Dick White
KCMG, KBE | |
---|---|
Born | 20 December 1906 Tonbridge, Kent |
Died | 21 February 1993 (aged 86) Burpham, Sussex |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Intelligence officer |
Awards | KCMG, KBE |
Espionage activity | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service branch | MI5, MI6 |
Rank | Director General of MI5 Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) |
Sir Dick Goldsmith White,
Early life
White was born in Tonbridge, Kent, the son of an ironmonger Percy Hall White and Gertrude Farthing and went to school at Bishop's Stortford College.[1]: 29 [2]: 19 He took a First Class Degree in History at Christ Church, Oxford in 1927, and learnt to speak German.[1]: 29 [3][4] He was athletic in his youth and obtained a blue in running at Oxford.[1]: 29 [4] He was described by Peter Wright as resembling David Niven: "the same perfect English manners, easy charm, and immaculate dress sense." He was, said Wright, "tall with lean, healthy features and a sharp eye".[5]
He would qualify for a
Career
He was employed at MI5 in 1936 to monitor the rise of
He returned to MI5 in 1947 as head of its counter-intelligence division.
By 1953, White was appointed as director-general of MI5 and in 1956 was appointed Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in 1956 in the wake of the "
White had always suspected Kim Philby of being the "third man".[9] When he found out that Philby had been employed as freelance MI6 agent in Beirut, he sent Nicholas Elliott to interrogate Philby and encourage him to return to London.[1] Philby fled to Moscow. By 1964, he was aware of the "Fourth Man" when Anthony Blunt confessed his knowledge of the other three spies for immunity.[10][4]
At the time, the identity of all MI5 and MI6 personnel was kept secret; officially, the government did not even admit to their existence. White's role as head of MI6 came out in 1967, when he was identified by the
Marriage
In 1945, he married Kathleen Bellamy and they had four children, Adrian, Frances, Jenny and Stephen.[1]: 29 [10]
Honours
Honoured many times throughout his career, he was given an OBE in 1942, a CBE in 1950, a KBE in 1955, and finally a KCMG in 1960.[1]: 19 [11] Other honours include a Legion of Merit and a Croix de Guerre.[2]: 29
Death
He died after a long illness at his home from intestinal cancer,[10] "The Leat" in Burpham, near Arundel in Sussex, on 21 February 1993; his wife, Kathleen, survived him.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Sir Dick White". The Daily Telegraph (London). 23 February 1993.
- ^ a b c Pace, Eric (23 February 1993). "Sir Dick White, 87, Ex-British Intelligence Chief". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Sir Dick White obituary". The Times. No. 64575. 23 February 1993. p. 15.
- ^ Wright, Peter, Spycatcher, Stoddart (Canada), 1987, p. 40 (paperback)
- ISBN 0300191464
- ^ Turner, Barry, Suez 1956: The Inside Story of the First Oil War, Hodder & Stoughton, 2006, p.171
- ^ Wright, Spycatcher, p. 96
- ^ Carver, Tom (11 October 2012). "Diary: Philby in Beirut". London Review of Books. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Sir Dick White, Former Head of MI5-MI6 Secret Services, Dead". AP NEWS. 23 February 1993. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- required.)
Further reading
- Bower, Tom The Perfect English Spy: Sir Dick White and the Secret War 1935–90, William Heinemann, 1995.