Ralph Izzard
Encyclopedia
Ralph William Burdick Izzard, OBE
, (27 August 1910 – 2 December 1992) was an English journalist, author, adventurer, and British Naval Intelligence
officer
(WWII
).
As a journalist, Ralph Izzard spent virtually his entire career with one newspaper, the Daily Mail
. After rising to the position of Berlin
bureau chief, he remained a star of the paper for 31 years. The stories he covered took him from Egypt to Algeria, Lebanon
to Kenya, Korea and beyond.
In addition to his duties with the Daily Mail, he wrote 4 books chronicling his experiences in India, Nepal
and the Middle East
. He is best known for the most famous of all his exploits when, as portrayed in his book "The Innocent on Everest", he set out on his own, without a compass or map, and successfully pursued John Hunt
's 1953 Everest expedition to its Base Camp at 18,000 ft.
During World War II
, Izzard served with distinction as an officer with British Naval Intelligence and the 30 Assault Unit. He received several awards in addition to being appointed OBE. His tour of duty
took place under the command of Ian Fleming
, who based elements of his first novel (Casino Royale
) and its protagonist (James Bond
) on Lieutenant Commander Izzard and a card game in which he found himself playing poker against covert, Nazi intelligence agents at a casino
in Pernambuco
, Brazil.
, Essex
, on 27 August 1910, to Percy and Florence Burdick Izzard, Ralph was the youngest of the couple's two children. His sister Floris was born in 1907. His father, Percy Izzard
, was the Daily Mail's highly respected gardening correspondent (claimed by Ralph to have been the inspiration of William Boot
in the Evelyn Waugh
novel "Scoop
").
In 1919 Ralph entered the Caldicott School
, a preparatory school for boys, near London, where he remained enrolled until 1924. Then, at the age of 13, he entered The Leys School
, where in addition to his studies he played water-polo. In 1928, his term at The Leys School being complete, he went on to attend Queens' College, Cambridge
and graduated in 1931. That same year he joined the staff at the Daily Mail.
as an Ordinary Seaman, and qualified as a gunner but was soon commissioned a Sub-Lieutenant
, eventually ascending to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
in a position with British Naval Intelligence. He served with distinction, being Mentioned in Despatches and appointed OBE
.
and 30 Assault Unit by Ian Fleming due, in some measure, to his ability to speak fluent German, as well as his expert knowledge of Berlin and its society. His duties included the interrogation of captured German combatants, intelligence
collection in the battlespace, and espionage
. The British Admiralty
operated an interrogation center known as the "CSDIC
" (Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre
) at CockFosters Camp
for the joint use of the Royal Navy
, the R.A.F.
, and the British Army
. Izzard regularly participated in the questioning of PoW
s and provided detailed reports to his superiors regarding intelligence obtained as a result of interrogation. A number of his reports and letters were forwarded to and read by Winston Churchill
.
Prior to its entry into World War II, the United States Navy
sent an intelligence officer to Great Britain
to observe the interrogation of German PoWs, for which the Royal Navy provided a liaison officer
: (then) LT
Ralph Izzard, (RNVR
). Izzard trained the initial cadre of U.S. Navy PoW interrogators and was further tasked with traveling to the United States in order to instruct operatives in the disciplines of cryptanalysis
, interrogation, and intelligence dissemination. He was instrumental in establishing Op-16-Z, a section of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence
, which dealt with the processing of enemy prisoners. Subsequently, British protocol for prisoner debriefing was adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces, and the Joint Interrogation Center for Prisoners of War was established in 1941.
