I see that Sir Alex Younger, a former head of MI6, the
Secret Intelligence Service, visited the set of the new James Bond film. Apparently,
he had donated his pen, filled with the distinctive green ink in which it is
customary for “C” to pen minutes and sign his name. This reminded me of my tour in Defence
Intelligence.
Sixteen years after enlisting in the Royal Air Force I found
myself on an upward career trajectory although, at the time, blissfully unaware
of the time bomb planted in my service record by a mendacious former Station
Commander, Benny Jackson. I was just about to graduate from the Advanced Staff Course
at Bracknell and had been appointed, following an agreeable interview in 4th
floor office at the Ministry of Defence, the Personal Staff Officer of a
Director in the Defence Intelligence Service.
My introduction to Whitehall in general and the secret world
of intelligence was a blizzard of briefings and indoctrinations all conducted
during the office Christmas Party season at the Ministry in Whitehall. To say
that I was surprised at some of the insights and revelations would be an
understatement. The Aubrey, Berry and Campbell trial, the “ABC Trial,” had
ended but the aftermath was febrile. I remember, as we broke for Christmas, that
my head was spinning with who’s who and who did what. Box this or Box that, our friends across the
river or similar relatives in the West Country and who was that chap who said
he had an office on the 6th floor with a MOD telephone extension?
It was a steep learning curve in an exceptionally busy
office environment. We staff officers to the Directors, all off similar
seniority but very different backgrounds and specialisations, nevertheless
bonded in an informal social group, the MADSODS, which included the American
Defense Intelligence Agency Liaison, DIAL.
We all got along very well personally which helped smooth the passage of
day-to-day business. One day, during my first couple of weeks in post, The MA
to the Director General of Defence Intelligence (DGI) who controlled the
Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS), called by to appraise me of a delicate issue
which I needed to solve. Apparently my boss, a Royal Air Force Officer, had
taken to writing minutes and signing his name with green ink. The MA informed me, laconically, that, “there
are only two individuals in the intelligence community who sign their name in
green and neither is your boss.” It was
now up to me to raise the delicate issue. My boss did not take the observation well
and, feigning outrage, demanded to know who was complaining. Learning fast, I
replied that the issue had been brought to my attention unofficially and in confidence
but I felt I should mention it now in case any embarrassment should arise
downstream. My boss grunted angrily but, as I withdrew, I think I detected a
crack of a smile on his face. I few
minutes later, the office intercom buzzed and my boss asked for a selection of
coloured pens. Sheila, the stalwart
secretary rushed to the stationary cupboard and immediately provided a rainbow
of felt tips from which I removed the green. “He chose brown, of all things,”
said Sheila as she resumed her seat at the typewriter in the outer office.
Proof that the delicate issue had been resolved was provided
a few days later. Directors had been requested to comment on some proposal or
other, and, as was the procedure, each had replied on the minute sheet of the
classified file. Acknowledging the minuted discussion, DGI had written, “Greville
(not his real name) has commented, in his now familiar dried blood!”
So I had learned that “C” signed his name in green ink but, in
those days, the name of the post holder was secret and there was certainly no
website with a smiling photograph to aid recognition. This was a disadvantage because, sometime
later, having arranged a lunch at a club in Piccadilly for some foreign defence
attaches I was waiting in the foyer, to direct guests to the correct venue. “C,”
also happened to be a guest but how should I recognise him? I wondered whether,
using some sort of racial profiling, I could pick the most likely candidate and
introduce myself: “excuse me Sir, do you happen to be head of the secret
intelligence service?” My dilemma was
short-lived because moments later someone touched my arm and said, “are you
waiting for me?”