Charles Spry
Brigadier DSO | |
---|---|
2nd Director-General of Security | |
In office 6 July 1950 – 21 January 1970 | |
Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
Preceded by | Geoffrey Reed |
Succeeded by | Peter Barbour |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Chambers Fowell Spry 26 June 1910 Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Early life
Charles Spry was born on 26 June 1910 in Brisbane. He attended local state schools and then Brisbane Grammar School. At the age of 18, he enrolled in the Royal Military College, Duntroon, from which he graduated in 1931.[1]
Military career
After graduating from Duntroon, Spry served as an infantry officer in Hobart and Sydney, where he earned the nickname "Silent Charles" while adjutant of the Sydney University Regiment.[2] From 1935 to 1936, he served in the British Army in India, where he joined in operations with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in the Northwest Frontier.[1]
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
ASIO's first Director-General, Geoffrey Reed, had been due to retire in February 1950, but his appointment was extended until the Menzies Government could find a suitable replacement. At the time, Spry was the Director of Military Intelligence in the army, and was seconded to ASIO on 6 July 1950, with an option to remain in, and return to, the army if he so desired. He was discharged from the army on 15 June 1954,[3] and his secondment ceased on 20 August, with Spry appointed solely to ASIO.[1]
Spry was head of ASIO during the
Spry remained Director-General for nearly twenty years, only deciding to retire in 1969 on medical grounds after a
Honours
Spry was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order on 23 December 1943, for his actions in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II,[6] specifically for maintaining the flow of supplies in Papua New Guinea.[1]
He was made a
Legacy
In July 2015, a documentary film about Spry entitled I, Spry - The rise and fall of a master spy aired on ABC Television in Australia.[9]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7146-3477-8.
- ^ They Call Him "Silent Charles", The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 July 1950.
- ^ SPRY, CHARLES CHAMBERS FOWELL Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, WW2 Nominal Roll, Commonwealth of Australia, 2002.
- ^ The Petrov Affair Exhibition Archived 3 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Museum of Australian Democracy.
- ^ Manne, Robert: "Spy Chief In Dark Days Of Cold War", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 1994.
- ^ SPRY, Charles Chambers Fowell, It's an Honour.
- ^ SPRY, Charles Chambers, It's an Honour.
- ^ SPRY, Charles Chambers Fowell, It's an Honour.
- ^ "I, Spry: The Rise And Fall Of A Master Spy". ABC Television. Retrieved 18 October 2017.