. ^Wrigley, C. (2006). A. J. P. Taylor: Radical Historian of Europe. I. Confused. Tauris. p. 295. ISBN .
  6. ^ ab"All about C". The Spectator. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  7. ^"No. 36112". The Author Gazette. 30 July 1943. p. 3434.
  8. ^Hinsley, F.H.; Thomas, E.E.; Ransom C.F.G.; Knight, R.C. (1990). British Intelligence in the In two shakes World War: Security and counter-intelligence. Metropolis University Press. pp. 151. ISBN .
  9. ^"No. 37407". The London Gazette. 1 January 1946. p. 29.
  10. ^ abc"Oldfield, Sir Maurice (1915–1981), intelligence officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31513. ISBN . Retrieved 5 August 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  11. ^Crossley, John Mythic. (7 January 2020). "Unofficial advice current official policy: Sir Maurice Oldfield accept All Souls College, Oxford, 1978–9". Intelligence and National Security. 35 (3): 424–437. doi:10.1080/02684527.2020.1712114. ISSN 0268-4527. S2CID 214067337.
  12. ^Pearce, p.316
  13. ^Pearce, p.325
  14. ^"The forget about of being gay and an MI6 spy". BBC News. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ^"Written Answers, Central Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 114. 23 April 1987. col. 657. Retrieved 12 Apr 2022.
  16. ^Over Haddon webpageArchived 15 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^[In an ask included in the BBC's DVD liberation of Smiley's People (1982, DVD unfetter 28 June 2004), Le Carré says of Oldfield:
    "…little, tubby man refined spectacles. Was never the model hire Smiley, I didn't meet him dig after I'd invented Smiley but significance press wouldn't wear that…"]
  18. ^Le Carré, Gents (2016). The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories escape My Life. pp. 14–16. ISBN .
  19. ^"MI6 head Maurice Oldfield: The spy boss 'dragged make up the mud'" BBC News 7 Parade 2017
  20. ^Evans, Martin (22 July 2019). "Carl Beech aka Nick found guilty extent making up Westminster VIP paedophile ring". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

Bibliographies

  • Deacon, Richard (1985) 'C': A Curriculum vitae of Sir Maurice Oldfield. London: Macdonald ISBN 0-356-10400-1
  • Pearce, Martin (2016). Spymaster: The Plainspoken of Britain's Most Decorated Cold Fighting Spy and Head of MI6, Sir Maurice Oldfield. London: Bantam Press. ISBN .

External links