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← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 23 July 2022
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	{{Use Indian English\|date=July ~~2016~~}}		{{Short description\|British Army general (1873–1942)}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=July ~~2016~~}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=July 2022}}
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	{{Infobox spy		{{Infobox spy
	\|honorific_prefix = [[Major General]]		\|honorific_prefix = [[Major General]]
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	\| name = Sir Vernon Kell		\| name = Sir Vernon Kell
	\| nickname = 'K'		\| nickname = 'K'
	\| image =		\| image = Vernon Kell (5a).jpg
	\| caption =		\| caption =
	\| allegiance = United Kingdom		\| allegiance = United Kingdom
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	\| rank = Director of MI5		\| rank = Director of MI5
	\| operation =		\| operation =
	~~\| award = [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]~~
	\| birth_date = 21 November 1873		\| birth_date = 21 November 1873
	\| birth_place = [[Great Yarmouth]]		\| birth_place = [[Great Yarmouth]]
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	\| nationality = British		\| nationality = British
	\| occupation =[[Intelligence officer]], soldier		\| occupation =[[Intelligence officer]], soldier
	\| residence = 67 [[Evelyn Gardens]], [[Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, U.K.<ref name="madeirabritanniaandthebear">{{cite book\|last1=Madeira\|first1=Victor\|title=Britannia and the Bear: The Anglo-Russian Intelligence Wars, 1917–1929\|date=2014\|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd\|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K.\|isbn=9781843838951\|page=140\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNXCAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Evelyn+Gardens%22+london&pg=PA140\|oclc=870639051}}</ref>
	\| module = {{Infobox military person \| embed=yes		\| module = {{Infobox military person \| embed=yes
	\|nickname=		\|nickname=
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	{{s-end}}		{{s-end}}

			==External links==
			{{Commons category-inline\|Vernon Kell}}

	{{Authority control}}		{{Authority control}}
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	[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]		[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
	[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]		[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
	[[Category:British Army generals]]		[[Category:British Army major generals]]
	[[Category:British reporters and correspondents]]		[[Category:British reporters and correspondents]]
	[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]		[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
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	[[Category:English people of Polish descent]]		[[Category:English people of Polish descent]]
	[[Category:People from Great Yarmouth]]		[[Category:People from Great Yarmouth]]
			[[Category:Military personnel from Norfolk]]
	[[Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur]]		[[Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur]]

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{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox spy
|honorific_prefix = [[Major General]]
|honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCMG|KBE|CB}}
| name = Sir Vernon Kell
| nickname = 'K'
| image =
| caption =
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| service = [[MI5]]
| serviceyears = 1909–1940
| rank = Director of MI5
| operation =
| award = [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]
| birth_date = 21 November 1873
| birth_place = [[Great Yarmouth]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1942|3|27|1873|11|21}}
| nationality = British
| occupation =[[Intelligence officer]], soldier
| residence = 67 [[Evelyn Gardens]], [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London, U.K.<ref name="madeirabritanniaandthebear">{{cite book|last1=Madeira|first1=Victor|title=Britannia and the Bear: The Anglo-Russian Intelligence Wars, 1917–1929|date=2014|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K.|isbn=9781843838951|page=140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNXCAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Evelyn+Gardens%22+london&pg=PA140|oclc=870639051}}</ref>
| module = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
|nickname=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[British Army]]
|serviceyears= 1894–1939
|rank= [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]]
|unit= [[South Staffordshire Regiment]]
|commands=
|battles= [[Boxer Rebellion]] [[First World War]]
|awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Officer of the Order of Leopold]] (Belgium) [[Officer of the Legion of Honour]] (France) [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus|Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] (Italy)
|relations=
|signature = }}
}}
[[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] '''Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCMG|KBE|CB}} (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a [[British Army]] general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as [[MI5]]. Known as '''K''', he was described in ''[[Who's Who]]'' as "Commandant, War Department Constabulary".<ref>[[H. Montgomery Hyde]], "A matter of official secrets", ''[[The Times]]'', 4 December 1976</ref>

