Most Secret Agent of Empire : Reginald Teague-Jones, Master Spy of the Great Game

Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. Childhood in Liverpool and St Petersburg -- 2. From the Punjab to the North West Frontier: The Making of a Gentleman of the Raj -- 3. The Persian Gulf and the Hunt for 'Mr Wassmuss' -- 4. Ashkhabad and the Transcaspian Episode -- 5. The Legend of the Twenty-Six Commissars: Teague-Jones, Hero or Villain? -- 6. The Retreat of the White Armies: From Constantinople to the Caucasus (1919-21) -- 7. Ronald Sinclair, Imperial Traveller -- 8. Ronald Sinclair in America (1941-60) -- Epilogue -- Note on the Sources -- Notes -- Index -- Persia and the Russian Revolution -- The Anglo-American relationship and the test of India -- The transfer of power -- British Security Coordination at the heart of Anglo-American relations during the Second World War -- The colonial eye behind the camera -- 'Zobeida and I': A Persian Odyssey -- Persian adventures: to India by the back door -- A nest of spies in Constantinople -- 'A malicious propaganda legend' (Teague-Jones, November 1979) -- The Caucasian imbroglio -- Teague-Jones and the Soviet-Turkish Entente -- Baku: 1918 -- The drama of the twenty-six commissars: the anatomy of an execution -- Reginald Teague-Jones: 'Political Representative in Transcaspia' -- From improvisation to retreat: the Transcaspian episode -- A Secret Mission at the gates of Central Asia in 1918 -- An Englishman in Russia -- The tribulations of the 'German Lawrence' in the Persian Gulf -- The Great War and Persia -- The training-ground: the North West Frontier Province -- An ambition: joining the Indian Political Service -- Red Sunday: memories of the 1905 Revolution -- Liverpool: birthplace and departure point -- Pendennis Street.;Dubbed an "agent of British imperialism" by Joseph Stalin, Reginald Teague-Jones (1889- 1988) was the quintessential English spy whose exceptional story is recounted in this new biography. He studied in St Petersburg, participated in the 1905 Revolution and spent the rest of his life working for various branches of British secret intelligence. Plunging into the Great Game, he participated in daring operations against the Bolsheviks and tracked down a turbulent German agent, Wilhelm Wassmuss, who was spreading anti-British propaganda in Persia. Teague-Jones was also held responsible for the execution of 'the 26 Commissars' after the fall of the Baku Commune in 1918. This became one of the Soviet Union's most powerful cults of martyrology, inspiring a poem by Yesenin, a Brodsky painting, a 1933 feature film and an immense monument. Shortly after, Teague-Jones changed his name to Ronald Sinclair and adopted a secret persona for the next five decades, for part of which he worked undercover in the United States as an expert on Indian, Soviet and Middle-Eastern affairs, possibly in collaboration with the OSS, the new American secret service. In his swan song in espionage he kept a gimlet eye on the Soviet delegation to the UN in New York. For these reasons, and many others besides, Reginald Teague-Jones is the most important British spy you have never heard of. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 13 List of Abbreviations 15 Introduction 21 1. Childhood in Liverpool and St Petersburg 29 Liverpool: birthplace and departure point 30 Pendennis Street 30 Liverpool: ‘Second City of the Empire’ 32 An Englishman in Russia 33 Dazzling St Petersburg 33 A German Education at St Petersburg: the Annenschule 36 Red Sunday: memories of the 1905 Revolution 39 Warning bells and ‘ice-hilling’ 39 The preludes to an expected drama 41 Caught in the crowd: Teague-Jones, witness to the massacre 43 2. From the Punjab to the North West Frontier: The Making of a Gentleman of the Raj 47 An ambition: joining the Indian Political Service 48 A foretaste of the Frontier: the Punjab 48 The Indian Political Service: a caste within the colonial administration 51 A shadow organisation: the Indian Political Intelligence Service 54 The training-ground: the North West Frontier Province 56 Administrative and political frontiers: controlling the hinterland 57 Sherani country 59 The Frontier: a territory for elites? 