Izzard also participated in the creation of a plan (code named Operation Ruthless
), the objective of which was to obtain German Naval Enigma
documentation to aid British Intelligence in the decryption
of secret
German communications. The plan consisted of crashing a captured German aeroplane into the English Channel
where the British crew, dressed in Luftwaffe
uniforms, would be rescued by a German patrol boat. The 'survivors' would then kill the German crew, hijack the ship, and confiscate the secret Enigma documents. Much to the annoyance of codebreakers
at Bletchley Park
, the operation was scrapped. In a BBC Radio 4
program called The Bond Correspondence broadcast on May 24, 2008, Lucy Fleming, the niece of Ian Fleming, stated that the plan was cancelled because the Royal Air Force concluded that a downed Heinkel bomber
dropped into the English Channel would sink rather than float, posing too great a danger to the lives of British operatives.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (27 August 1910 – 2 December 1992) was an English journalist, author, adventurer, and British Naval Intelligence
Naval Intelligence Division
The Naval Intelligence Division was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Staff in 1965. It dealt with matters concerning British naval plans, with the collection of naval intelligence...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
(WWII
World War II
World 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...
).
As a journalist, Ralph Izzard spent virtually his entire career with one newspaper, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. After rising to the position of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
bureau chief, he remained a star of the paper for 31 years. The stories he covered took him from Egypt to Algeria, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
to Kenya, Korea and beyond.
In addition to his duties with the Daily Mail, he wrote 4 books chronicling his experiences in India, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. He is best known for the most famous of all his exploits when, as portrayed in his book "The Innocent on Everest", he set out on his own, without a compass or map, and successfully pursued John Hunt
John Hunt, Baron Hunt
Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt KG, PC, CBE, DSO, was a British army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British Expedition to Mount Everest.-Early life and career:...
's 1953 Everest expedition to its Base Camp at 18,000 ft.
During World War II
World War II
World 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...
, Izzard served with distinction as an officer with British Naval Intelligence and the 30 Assault Unit. He received several awards in addition to being appointed OBE. His tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....
took place under the command of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, who based elements of his first novel (Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
) and its protagonist (James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
) on Lieutenant Commander Izzard and a card game in which he found himself playing poker against covert, Nazi intelligence agents at a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, Brazil.
Early life
Born in BillericayBillericay
Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, on 27 August 1910, to Percy and Florence Burdick Izzard, Ralph was the youngest of the couple's two children. His sister Floris was born in 1907. His father, Percy Izzard
Percy Izzard
Percy W. D. Izzard OBE was the well-known gardening correspondent on the Daily Mail newspaper and author of several books on gardening.- Life and works :...
, was the Daily Mail's highly respected gardening correspondent (claimed by Ralph to have been the inspiration of William Boot
William Boot
William Boot is a fictional journalist who is the protagonist in the 1938 Evelyn Waugh comic novel Scoop.-Character:Boot is the young author of a regular column on country life for a London newspaper named the Daily Beast; his affected style is typified in the notorious sentence "Feather-footed...
in the Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
novel "Scoop
Scoop (novel)
Scoop is a 1938 novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, a satire of sensationalist journalism and foreign correspondence.-Plot:William Boot, a young man who lives in genteel poverty far from the iniquities of London, is contributor of nature notes to Lord Copper's Beast, a national newspaper...
").
In 1919 Ralph entered the Caldicott School
Caldicott School
Caldicott, formally known as Caldicott Preparatory School, is a Prep School for boys aged 7–13, close to London.- About Caldicott :Caldicott Preparatory School was founded in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1904 by James Heald Jenkins who named his school after his new bride, a Miss Theodora Caldicott...
, a preparatory school for boys, near London, where he remained enrolled until 1924. Then, at the age of 13, he entered The Leys School
The Leys School
The Leys School is a co-educational Independent school, located in Cambridge, England, and is a day and boarding school for about 550 pupils aged between 11 and 18 years...
, where in addition to his studies he played water-polo. In 1928, his term at The Leys School being complete, he went on to attend Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
and graduated in 1931. That same year he joined the staff at the Daily Mail.