==Early life==
Born in [[Great Yarmouth]], [[Norfolk]], in 1873, Kell was the son of Major Waldegrave Kell of the [[38th Foot]] and his Polish wife, Georgiana Augusta Konarska.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.elmbridgehundred.org.uk/biographies/vernon-kell/ |title=Vernon George Waldegrave Kell|publisher=Elmbridge Borough Council |access-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>

==Military service==
After graduating from the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], Kell was commissioned into the [[South Staffordshire Regiment]] on 10 October 1894,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26559|page=5688|date=9 October 1894}}</ref> and promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 15 December 1896.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26836|page=1741|date=26 March 1897 |nolink=y}}</ref> He was in January 1900 seconded for service in China,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27163 |supp=y|page=910| date=9 February 1900| |nolink=y}}</ref> and fought in the [[Boxer Rebellion]] later that year. He could speak German, Italian, French and Polish with equal facility, and after serving and studying in China and Russia, he learned their respective languages too. While he was on the intelligence staff in [[Tianjin|Tientsin]] he was also the foreign correspondent of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. He was promoted to the rank of [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 24 September 1901,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27418 |page=1964 |date=21 March 1902 |nolink=y}}</ref> while still seconded in China where he served as a Railway Staff Officer (for which he was mentioned in despatches).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27497 |date=21 November 1902 |page=7532}}</ref>

After his return to London from China in 1902, Kell was employed to analyse German intelligence at the [[War Office]]. He returned to a posting in his regiment from 1 October 1903,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27604|page=6152|date=9 October 1903 |nolink=y}}</ref> and was appointed a staff captain serving at the [[War Office]] on 9 February 1904.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|issue=27712|page=5844|date=9 September 1904 |nolink=y}}</ref>

Rising public fears in Great Britain of German espionage precipitated the creation of a new government intelligence agency. In 1909 Kell was selected by the War Office and the Admiralty as one of two officers, alongside [[Mansfield Smith-Cumming]], to head the newly formed Secret Service Bureau.<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of Mi5'' (London, 2009), p.21.</ref> He retired from active duty on 16 October 1909, but remained in the reserves.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28297|page=7567|date=15 October 1909 |nolink=y}}</ref>

==Intelligence service==
Kell and Cumming decided to divide the intelligence work, Kell taking responsibility for domestic concerns, while Cumming was to oversee foreign matters. However, their working relationship was fraught, as Cumming advocated the separation of the Bureau's work into two distinct departments (which evolved into [[MI5]] and [[MI6]]). The separation took place in 1910.<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of Mi5'' (London, 2009), pp.25–27.</ref>

Kell was promoted to the rank of major in the reserves on 20 August 1913.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Following the outbreak of war in 1914, Kell was restored to active duty as a GSO 2,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29046 |supp=y|page=690|date=19 January 1915 |nolink=y}}</ref> and was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel on 5 September.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28892|page=7001|date=4 September 1914 |nolink=y}}</ref> On 1 March 1915, he was appointed a GSO 1, retaining his temporary rank.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29124 |supp=y|page=3554|date=9 April 1915 |nolink=y}}</ref> For his service, he received a brevet promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 3 June 1916, and received a temporary promotion to colonel on 21 December.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29608 |supp=y|page=5559|date=2 June 1916 |nolink=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29871 |supp=y|page=12424|date=19 December 1916 |nolink=y}}</ref>

==First World War==
During the First World War, Kell headed [[MI5(g)]], a section dealing with the [[Hindu–German Conspiracy|Indian seditionist movement in Europe]]. Among Kell's officers were ex-ICS officers [[Robert Nathan (intelligence officer)|Robert Nathan]] and H. L. Stephenson.<ref name=Popplewell218>{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=218}}</ref> Kell also worked closely with the Special Branch of [[Scotland Yard]], then headed by [[Basil Thomson]], and was successful in tracing the work of Indian revolutionaries collaborating with the Germans during the war.<ref name=Popplewell220>{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=220}}</ref>

==Between the wars==
Kell was promoted to the rank of colonel in the reserves on 1 April 1924.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32940|page=4310|date=30 May 1924 |nolink=y}}</ref> Upon reaching the age of 60 on 21 November 1933, he was struck from the reserve list.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34005|page=8127|date=15 December 1933 |nolink=y}}</ref> Kell received an honorary promotion to major-general on 27 September 1939.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34714 |supp=y|page=7102|date=20 October 1939 |nolink=y}}</ref>

