Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Hugh Bertie Campbell Pollard (born London 6 January 1888: died Midhurst district March, 1966) was an author, journalist, adventurer, firearms expert, and a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

SOE officer. He is chiefly known for his intelligence work during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and for the events of July 1936, when he and

Cecil Bebb Captain Cecil William Henry Bebb (27 September 1905 – 29 March 2002) was a British commercial pilot and later airline executive, notable for flying General Francisco Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco in 1936, a journey whic ...

flew

General Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, thereby helping to trigger the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. He served his country in both World Wars and was the author of many published works on weaponry, in particular on sporting firearms.

Early life

Hugh Bertie Campbell Pollard was born in London on 6 January 1888, the son of the physician Joseph Pollard.Pollard at frontiersmenhistorian.info
Retrieved 15 November 2020 At nine years of age he was sent to

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

as a day boy, but spent much of his time on his grandfather's estate in Hertfordshire, where he became an expert shot and first developed what became a lifelong interest in hunting and firearms. At fifteen years of age he left Westminster and joined the engineering firm

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

. Until 1908 he attended the

Crystal Palace School Crystal Palace School of Art, Science, and Literature, also known as Crystal Palace Company's School of Art, (1854–1936) was opened in 1854 by the Crystal Palace Company as a new enterprise, to occupy part of its buildings when it re-erected t ...

of Practical Engineering.

Career

Activities in Morocco and Mexico

In 1908 Pollard joined the Redmond-Hardwick exploration syndicate in Morocco, where he participated in the revolution in Morocco which deposed the Sultan Abdelaziz and replaced him with his brother Abd al-Hafid. He returned to England in 1909, where he took a

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

course. In 1911 he travelled to

Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of ...

, a remote corner of Mexico in the state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, where he engaged in a number of adventures (as narrated by himself), including a risky mission to collect rent from a remote coffee plantation, and the shooting of much wild game. Along the way he became fluent in Spanish. He also became involved in the escape of

Porfirio Diaz Porfirio is a given name in Spanish, derived from the Greek Porphyry (''porphyrios'' "purple-clad"). It can refer to: * Porfirio Salinas – Mexican-American artist * Porfirio Armando Betancourt – Honduran football player * Porfirio Barba-Jac ...

from Mexico. His recollections of these adventures were published in 1913 in his memoir (the first of many books) titled ''"A Busy Time in Mexico - An Unconventional Record of a Mexican Incident"''. Pollard wrote that, in Mexico, "the people in the next village , or over the next mountain, or in the next state, are inevitably evildoers, murderers, and bandits." Returning to London, Pollard was commissioned as an officer into the Territorial Army in May 1912. At the same time he began his career as a journalist, serving as assistant editor of ''The Cinema'', editor of ''The Territorial Monthly'' and technical editor of ''The Autocycle''. He also became a correspondent for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

''.

World War I

When

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 ...

broke out Pollard was mobilised as officer of despatch riders in London, and in November 1914 he was seconded to the Intelligence Corps as a staff lieutenant. Pollard served during both the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...

and

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

, both bloody and strategically inconclusive. Blown off his motorcycle and wounded, he was invalided home, and granted five months home leave to recuperate. During this time he worked for his new father-in-law, James Gibbons, at his engineering factory in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

managing the production of

hand grenades A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...

. He continued to write, producing ''The Story of Ypres'', a well-received account of the battles. At around this time Pollard began his

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

-writing career for

Wellington House Wellington House is the more common name for Britain's War Propaganda Bureau, which operated during the First World War from Wellington House, a building on Buckingham Gate, London, which was the headquarters of the National Insurance Commission bef ...

, by inventing a “Phantom Russian Army” which was allegedly travelling by train from Scotland to support the British Expeditionary Force; a story which was even given credence by ''The New York Times''. Pollard also invented an anti-German

atrocity propaganda Atrocity propaganda is the spreading of information about the crimes committed by an enemy, which can be factual, but often includes or features deliberate fabrications or exaggerations. This can involve photographs, videos, illustrations, intervie ...

story about “ corpse factories”, in which the Government of the

Second Reich The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

was said to be melting down corpses to make margarine. As a result of his creativity, Pollard found himself recruited by

MI7 MI7 was a branch of the British War Office’s Directorate of Military Intelligence with responsibilities for press liaison and propaganda. The branch was originally established in the First World War and disbanded after the signing of the Ar ...

