Eric Edward Boketon Holt-Wilson

Brigadier Sir Eric Edward Boketon Holt-Wilson CMG DSO (26 August 1875 – 26 March 1950) was a British Army officer who left the army to join the nascent British Security Service (MI5), which developed in time to deal with espionage during World War I. He became the Service's deputy to Sir Vernon Kell, serving through to the beginning of World War II.

Brigadier Sir

Eric Edward Boketon Holt-Wilson

CMG DSO
Born26 August 1875
Norwich
Died26 March 1950(1950-03-26) (aged 74)
NationalityBritish
OccupationIntelligence officer, soldier
AwardsCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Espionage activity
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service branchMI5
Service years1912–1940
RankDeputy Director of MI5
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1895-1912
RankCaptain then Honorary Brigadier
UnitRoyal Engineers
Battles/warsBoer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Bachelor
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
French Legion of Honour
Officer Order of the Crown of Belgium

Family life

Born in Norwich, Norfolk, in 1875, Holt-Wilson was the son of Reverend Thomas Holt-Wilson and his wife Helen Emily Greene, daughter of Edward Greene.[1] He was educated at Harrow School from 1887 to 1892.[2]

He was married twice, firstly to Susannah Mary Shaw in 1903 and secondly Audrey Stirling in 1931.[3]

Military service

Holt-Wilson took a commission in the Royal Engineers and then attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (1893-95). On being commissioned after his time at Woolwich he joined 7 Field Regiment, Royal Engineers and was posted to South Africa 1899-1902. On returning from overseas service he became an instructor at the School of Military Engineering, 1903-1906. This was followed by a tour of duty as Cadet Company Commander and Instructor in Military Engineering back at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, 1909-1912;[4] this was his last military posting before joining the Imperial Security Intelligence Service.[5]

His war service in South Africa was excellent and he was mentioned in despatches twice in 8 February and 10 September 1901. He received the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps and the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps;[6] and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 27 September 1901: "In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa."[7]

Intelligence service

Rising public fears in Great Britain of German espionage precipitated the creation of a new government intelligence agency formed by Vernon Kell in 1909.[8] In 1912 Holt-Wilson went to work for Vernon Kell, then the Director of what was termed the Home Section of the Secret Service Bureau with responsibility for investigating espionage, sabotage and subversion in Britain.[9]

Holt-Wilson served on the Imperial General Staff from 1914 to 1924.[10] He remained a loyal and dedicated deputy to Kell and was sacked along with his director by Winston Churchill in 1940.[11]

Honours

Holt-Wilson was awarded the following orders and decorations:

See also

Footnotes
  1. Ranieval, The Marquis of Ruvigny and (May 2013). The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Mortimer-Percy Volume. Heritage Books. ISBN 9780788418723. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  2. "Holt-Wilson, Sir Eric Edward Boketon (1875-1950) Knight, Brigadier and intelligencer - cudl-atom". archive.lib.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  3. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  4. "Quarterly Army List, Captains on Retired Pay 1916". Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  5. "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : HOLT-WILSON, Brig Sir Eric Edward Boketon (1875-1950)". www.kingscollections.org. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  6. "British and Colonial Awards". angloboerwar.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  7. "Page 243 - The-VC-and-DSO-Volume-II". lib.militaryarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  8. Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of Mi5 (London, 2009), p.21.
  9. "Eric Holt-Wilson". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  10. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929–30). Armorial Families. 2 (7th ed.). London: Hurst & Blackett. p. 2017.
  11. Northcott, Chris (19 June 2015). MI5 at War 1909-1918: How MI5 Foiled the Spies of the Kaiser in the First World War. Tattered Flag. ISBN 9780957689282. Retrieved 3 November 2018.

Other references
  • Intelligence and Imperial Defence: British Intelligence and the Defence of the British Empire, by Richard James Popplewell, 1995
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