Claude Dansey
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Colonel
Sir Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey (1876 – 11 June 1947), also known as Colonel Z, Haywood, Uncle Claude, and codenamed Z, was the assistant chief of the Secret Intelligence Service
known as ACSS, of the British
intelligence agency
commonly known as MI6. He began his career in intelligence in 1900, and remained active until his death.
of nine children, Dansey and his siblings were subjected to military discipline at the hands of their soldier father, with punishments that included beatings even for minor misbehavior. They hated each other, as well as their father. Educated at Wellington College
, he joined the British Army at the age of 20, serving in South Africa during the Boer War
, because his father would not have allowed him any other vocation. He was recruited by MI5
and put in charge of "port intelligence" and the surveillance of civilian passengers during World War I
. He was inadvertently responsible for allowing Leon Trotsky
to return to Russia
in 1917.
Later, he joined M05 (forerunner to MI6). His talents were developed there; "on at least two occasions, assets he developed within the Irish nationalist movement were able to warn British Intelligence about plans to dynamite Buckingham Palace
." Many of his sources included American industrialists, who would eventually make up much of his extensive contact list. He worked in Switzerland and the Balkans until 1919. After the war he went into business, but remained a part-time agent. After losing his money in the Wall Street Crash, Dansey worked as a full-time agent for MI6 in Italy to keep tabs on Mussolini's Fascist movement, but was unimpressed with the service, which he believed to be incompetent.
Ultimately, Dansey was convinced what he saw was a disaster waiting to happen, so he set up a parallel MI6 structure, a hidden shadow network that could take over when the inevitable happened. By 1936, Dansey's Z Organization (after his own codename, Z) had over 200 executives, most doing it for the thrill of espionage. They were not allowed to take extreme risks, write anything down, take pictures or carry spy equipment. Alexander Korda
used his company, London Films
, as an excuse to visit sensitive areas while "searching for film locations". These businessmen and journalists used their own credentials as cover.
Meanwhile, Dansey was promoted to head the covert intelligence operations desk from its London headquarters. Then World War II broke out and the intelligence disaster Dansey predicted came to fruition.
The Hague was the major shipment point MI6 operations at the time, gathering information from all over Europe and sending them to London. Unfortunately, it was headed by retired military officers Sigismund Payne Best
and Major Richard Stevens, who had little intelligence experience. They had been penetrated by a Dutch asset, who was really working for the Nazi's SD and revealed the identities of all agents and assets. SD officer Walter Schellenberg posed as a military officer in the German underground, wishing to approach Best and Stevens, who snapped the bait and were captured at Venlo
in September 1939. A few days later, the Nazis knew everything and the entire MI6 structure was destroyed.
. This was because Dansey was spiteful, vindicative, short-tempered, and hated anyone with a university degree. Everyone grew to hate him.
As the Nazi defeat became inevitable, Dansey appeared to have outlived his usefulness. In 1944, they assigned him to a meaningless post without much to do and pressured him to resign. He left without a word of thanks or any pension.
Dansey died in June 1947 of heart disease; a few old friends from the Z Organization attended his funeral. Prior to his death, Dansey had been "bothered by a strange incident." Someone had painted a huge "Z" on his front door one morning, and even though only a few people knew his codename, he was never able to figure out who it was. "It was", according to Anthony Read and David Fisher, "one of the few mysteries he could not solve."
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Sir Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey (1876 – 11 June 1947), also known as Colonel Z, Haywood, Uncle Claude, and codenamed Z, was the assistant chief of the Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
known as ACSS, of the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
commonly known as MI6. He began his career in intelligence in 1900, and remained active until his death.
Early life
Born in 1876 into a dysfunctional familyDysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
of nine children, Dansey and his siblings were subjected to military discipline at the hands of their soldier father, with punishments that included beatings even for minor misbehavior. They hated each other, as well as their father. Educated at Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
, he joined the British Army at the age of 20, serving in South Africa during the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, because his father would not have allowed him any other vocation. He was recruited by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and put in charge of "port intelligence" and the surveillance of civilian passengers during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was inadvertently responsible for allowing Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
to return to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1917.
