Stewart Menzies

Stewart Menzies     (spook)
Born	30 January 1890 London
Died	29 May 1968 (Age 78) London
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Eton College
Religion	Church of England
Parents	• John Graham Menzies • Susannah West Wilson
Children	Fiona
Spouse	Lady Avice Sackville
Chief of the SIS In office 4 November 1939 - 1952 Deputy Edward Beddington-Behrens, John Cordeaux, James Easton, Lionel Payne, Valentine Vivian Preceded by Hugh Sinclair  Deputy Chief of the SIS In office 1929 or before - 3 November 1939 Preceded by Mark Allen, Edward Beddington-Behrens, John Cordeaux, Christopher Curwen, Richard Dearlove, James Easton, Colin Figures, Dick Franks, Barrie Gane, Peter Hayman, Nigel Inkster, John Macgregor Bruce Lockhart, Stewart Menzies, Maurice Oldfield, Lionel Payne, Valentine Vivian, Gerry Warner, George Kennedy Young"strong class="error">Error: Invalid time." contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. "?" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation.  Assistant Chief of the Secret Service In office ? - 1929 or before Succeeded by "strong class="error">Error: Invalid time." contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation.

Sir Stewart Menzies was head of the Secret Intelligence Service from 1939 to 1952. As Chief of the SIS he was involved in setting up Paul-Henri Spaak and agreed to set up a Bel

Career

Menzies had joined intelligence by 1916. By 1929 he was Deputy Chief of the SIS and he was promoted to full colonel soon afterwards.

Closure of SOE

Menzies, a friend of Winston Churchill, was "a master at using his political and social connections to win time and eventual survival for SIS, indeed so successful was he that in 1946 he persuaded the Labour Government to close down SOE and transfer its best staff and most promising operations to SIS."

Operation Embarrass

Full article: Operation Embarrass

In late 1946 the Labour government of Clement Attlee asked MI6 for "proposals for action to deter ships masters and crews from engaging in illegal Jewish immigration and traffic," adding that "action of the nature contemplated is, in fact, a form of intimidation and intimidation is only likely to be effective if some members of the group of people to be intimidated actually suffer unpleasant consequences." Menzies suggested carrying out false flag bomb attacks on their transport ships, and that a spurious terrorist group "The Defenders of Arab Palestine" could take responsibility. Five attacks were undertaken on ships in Italian ports. One was rendered "a total loss", two were damaged and two mines were discovered before they went off.

Operation Gladio

Full article: Operation Gladio

As Chief of the SIS Menzies contacted Paul-Henri Spaak and agreed to set up a Belgian stay behind group.

 

Appointments by Stewart Menzies

Appointee	Job	Appointed	End	Description
Edward Beddington-Behrens	Deputy Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service	6 March 1943	1944	Deputy Director/Army (DD/A)
John Cordeaux	Deputy Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service	6 March 1943	1945	Deputy Director/Navy

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