. By this time Pollard had become a noted firearms expert, and in 1917 he published another book: ''The Book of the Pistol and Revolver''.

Ireland 1919–1921

After the War, Pollard was sent to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

in Ireland as an Intelligence officer. During the

(1919–1921), Pollard was Press Officer of the Information Section of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

(RIC). Together with the Section secretary,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William Darling, he produced the ''Weekly Summary'', a weekly newspaper distributed to the police forces in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was also directly involved in two particularly bungled attempts at '

black propaganda Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propaganda ...

'. One was the attempt to produce and distribute a fake version of the ''

Irish Bulletin The ''Irish Bulletin'' was the official gazette of the government of the Irish Republic. It was produced by the Department of Propaganda during the Irish War of Independence. and its offices were originally located at No. 6 Harcourt Street, Dubl ...

'', the gazette of the

Irish Republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

s. The fraud was quickly exposed and the reliability of information emanating from Crown sources in Ireland severely damaged. A second incident involved the bizarre attempt to fake a military engagement in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

(reported as the 'Battle of Tralee'). The press-release included photographs of the purported scene of the battle. These were republished in a number of Irish and English papers before the actual location was identified as Vico Road in

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

, a quiet seaside

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

suburb. The entire event had been staged by Pollard and Captain Garro-Jones, a colleague of Major

Cecil Street Cecil John Charles Street (3 May 1884 – 8 December 1964), who was known to his colleagues, family and friends as John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British Army. During the course of World War I, he became a ...

, and was without foundation. In December 1920 in the House of Commons, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

denied any knowledge of these pictures or the circumstances in which they were produced. Following the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

, Pollard recorded his interpretation of the history of

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

organisations in ''Secret Societies of Ireland, Their Rise and Progress''. He alleged that the

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. ...

Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...

, had been assassinated by the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

(IRB), rather than by forces acting for the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

Spanish Civil War

Pollard was a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and a supporter of the conservative side in Spain in the years leading up to the

. He and

played an important role in the events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities. Pollard was described by the Nationalist volunteer Peter Kemp as being "one of those romantic Englishmen who specialise in other countries' revolutions".Kemp, Peter, ''Mine Were of Trouble, a Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War'', p16 During lunch at

Simpson's-in-the-Strand Simpson's-in-the-Strand is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants. Situated in the Strand, it is part of the Savoy Buildings, which also contain one of the world's most famous hotels, the Savoy. The restaurant has been "temp ...

Douglas Francis Jerrold Douglas Francis Jerrold (Scarborough 3 August 1893 – 1964) was a British journalist and publisher. As editor of ''The English Review'' from 1931 to 1935, he was a vocal supporter of fascism in Italy and of Francoist Spain. He was personally in ...

, the conservative

editor of the ''

English Review ''The English Review'' was an English-language literary magazine published in London from 1908 to 1937. At its peak, the journal published some of the leading writers of its day. History The magazine was started by 1908 by Ford Madox Hueffer (la ...

'' (and also a British intelligence officer), met with the journalist

Luis Bolín Luis Antonio Bolín Bidwell (1894 Málaga – 3 September 1969) was a Spanish lawyer, journalist and an expert in tour operating. This led to his appointment as Head of the National Union of Catering and Allied Attorney in Parliament during the fi ...

