Cold war spymaster : the legacy of Guy Liddell, Deputy Director of MI5 /Nigel West

Guy Liddell Was The Director Of Mi.5's Counter-espionage B Division, And From September 1939 To May 1945 He Maintained A Personal Diary. Within Its Pages, Details Of Virtually Every Important Event That Had Any Intelligence Significance During The Second World War Were Recorded. These Diaries Have Recently Been Declassified And Published, Being Edited By Nigel West. It Was During This Editorial Process That Mr West Sought To Investigate Guy Liddellis Activities Beyond The End Of The Second World War, Resulting In The Present Volume. The Diaries Themselves Reveal Many Disturbing Secrets. Amongst These Are The Contents Of A Cache Of German Documents That The Ss Were Supposed To Burn, But Which Were Buried Instead. When These Were Recovered, The British Authorities Went To Considerable Lengths To Keep Their Contents From Being Revealed, For They Demonstrated The Activities Of The Duke Of Windsor During The Crucial Period In 1940-41, When Britain Stood Alone, Threatened With Invasion They Showed That The Duke Was Willing To Act As An Intermediary Between Britain And Germany And Was Ready To Fly Back From The Bahamas To Iintervenei If Required. It Was Implied That He Was Prepared To Be Restored To The Throne If The Situation Required It. Guy Liddell Continued To Work For Mi.5 After The War And It Is This Period That Is The Main Focus Of This Present Book, With Further Declassification Of Files From This Period Enabling Nigel West To Expose The Inner Working Of Mi5 At The Height Of The Cold War. This Study Provides An Intriguing Insight Into The Day-to-day Activities Of A Group Of Men And Women Dedicated To Detecting And Interdicting Sabotage, Subversion And Espionage. Liddell Rose To The Position Of Deputy Director Of Mi.5, And It Was Expected That He Would Become The Next Director. But He Worked With Kim Philby, Employed Anthony Blunt As His Personal Assistant And Socialised With Burgess And Maclean. His Failure To Spot These Men As Traitors Led To His Retirement F Rom The Secret Services In 1953. Nevertheless, Guy Liddell He Was Probably The Single Most Influential British Intelligence Officer Of His Era. --publisher Description. Nigel West. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 248-251) And Index. Guy Liddell was the Director of MI.5's counter-espionage B Division, and from September 1939 to May 1945 he maintained a personal diary. Within its pages, details of virtually every important event that had any intelligence significance during the Second World War were recorded. These diaries have recently been declassified and published, being edited by Nigel West. It was during this editorial process that Mr West sought to investigate Guy Liddell's activities beyond the end of the Second World War, resulting in the present volume. The diaries themselves reveal many disturbing secrets. Amongst these are the contents of a cache of German documents that the SS were supposed to burn, but which were buried instead. When these were recovered, the British authorities went to considerable lengths to keep their contents from being revealed, for they demonstrated the activities of the Duke of Windsor during the crucial period in 1940-41, when Britain stood alone, threatened with invasion. They showed that the Duke was willing to act as an intermediary between Britain and Germany and was ready to fly back from the Bahamas to "intervene" if required. It was implied that he was prepared to be restored to the throne if the situation required it. Guy Liddell continued to work for MI.5 after the war and it is this period that is the main focus of this present book, with further declassification of files from this period enabling Nigel West to expose the inner working of MI5 at the height of the Cold War. This study provides an intriguing insight into the day-to-day activities of a group of men and women dedicated to detecting and interdicting sabotage, subversion and espionage. Liddell rose to the position of Deputy Director of MI.5, and it was expected that he would become the next Director. But he worked with Kim Philby, employed Anthony Blunt as his personal assistant and socialised with Burgess and Maclean. His failure to spot these men as traitors led to his retirement from the Secret Services in 1953. Nevertheless, Guy Liddell he was probably the single most influential British intelligence officer of his era. History,Europe,Great Britain,General,Modern,20th Century,Political Science,Political Ideologies,Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism

Guy Liddell was the Director of MI5’s counter-espionage B Division throughout the Second World War, during which he wrote a confidential personal diary. Within its pages details of virtually every important event that had any intelligence significance during the conflict were recorded.Those recently declassified diaries, which were edited by Nigel West, have been followed by a postwar series which cover the period from the German surrender until Liddell’s sudden resignation in May 1953. These eight years of the early Cold War contain many disturbing secrets, such as the cache of incriminating Nazi documents which was supposed to be destroyed by the SS. When these were recovered intact the British government went to considerable lengths to keep their contents from being disclosed, for they provided proof of the Duke of Windsor’s contact, through a Portuguese intermediary, with the enemy during the crucial period in 1940 when the ex-king declared himself ready to fly back from the Bahamas and be restored to the throne. One of Liddell’s first tasks, at the request of Buckingham Palace, was to retrieve and suppress the damaging material.Liddell’s diaries were never intended for publication and are therefore filled with indiscretions that shed new light on MI5 investigations that he supervised after his promotion to Deputy Director-General.Many in Whitehall anticipated that Liddell would become Director-General but, as these pages reveal, he had employed Anthony Blunt as his trusted personal assistant, had found it hard to accept the evidence of Kim Philby’s treachery, and had maintained an unwise friendship with Guy Burgess. Nevertheless, despite Liddell’s manifest failings, and his reluctance to believe in the disloyalty of men he regarded as friends, he was probably the single most influential British intelligence officer of his era.

The postwar era as seen by a master of counterespionage—with an insight into his professional downfall. Guy Liddell was the director of MI5's counterespionage B Division throughout the Second World War, during which he wrote a confidential personal diary, detailing virtually every important event with intelligence significance. Those recently declassified diaries, which were edited by Nigel West, have now been followed by a postwar series which covers the period from the German surrender until Liddell's sudden resignation in May 1953. These eight years contain many disturbing secrets, such as the cache of incriminating Nazi documents which was supposed to be destroyed by the SS. When these were recovered intact, the British government went to considerable lengths to keep them from being disclosed, for they provided proof of the Duke of Windsor's contact, through a Portuguese intermediary, with the enemy during the crucial period in 1940 when the ex-king declared himself ready to fly back from the Bahamas and be restored to the throne. One of Liddell's first tasks, at the request of Buckingham Palace, was to retrieve and suppress the damaging material. Liddell's diaries were never intended for publication—and are filled with indiscretions that shed new light on MI5 investigations he supervised after his promotion to deputy director general. In addition to such behind-the-scenes stories, this book includes details about the end of Liddell's career and the mistakes that led to it. Despite Liddell's manifest failings, and his reluctance to believe in the disloyalty of men he regarded as friends, he was probably the single most influential British intelligence officer of his era. "[Nigel West's] information is often so precise that many people believe he is the unofficial historian of the secret services." — The Sunday Times