Unsought adventure
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About This Book
Written under the pseudonym Charles Barry, the name under which he wrote many detective novels, mainly in the 1920s.
Unsought Adventure is about the author’s First World War experiences with the Imperial Russian Horse Artillery in Russia and Romania and with the British Secret Intelligence Service.
The following is a post from a topic on the Great War Forum:
Bryson was MI1(c) in Roumania and North Russia. And reminds me not to be so cynical about intelligence memoirs, some are actually truthful.
MI1(c) is the name usually used in this period, along with ‘C’s organisation’ (‘C’ being of course Mansfield Cumming), for what is now known as the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6. One problem is that from 1914 onwards the British intelligence presence in Russia, whether overt or covert, is rather confusing and I don’t claim any detailed understanding of who was where, doing what, when. And it only got worse after the revolution.
Bryson served in the Russian army, latterly as an officer with their forces in Roumania. After the revolution he was unwilling to take an oath of allegiance to the new regime. At some point before 12 September 1917 he wrote to the British Military Attache in Petrograd asking that he be recommended for a commission in the British army, explaining that ‘Captain Laycock’ has told Bryson that he requires a Russian speaking officer. [UA; undated letter in WO374/10420]
Laycock had been one of C’s men in Roumania since February 1916. When Roumania entered the war on the allied side in August 1916 Laycock’s organisation evolved into (part of?) the British Military Mission (BMM). [Jeffrey, 130-1]
After some minutes between various sections in the War Office, including MI1(c), Bryson was commissioned on 16 November 1917, although he was with the BMM from at least October. Although not named, he is very obviously the individual described by Jeffrey as running ‘some sort of subsidiary operation’ for Laycock at Jassy. [WO374/10420; Jeffrey, 130-1; LG]
Hostilities between Roumania and the Central Power ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest in spring 1918, and the BMM returned to UK (via Murmansk). Bryson arrived in UK to learn of the ‘Fifth Army debacle’, i.e. the German offensive on the Western Front in March 1918 [UA].
Bryson was interviewed by Mansfield Cumming (‘C’) and recounts the self-amputation story. Rereading the text I think the nuance is that he heard of this at some later date – you’ll gather I’m not greatly convinced by this legend [UA]
At some point whilst in London he learns that he had been commissioned twice, which probably explains the gazetting and cancellation of a commission in Feb/Mar 1918. He had to sort out his pay and this fits with Jeffrey’s description of him (still unnamed) getting into trouble in for telling his bank he is employed by the ‘Secret Service Department’ [UA: LG; Jeffrey, 131]
After a period of leave in Ireland Bryson underwent instruction in codes and ciphers. He mentions a fellow ex-BMM student - T F Johnson, RNVR. This is Thomas Frank Johnson, commissioned as a Lt, RNVR in Jan 1915 ‘For service outside the Admiralty under D[irector] I[ntelligence] D[ivision] (not borne in ships books)’. That is a big neon sign saying ‘spook’. And that is confirmed by Johnson being appointed OBE in the ‘NID Gazette’ of 12 Feb 1919 (as an aside, that gazette includes awards to intelligence personnel sponsored by both the Admiralty and War Office – among the latter is an MC to 2/Lt Sidney George Riley, RAF) [UA; ADM337].
Bryson was then ordered to Murmansk to report to Col Thornhill of the Indian Army, sailing on the SS Umtali. This is presumably the July 1918 departure of Lt C Bryson from Liverpool. On arrival in Murmansk he found Thornhill had gone to Archangel. He followed, only to find Thornhill has gone to Onega. Cudbert Thornhill is well known as having worked in Russia for ‘C’ [UA; WO25/3570; Jeffrey, 102-4].
Bryson was appointed ‘MCO Archangel’. Military Control Officers were responsible for travel control and were either MI5 or MI1(c) - the MI5 ones confined themselves to MCOing, the MI1(c) ones also had an intelligence collection function but their overt travel control work was controlled by MI5. Bryson mentions the MCO at Murmansk being a Maj Tomlins – this is Maj Arthur William Gladstone Tomlins, West Indies Regt [UA; KV1/21]
Bryson’s protection certificate, dated 15 November 1919 has him as a Lt, General List, whose last service was in Russia with OC Int’b’ GHQ. The ‘b’ part of the intelligence staff was the bit responsible for espionage and counter-espionage [WO374/10420].
By February 1920 he was living in Bucharest [WO374/10420].
There’s very little in the book about him actually doing intelligence. Whether this reflects the reality of his time in Russia, or a memory of Compton Mackenzie being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in 1933 for fairly harmless revelations – who knows.
https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/233434-unsought-adventure-by-charles-barry/
(archived link https://web.archive.org/web/20250821033729/https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/233434-unsought-adventure-by-charles-barry/ )
Unsought Adventure is about the author’s First World War experiences with the Imperial Russian Horse Artillery in Russia and Romania and with the British Secret Intelligence Service.