, London correspondent of the monarchist and right wing newspaper ''ABC'' and later Franco's senior press advisor. They conceived a plan to move

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

from the

Spanish Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, where the Army of Africa was stationed. The Madrid government recognised that Franco was a danger to the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

, and had sent him to the Canaries to keep him away from political intrigue. If a Spanish plane flew to the islands, the authorities would most likely be alerted, but a British aircraft would attract little or no attention. Bolin asked Jerrold to find "two blondes and a trustworthy fellow" to carry out the mission, to make the group look like tourists. Jerrold rang Pollard from the restaurant (Pollard was fluent in Spanish) and asked him if he could be ready to fly to Africa the following day, with two women as "cover"; Pollard, an anti-Communist who regarded it as "the duty of a good Catholic to help fellow Catholics in trouble", replied: "depends on the girls". Pollard was persuaded by Jerrold and Bolin to join the enterprise and he recruited his daughter Diana and her friend Dorothy Watson to accompany him.Alpert, Michael. ''A New International History of the Spanish Civil War'', p.18
Retrieved January 2012 The group charted a

de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...

aircraft, piloted by

, which flew out of

Croydon airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, at 07.15 on the morning of July 11, 1936, bound for the Canaries. Pollard and Bebb delivered Franco to Tetuan on July 19, and the General quickly set about organising Spanish Moroccan troops to participate in the coming coup. It is possible that British intelligence services may have been complicit in the flight. However it is not clear yet how much the British government knew or was involved in these activities, or if the Britons involved were in fact acting on their own. Britain remained officially neutral during the Spanish Civil War.Macklin
Retrieved November 2012 The adventure earned Pollard the sobriquet The ''Spanish Pimpernel'' from

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

. After the war, in 1958, Pollard and his companions were personally decorated by General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, who awarded all four the Knights Cross of the Imperial Order of the

Yoke and arrows A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, ...

. Pollard continued to support the Nationalist cause. In 1937, after the

bombing of Guernica On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's ...

, Pollard wrote a letter to The Times suggesting that Guernica was a "perfectly legitimate target", being a centre of small arms manufacture, one which supplied weapons to terrorists. Pollard argued that The Basques who supported the Spanish Republic were "simply reaping what they have sown".

World War II

When war broke out in 1939, Pollard briefly fell under suspicion for fascist sympathies. In December 1939 West Sussex police raided the Kent flat of Nora Dacre-Fox, whom MI5 suspected of being a fascist sympathiser. During the search, police discovered Pollard's name in her address book. Pollard was to be arrested, but

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...

instructed their regional liaison officer in Kent to "lay off" Pollard. On 31 January 1940

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

appointed Pollard head of the semi-autonomous "Section D" in Madrid . Section D was officially a sub-division of MI6, tasked with engaging in clandestine sabotage in Europe. In May 1940 Pollard was involved in a short-lived and unsuccessful plot to restore King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

to the Spanish throne, in order to reduce German and Italian influence over the Franco regime. Pollard travelled to

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...

, Portugal in 1940 where he was involved in smuggling around three hundred Republican

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

s, still in their packing crates, back to England. Of this adventure, Pollard wrote that he was “rather a good pirate in the best English tradition”. However, by this time confidence in Pollard was waning; he had acquired a reputation for being "most indiscreet", and he left Section D later that year. Pollard spent much of the rest of the war at the Inspectorate of Armaments at the Woolwich Arsenal. In Pollard's file, a letter from one Colonel Jeffries, the Commandant of the Intelligence Corps, wrote: “Certain jobs Pollard apparently could do well, but he was definitely unreliable where money and drink was concerned.” As the Allied armies advanced into Germany, Pollard was sent to

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

with the forces of

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

, in technical intelligence on small arms. Here, Pollard removed many weapons before the Russians occupied the area. Later on, he became o.c. Intelligence, Technical, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

where, he had to deal with many looters. Pollard wrote, “in three weeks I stopped all the nonsense...with sawn-off shotguns.” Pollard's personal SOE file was released after the war, revealing him to have been an experienced British intelligence officer.

After the war

After the war Pollard retired to the country, leading a quiet life in Clover Cottage in

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. Pollard listed his hobbies in ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' as "hunting and shooting", and was a member of

Lord Leconfield Baron Leconfield, of Leconfield in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for Col. George Wyndham (1787–1869). He was the eldest illegitimate son and adopted heir of Geo ...