In December 1938, having reached retirement age, Kell asked to remain in post on a year-to-year basis.<ref name=realm>Christopher Andrew, ''The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5'' (London, 2009)</ref>{{rp|218}} With the onset of war, MI5 finally got the hiring and financial resources of which it had been starved for years. However, MI5 proved unable to deploy them without confusion<ref name=realm />{{rp|219}} and Kell and [[Eric Edward Boketon Holt-Wilson|his deputy]], both in their mid-60s, got the blame. On 10 June 1940 Kell was dismissed on the instructions of [[Winston Churchill]], after 30 years in post. He was the longest-serving head of any British government department during the 20th century.<ref name=realm />{{rp|227}}

He was knighted for his services shortly before his death in 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/world-war-2.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=25 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610225907/https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/world-war-2.html |archive-date=10 June 2011 }}</ref>

==Honours==
Kell was awarded the following orders and decorations:

===British===
*[[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]], Military Division (KBE; [[1919 Birthday Honours]])<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31395|page=7426|date=6 June 1919 |nolink=y}}</ref>
*[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]], Military Division (CB; 1 January 1917)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29916 |supp=y|page=924|date=23 January 1917 |nolink=y}}</ref>

===Other===
*Officer of the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] (Kingdom of Belgium; 24 September 1917)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30302 |supp=y|page=9863|date=21 September 1917 |nolink=y}}</ref>
*Officer of the [[Légion d'honneur]] (France; 24 September 1917)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30306 |supp=y|page=9946|date=25 September 1917 |nolink=y}}</ref>
*Officer of the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] (Kingdom of Italy; 1 April 1919)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31263 |supp=y|page=4199|date=28 March 1919 |nolink=y}}</ref>
*Campaign medal for China<ref name="ReferenceB">Portrait photograph of Kell at Plate 1 of Christopher Andrew's ''Authorised History of MI5'' (partly obscured)</ref>
*1914 War Medal<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

==Popular culture==
Kell was the basis for a major character in [[Bert Coules]]'s radio adaptation of [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[His Last Bow]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/pdf/DM133.pdf|title=The District Messenger|publisher=The Sherlock Holmes Society of London|date=10 August 1993|access-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>

Kell is depicted as an ally of a secret society of bodyguards attached to the radical [[women's suffrage]] movement in the graphic novel trilogy ''[[Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons]]'' (2015).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://suffrajitsu.com/category/mrs-pankhursts-amazons/ |title=Suffrajitsu: A Graphic Novel Celebrating The Fighting Spirit Of The Suffragettes (Konbini)|date=12 October 2015|publisher= Suffrajitsu.com| access-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>

In [[Dennis Wheatley]]'s novel ''The Second Seal'', Kell investigates the book's hero, the [[Duke de Richleau]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkWwAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT42|title= The Second Seal|first= Dennis |last=Wheatley|year=1973|publisher=Hutchinson & Co|isbn=978-0090414321 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[James Edward Edmonds]]
* Sir [[Mansfield Smith-Cumming]]
* [[Sidney Reilly]]
* [[R. H. Bruce Lockhart|Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart]]
* [[William Melville]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book | last=Popplewell | first=Richard James | title=Intelligence and Imperial defence : British Intelligence and the defence of the Indian Empire, 1904-24 | publisher=Frank Cass | year=1995 | isbn=9780714645803 | oclc=316027333}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box | before=[[William Melville]] | title= [[Director General of MI5]] | years= 1909–1940| after= [[Oswald Allen Harker|Brigadier 'Jasper' Harker]]|
}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kell, Vernon}}
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British reporters and correspondents]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:South Staffordshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Directors General of MI5]]
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindu–German Conspiracy]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:World War I spies for the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:People from Great Yarmouth]]
[[Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur]]

Vernon Kell - Revision history

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->Citation bot: Alter: url. URLs might have been anonymized. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by AManWithNoPlan | #UCB_webform 1462/1962