64 3. The Persian Gulf and the Hunt for ‘Mr Wassmuss’ 69 The Great War and Persia 70 Iran during the First World War: the theory and practice of ‘neutrality’ 71 Jihad and pointed helmets 72 A police force in the South: the South Persia Rifles (SPR) 74 The tribulations of the ‘German Lawrence’ in the Persian Gulf 76 Wassmuss, a model field-agent 77 Reginald Teague-Jones on Wassmuss’s track 80 Persia and the Russian Revolution 83 On the road to Meshed 84 Meshed: Teague-Jones at the Turkestan frontier 88 4. Ashkhabad and the Transcaspian Episode 93 A Secret Mission at the gates of Central Asia in 1918 94 First impressions of Transcaspia 95 Transcaspia after the Russian Revolution: from the Red offensive to the emergence of a Turkmen power 99 The brief history of a transient government: the Transcaspian government 102 Reginald Teague-Jones: ‘Political Representative in Transcaspia’ 104 ‘This is a railway war’ 105 A railway government 108 Building an intelligence network in Transcaspia 111 From improvisation to retreat: the Transcaspian episode 114 The Turkmen question: an instrumental strategy? 115 An intelligence service in Yomut country 118 Malmiss: game over 121 5. The Legend of the Twenty-Six Commissars: Teague-Jones, Hero or Villain? 125 Baku: 1918 126 The country before the battle 126 Baku: the geostrategic prize 128 The siege of Baku 130 The drama of the twenty-six commissars: the anatomy of an execution 136 A political drama with a railway ending 136 Passengers for Krasnovodsk 139 Diminished responsibilities 142 ‘A malicious propaganda legend’ (Teague-Jones, November 1979) 145 The origins of the Soviet case: Vadim Chaikin’s inquiry 147 Shot or decapitated? 150 The culprit on stage: Teague-Jones in Soviet iconography 154 6. The Retreat of the White Armies: From Constantinople to the Caucasus (1919–21) 159 A nest of spies in Constantinople 160 In the ruins of the Ottoman Empire: Constantinople in 1919 161 ‘Beefsteaks a la Hoover-Nansen’ 163 A meeting with General Wrangel 166 The Caucasian imbroglio 169 Back to Baku 170 Georgia on the eve of the Red invasion 174 The view from Mount Ararat (February 1921) 180 Teague-Jones and the Soviet–Turkish Entente 183 A confluence of interests 183 Ajaria: a strategic position on the Soviet–Turkish frontier 186 Plans for a Muslim policy: an Alliance counter-strategy against Russia 188 7. Ronald Sinclair, Imperial Traveller 193 ‘Zobeida and I’: A Persian Odyssey 194 An opaque mission in Iran for a combination of partners 195 Levantine encounters 198 Across the Syrian Desert 200 Persian adventures: to India by the back door 202 Kurdistan to Iranian Azerbaijan: assessing Soviet influence 202 Iran from north to south: Tehran to Bushire 206 Iran from west to east: return to Baluchistan 211 The colonial eye behind the camera 213 A Cairo idyll ... 214 A passenger of Imperial Airways 218 A season in Tibet 222 8. Ronald Sinclair in America (1941–60) 225 British Security Coordination at the heart of Anglo-American relations during the Second World War 227 Rockefeller Center, 38th Floor, Room 3801 227 June 1941: an emergency mission to Bermuda 230 Major Sinclair, BSC Coordination officer 236 The Anglo-American relationship and the test of India 238 The IPI: from imperial security to Anglo-American collaboration 238 The India League of America: the rising power of a pressure group 242 Counter-propaganda in the land of democracy 247 The transfer of power 250 The other side of the mirror 251 ‘Sahib! Sahib!’ 253 Return to the North West Frontier 256 Epilogue 263 Note on the Sources 269 Notes 271 Index 289 Compelling Biography Of Reginald Teague-jones (1889- 1988) -- The Most Important British Spy You Have Never Heard Of. Teague-jones Was Feared By Stalin, Roamed Eurasia And Chameleon-like, Vanished, Only To Reappear In America, Decades Later, Still Practicing Espionage. Teague-jones Was Held Responsible For The Execution Of 'the 26 Commissars' After The Fall Of The Baku Commune In 1918 - An Event That Inspired A Poem By Yesenin, A Brodsky Painting And A 1933 Feature Film.--publisher's Website Childhood In Liverpool And St Petersburg -- From The Punjab To The North West Frontier : The Making Of A Gentleman Of The Raj -- The Persian Gulf And The Hunt For 'mr Wassmuss' -- Ashkhabad And The Transcaspian Episode -- The Legend Of The Twenty-six Commissars : Teague-jones, Hero Or Villain? -- The Retreat Of The White Armies : From Constantinople To The Caucasus (1919-21) -- Ronald Sinclair, Imperial Traveller -- Ronald Sinclair In America (1941-60). Taline Ter Minassian ; Translated By Tom Rees. Originally Published As Reginald Teague-jones: Au Service Secret De L'empire Britannique, Paris: Grasset, C2012. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Translated From The French.