Later, he joined M05 (forerunner to MI6). His talents were developed there; "on at least two occasions, assets he developed within the Irish nationalist movement were able to warn British Intelligence about plans to dynamite Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
." Many of his sources included American industrialists, who would eventually make up much of his extensive contact list. He worked in Switzerland and the Balkans until 1919. After the war he went into business, but remained a part-time agent. After losing his money in the Wall Street Crash, Dansey worked as a full-time agent for MI6 in Italy to keep tabs on Mussolini's Fascist movement, but was unimpressed with the service, which he believed to be incompetent.
Assessment of MI6 weaknesses
While assigned as chief of station in Rome, Dansey noted several major problems:- Retired Admiral Hugh SinclairHugh SinclairAdmiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair KCB , nicknamed "Quex", was a British intelligence officer. Between 1919 and 1921, he was Director of British Naval Intelligence, and helped to set up the Secret Intelligence Service before the Second World War.-Career:Sinclair joined the Royal Navy in the...
, head of the agency, was "a half-mad paranoid who preferred to communicate with his people exclusively via messages left in a locked box--to which only his equally half-mad sister had the combination." - MI6 had no information on Europe, which was about to erupt into World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - The budget had been slashed extensively, so the agency drew its ranks from retired military personnel with pensions, who drew little or no salary, ensuring incompetence and lack of motivation.
- Even the lowliest taxi driver knew the head of MI6 operations in any given city was always the Passport Control Officer, which was Dansey's diplomatic cover as SIS officer in the British Embassy. "MI6 had been using this cover for years." As a result, the cover had long since been compromised, and no one was doing anything about it.
Z organization
With this in mind, Dansey relied heavily on his American and industrialist contacts, as he felt businessmen knew more about intelligence gathering than the MI6 officers. They focused on the bottom line, ignoring the petty prejudices and favor-seeking that plagued the system at the time, travelled widely on their own dime, had intimate connections with other foreign businessmen and were their own experts.Ultimately, Dansey was convinced what he saw was a disaster waiting to happen, so he set up a parallel MI6 structure, a hidden shadow network that could take over when the inevitable happened. By 1936, Dansey's Z Organization (after his own codename, Z) had over 200 executives, most doing it for the thrill of espionage. They were not allowed to take extreme risks, write anything down, take pictures or carry spy equipment. Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
used his company, London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
, as an excuse to visit sensitive areas while "searching for film locations". These businessmen and journalists used their own credentials as cover.
Meanwhile, Dansey was promoted to head the covert intelligence operations desk from its London headquarters. Then World War II broke out and the intelligence disaster Dansey predicted came to fruition.
The Hague was the major shipment point MI6 operations at the time, gathering information from all over Europe and sending them to London. Unfortunately, it was headed by retired military officers Sigismund Payne Best
Sigismund Payne Best
Captain Sigismund Payne Best OBE was a British Secret Intelligence Service agent during World War I and World War II...
and Major Richard Stevens, who had little intelligence experience. They had been penetrated by a Dutch asset, who was really working for the Nazi's SD and revealed the identities of all agents and assets. SD officer Walter Schellenberg posed as a military officer in the German underground, wishing to approach Best and Stevens, who snapped the bait and were captured at Venlo
Venlo Incident
The Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
in September 1939. A few days later, the Nazis knew everything and the entire MI6 structure was destroyed.
Activation of the Z organization
Immediately, Dansey switched on his Z Organization, saving MI6. Within weeks, his Z Organization was providing more and better intelligence than the old structure. "Although the Soviets were unaware, Dansey's operation often provided the difference between victory and defeat on the Eastern Front." All this only won him grudging respect, even though he was promoted as deputy to the new head of the agency, Stewart MenziesStewart Menzies
Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, KCB, KCMG, DSO, MC was Chief of MI6 , British Secret Intelligence Service, during and after World War II.-Early life, family:...
. This was because Dansey was spiteful, vindicative, short-tempered, and hated anyone with a university degree. Everyone grew to hate him.
As the Nazi defeat became inevitable, Dansey appeared to have outlived his usefulness. In 1944, they assigned him to a meaningless post without much to do and pressured him to resign. He left without a word of thanks or any pension.
Dansey died in June 1947 of heart disease; a few old friends from the Z Organization attended his funeral. Prior to his death, Dansey had been "bothered by a strange incident." Someone had painted a huge "Z" on his front door one morning, and even though only a few people knew his codename, he was never able to figure out who it was. "It was", according to Anthony Read and David Fisher, "one of the few mysteries he could not solve."