Foreign Correspondent • Berlin
After graduation from Cambridge, Izzard was appointed as foreign correspondent of Daily Mail. His first post was BerlinRoyal Navy Volunteer Reserves
At the onset of World War II, Izzard joined the Royal Navy Volunteer ReservesRoyal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
as an Ordinary Seaman, and qualified as a gunner but was soon commissioned a Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
, eventually ascending to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in a position with British Naval Intelligence. He served with distinction, being Mentioned in Despatches and appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
British Intelligence • 30 AU • MI9 • MI19
Ralph Izzard was recruited to the Naval Intelligence DivisionNaval Intelligence Division
The Naval Intelligence Division was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Staff in 1965. It dealt with matters concerning British naval plans, with the collection of naval intelligence...
and 30 Assault Unit by Ian Fleming due, in some measure, to his ability to speak fluent German, as well as his expert knowledge of Berlin and its society. His duties included the interrogation of captured German combatants, intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
collection in the battlespace, and espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. The British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
operated an interrogation center known as the "CSDIC
Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre
The term Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre was used for facilities in the UK, the continent between 1942 and 1947, the Middle East, and South Asia. They were run by the British War Office on a joint basis involving the British Army and various intelligence agencies, notably MI5 and...
" (Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre
Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre
The term Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre was used for facilities in the UK, the continent between 1942 and 1947, the Middle East, and South Asia. They were run by the British War Office on a joint basis involving the British Army and various intelligence agencies, notably MI5 and...
) at CockFosters Camp
London Cage
The "London Cage" was a MI19 prisoner of war facility during and immediately after World War II that was subject to frequent allegations of torture...
for the joint use of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the R.A.F.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Izzard regularly participated in the questioning of PoW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
s and provided detailed reports to his superiors regarding intelligence obtained as a result of interrogation. A number of his reports and letters were forwarded to and read by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
Prior to its entry into World War II, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sent an intelligence officer to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to observe the interrogation of German PoWs, for which the Royal Navy provided a liaison officer
Liaison officer
A liaison officer or LNO is a person that liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, they are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. In the military, liaison officers may...
: (then) LT
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Ralph Izzard, (RNVR
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
). Izzard trained the initial cadre of U.S. Navy PoW interrogators and was further tasked with traveling to the United States in order to instruct operatives in the disciplines of cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
, interrogation, and intelligence dissemination. He was instrumental in establishing Op-16-Z, a section of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
, which dealt with the processing of enemy prisoners. Subsequently, British protocol for prisoner debriefing was adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces, and the Joint Interrogation Center for Prisoners of War was established in 1941.
Izzard also participated in the creation of a plan (code named Operation Ruthless
Operation Ruthless
Operation Ruthless was the name of a deception operation devised by Ian Fleming in the British Admiralty during World War II, in an attempt to gain access to German Naval Enigma codebooks.-Background:...
), the objective of which was to obtain German Naval Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
documentation to aid British Intelligence in the decryption
Cryptanalysis of the Enigma
Cryptanalysis of the Enigma enabled the western Allies in World War II to read substantial amounts of secret Morse-coded radio communications of the Axis powers that had been enciphered using Enigma machines. This yielded military intelligence which, along with that from other decrypted Axis radio...
of secret
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
German communications. The plan consisted of crashing a captured German aeroplane into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
where the British crew, dressed in Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
uniforms, would be rescued by a German patrol boat. The 'survivors' would then kill the German crew, hijack the ship, and confiscate the secret Enigma documents. Much to the annoyance of codebreakers
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, the operation was scrapped. In a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
program called The Bond Correspondence broadcast on May 24, 2008, Lucy Fleming, the niece of Ian Fleming, stated that the plan was cancelled because the Royal Air Force concluded that a downed Heinkel bomber
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
dropped into the English Channel would sink rather than float, posing too great a danger to the lives of British operatives.
Awards
- OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- 1939-1945 Star
- Atlantic StarAtlantic StarThe Atlantic Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The star was awarded for six months service afloat, in the Atlantic or in Home Waters, within the period 3 September 1939 to 8 May 1945...
- Pacific StarPacific StarThe Pacific Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II. It was also awarded to certain foreign servicemen, such as Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz of the United States.-Entitlement:...
- France and Germany StarFrance and Germany StarThe France and Germany Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The medal was awarded for operational service in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945...
- Defence Medal
- War Medal 1939–1945War Medal 1939–1945The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...
(Oak leafWar Medal 1939–1945The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...
) - Mentioned in Despatches