The first, and only, official history of the Secret Intelligence Service, written by a Queen's University academic, will be published today (Tuesday 21 September).
Professor Keith Jeffery from Queen's School of History and Anthropology is the historian behind MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949.
Having spent five years with full and unprecedented access to the agency's secret archives in London, Professor Jeffery's book will be launched in London today. He will be at a special event at Queen's on Thursday 23 September to celebrate its publication.
The 800 page book is the authoritative account of the best-known intelligence organisation in the world. Packed with fascinating stories about the extraordinary people who served in MI6 during two world wars and the beginnings of the Cold War, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of espionage and international relations in the first half of the twentieth century.
Professor Jeffery said: "Being granted free access to one of Britain's most secret archives was a huge honour for me. Writing this history was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the work of a crucial component in the modern British state.
"For years people have been fascinated with the mysterious world of the secret service but, for most of us, our knowledge of spies and espionage is limited to what we have seen in the movies.
"The real story is much better than James Bond. It deals with real people in real situations, whose stories I have been able to tell in greater detail, and with greater accuracy, than ever before.
"This book is the authoritative account of MI6's people, development, operations and its central place in the British government during the first forty years of its existence. It gives a unique insight into the role and significance of intelligence in the modern world."
Queen's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Gregson, said: "I congratulate Keith on this seminal work. It is a huge accolade for Queen's that one of our academics was selected to write a history of such high national importance. Keith's selection by MI6 to complete this groundbreaking piece of work reflects his unrivalled reputation as one of the UK's leading historians, and Queen's as a world leader in History."
At the Queen's University event on Thursday, Professor Jeffery will be joined by historian, journalist and Whitehall commentator Professor Peter Hennessy. Professor Hennessy will share his thoughts on the much awaited book, which follows the Secret Intelligence Service's operations all over the world.
It also highlights the agency's activities in Ireland, where it tracked Irish republicans during the First World War and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to keep tabs on De Valera's government in Dublin from the late 1930's.
Among the stories recounted by Professor Jeffery is that of Queen's graduate and former Unionist MP, Harford Montgomery Hyde, who worked for Sir William Stephenson, the Service's Chief in New York, during the Second World War.
MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949 is available from The Bookshop at Queen's.
For more information on Queen's School of History and Anthropology visit www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofHistoryandAnthropology
Media inquiries to Queen's University Communications Office +44 (0)28 9097 3087/3091or comms.office@qub.ac.uk
Inquiries and interview bids on Tuesday 21 September should be directed to Paul Sykes at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on +44 (0)20 7008 0912, mobile: +44 (0)7786694931 or p.sykes@fco.gov.uk
Notes to editors:
1. Keith Jeffery is available for interview at the book launch, which will take place in the Canada Room at Queen's University on Thursday 23 September at 6pm. Media opportunities from 5.30pm. Media who wish to attend this event and place interview bids should contact Anne-Marie Clarke on +44 (0)28 9097 5320, +44 (0)7814 415451 or anne-marie.clarke@qub.ac.uk
2. The launch at Queen's follows the book's official publication in London on Tuesday 21 September. Inquiries and interview bids on Tuesday 21 September should be directed to Paul Sykes at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on +44 (0)20 7008 0912, mobile: +44 (0)7786694931 or p.sykes@fco.gov.uk
3. A photo of Keith Jeffery is available on request from Queen's Communications Office on +44 (0)28 9097 3087/3091or comms.office@qub.ac.uk
4. MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949 is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and Penguin in the USA. For specific inquiries about the book, or to request a media copy, please contact Katie Bond at Bloomsbury Katie.bond@bloomsbury.com
5. Keith Jeffery was educated in Ireland, the USA and Cambridge (St John’s College), where he won the Prince Consort Prize and Seeley Medal. In 2005 he came to Queen’s, after teaching at the Ulster Polytechnic and the University of Ulster for over twenty years. From 1988 to 1997 he was joint-editor of Irish Historical Studies, and is currently chair of the journal’s board of directors. In 1997–98 he was a visiting fellow at the Australian National University and the Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales. In 1998 he was Lees Knowles Lecturer in Military Science at Trinity College Cambridge and, in 2003–04, Parnell Fellow in Irish Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 2004 he was also a visiting research fellow at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. He gave the Phillimore Lecture at the British Library in 2003, the Stout Lecture at Victoria University, Wellington, in 2004, and the fourth annual Centre for Intelligence and International Secur ity Studies Lecture at Aberystwyth in 2006. He was awarded the Templer Medal from the Society for Army Historical Research in 2007 for the best book of the year (his biography of Sir Henry Wilson) on British Military History. For more information visit http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofHistoryandAnthropology/Staff/AcademicStaff/ProfessorKeithJeffery/