The following is a post from a topic on the Great War Forum:
Bryson was MI1(c) in Roumania and North Russia. And reminds me not to be so cynical about intelligence memoirs, some are actually truthful.
MI1(c) is the name usually used in this period, along with ‘C’s organisation’ (‘C’ being of course Mansfield Cumming), for what is now known as the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6. One problem is that from 1914 onwards the British intelligence presence in Russia, whether overt or covert, is rather confusing and I don’t claim any detailed understanding of who was where, doing what, when. And it only got worse after the revolution.
Bryson served in the Russian army, latterly as an officer with their forces in Roumania. After the revolution he was unwilling to take an oath of allegiance to the new regime. At some point before 12 September 1917 he wrote to the British Military Attache in Petrograd asking that he be recommended for a commission in the British army, explaining that ‘Captain Laycock’ has told Bryson that he requires a Russian speaking officer. [UA; undated letter in WO374/10420]
Laycock had been one of C’s men in Roumania since February 1916. When Roumania entered the war on the allied side in August 1916 Laycock’s organisation evolved into (part of?) the British Military Mission (BMM). [Jeffrey, 130-1]
After some minutes between various sections in the War Office, including MI1(c), Bryson was commissioned on 16 November 1917, although he was with the BMM from at least October. Although not named, he is very obviously the individual described by Jeffrey as running ‘some sort of subsidiary operation’ for Laycock at Jassy. [WO374/10420; Jeffrey, 130-1; LG]
Hostilities between Roumania and the Central Power ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest in spring 1918, and the BMM returned to UK (via Murmansk). Bryson arrived in UK to learn of the ‘Fifth Army debacle’, i.e. the German offensive on the Western Front in March 1918 [UA].
Bryson was interviewed by Mansfield Cumming (‘C’) and recounts the self-amputation story. Rereading the text I think the nuance is that he heard of this at some later date – you’ll gather I’m not greatly convinced by this legend [UA]
At some point whilst in London he learns that he had been commissioned twice, which probably explains the gazetting and cancellation of a commission in Feb/Mar 1918. He had to sort out his pay and this fits with Jeffrey’s description of him (still unnamed) getting into trouble in for telling his bank he is employed by the ‘Secret Service Department’ [UA: LG; Jeffrey, 131]
After a period of leave in Ireland Bryson underwent instruction in codes and ciphers. He mentions a fellow ex-BMM student - T F Johnson, RNVR. This is Thomas Frank Johnson, commissioned as a Lt, RNVR in Jan 1915 ‘For service outside the Admiralty under D[irector] I[ntelligence] D[ivision] (not borne in ships books)’. That is a big neon sign saying ‘spook’. And that is confirmed by Johnson being appointed OBE in the ‘NID Gazette’ of 12 Feb 1919 (as an aside, that gazette includes awards to intelligence personnel sponsored by both the Admiralty and War Office – among the latter is an MC to 2/Lt Sidney George Riley, RAF) [UA; ADM337].
Bryson was then ordered to Murmansk to report to Col Thornhill of the Indian Army, sailing on the SS Umtali. This is presumably the July 1918 departure of Lt C Bryson from Liverpool. On arrival in Murmansk he found Thornhill had gone to Archangel. He followed, only to find Thornhill has gone to Onega. Cudbert Thornhill is well known as having worked in Russia for ‘C’ [UA; WO25/3570; Jeffrey, 102-4].
Bryson was appointed ‘MCO Archangel’. Military Control Officers were responsible for travel control and were either MI5 or MI1(c) - the MI5 ones confined themselves to MCOing, the MI1(c) ones also had an intelligence collection function but their overt travel control work was controlled by MI5. Bryson mentions the MCO at Murmansk being a Maj Tomlins – this is Maj Arthur William Gladstone Tomlins, West Indies Regt [UA; KV1/21]
Bryson’s protection certificate, dated 15 November 1919 has him as a Lt, General List, whose last service was in Russia with OC Int’b’ GHQ. The ‘b’ part of the intelligence staff was the bit responsible for espionage and counter-espionage [WO374/10420].
By February 1920 he was living in Bucharest [WO374/10420].
There’s very little in the book about him actually doing intelligence. Whether this reflects the reality of his time in Russia, or a memory of Compton Mackenzie being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in 1933 for fairly harmless revelations – who knows.
https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/233434-unsought-adventure-by-charles-barry/
(archived link https://web.archive.org/web/20250821033729/https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/233434-unsought-adventure-by-charles-barry/ )
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