Major Sir Desmond Morton (13 November 1891 – 31 July 1971) was a British military officer and government official. Morton played an important role in organizing opposition to appeasement of Germany under

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

during the period prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by providing

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

information about German re-armament to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

. At this time Churchill did not have any position in the government. In 1940 Morton was Churchill's personal assistant when he became prime minister.

Early years in military service

Morton joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1911. He saw action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was shot in the heart at the Battle of Arras in 1917. However, he survived and recovered, serving again with the bullet still inside. He served as aide de camp to Sir

Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

, commander of the British Expeditionary Force from 1917 to 1918. He looked after the Minister of Munitions on several trips to the front during the war.

Civil Service

He was seconded to the Foreign Office in 1919 where he was head of the Secret Intelligence Service's Section V, dealing with counter-Bolshevism in the mid-1920s. In 1924 he was transferred by Churchill to the War Office and, was Head of the Industrial Intelligence Centre of the Committee of Imperial Defence from 1929 to 1939, responsible for providing intelligence on the plans and capabilities for manufacturing

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

in other countries. From 1930 to 1939 he was also a member of the CID sub-committee on Economic Warfare. From 1929, as he "found himself idle much of the time" he assisted Churchill who was writing his history of the Great War, '' The World Crisis''. During 1930s he leaked documents and material information to bolster Churchill's fight against the rise of Fascism in Europe. Morton claimed that he had tacit approval by successive Prime Ministers, MacDonald, Baldwin and Chamberlain for this secret activity, but the evidence for this is unfounded because witness statements have not come forward. Morton lived only one mile away from Chartwell where he would walk across the fields to divulge his information to Churchill.Jenkins, pp.479-80

World War Two and post war

In 1939, he became the Principal Assistant Secretary at the

Ministry of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive and the Ministry of Economic Warfare. See also * Blockade of Germany (193 ...

, and became Churchill's Personal Assistant at no.10 Downing Street in 1940. Morton used to handle Ultra codes from Bletchley Park, as important messages were sent directly to the Prime Minister's Office. Later in the war these informal arrangements fell away to be replaced by a more structured bureaucracy, and with it Morton's influence declined. He served on the UN's Economic Survey Mission for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

in 1949, and served in the Ministry of Civil Aviation from 1950 to 1953.

Honours and film portrayal

He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in 1917, and a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

in 1945. Morton was portrayed by

Moray Watson Moray Robin Philip Adrian Watson (25 June 1928 – 2 May 2017) was an English actor from Sunningdale, Berkshire. Life Watson was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to Gerard Arthur Watson (1901–1940), a ship broker, who was killed during World ...

in the 1981 mini-series '' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' and by Jim Broadbent in the 2002 film '' The Gathering Storm''.

Early years in military service

Civil Service

World War Two and post war

Honours and film portrayal

See also

References

Further reading