's hunt. He died in 1966, firmly anti-Communist to the end. In the same year he was interviewed by The Guardian, the month before his death, in which he was quoted as saying that Communists "are better put down than anything".

Reputation

Douglas Jerrold Douglas William Jerrold (London 3 January 18038 June 1857 London) was an English dramatist and writer. Biography Jerrold's father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Dougla ...

of ''

The English Review ''The English Review'' was an English-language literary magazine published in London from 1908 to 1937. At its peak, the journal published some of the leading writers of its day. History The magazine was started by 1908 by Ford Madox Hueffer (lat ...

'' said of Pollard that he "looked and behaved like a German Crown Prince and had a habit of letting off revolvers in any office he happened to visit". Jerrold once asked Pollard if he had ever killed anybody; Pollard replied: "never accidentally". The journalist

Macdonald Hastings Douglas Edward Macdonald "Mac" Hastings (6 October 1909 – 4 October 1982), known as Macdonald Hastings, was an English journalist, author and war correspondent. Early life and education Hastings was born in Camberwell, South London, the son o ...

wrote of Pollard that he was "a fascinating person, who probably had a greater impact on events than he cared anybody should know. If you can unravel him you need to know all the tricks of Mr. Smiley and James Bond. I confess that all I know about him is mischief. He was a remarkable man".

Author and firearms expert

Pollard was a much-published expert on firearms, having written the 'small arms' section in the official War Office textbook. His history of the

is still in print today. * ''The Book of the Pistol and Revolver'', London, McBride, Nast & Co., 1917. (Available for web viewin
here
. * ''Automatic Pistols'', London, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, 1920. * ''Shot-Guns; Their History and Development'', London, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, 1923. * ''A History of Firearms'', London, Geoffrey Bles, 1926. * ''The Gun Room Guide'', London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1930. * ''Game Birds and Game Bird Shooting'', Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1936. *
The Story of Ypres
', at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

also *
A Busy Time in Mexico: An Unconventional Record Of a Mexican Incident
', Internet Archive also * ''Fox Hunting - The Mystery Of Scent''''Fox Hunting - The Mystery Of Scent'' at www.amazon.co.uk
Retrieved November 2012 * ''British & American Game-birds'', London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1939 *
The Secret Societies of Ireland, Their Rise and Progress
' Internet Archive (1922) * ''Hard Up on Pegasus'', by Hugh B C Pollard, London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1931. ASIN: B0006ALQ7A *
The keeper's book; a guide to the duties of a gamekeeper
' (1910) with Sir Peter Jeffrey Mackie

References

Alpert, Michael, ''A New international history of the Spanish Civil War''
Retrieved March 6, 2010
King, Harry, ''Going To Live In Spain: a Practical Guide To Enjoying a New Lifestyle In The Sun''
Retrieved March 6, 2010 * Kemp, Peter, ''Mine Were of Trouble, A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War'', Mystery Grove Publishing, London, 1957 * Macklin, Graham D.,
Major Hugh Pollard, MI6, and the Spanish Civil War
', ''

The Historical Journal ''The Historical Journal'', formerly known as ''The Cambridge Historical Journal'', is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. It publishes approximately thirty-five articles per year on all aspects of British, Eu ...

'' (2006), 49:277-280, Cambridge University Press.
Preston, Paul, ''Doves of War: Four Women of Spain''
Retrieved March 6, 2010
Riess, Curt, ''They Were There: The Story of World War II And How It Came About''
Retrieved March 6, 2010 * Riling, Ray, ''Guns and Shooting, a Bibliography,'' New York, Greenberg, 1951 *

Notes

External links

Pollard at Amazon.co.uk
Retrieved March 6, 2010

Retrieved March 6, 2010

Retrieved January 2012
Pollard at frontiersmenhistorian.info
Retrieved 15 November 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Hugh 1888 births 1966 deaths British Combined Intelligence Unit personnel British people of the Spanish Civil War Secret Intelligence Service personnel Royal Irish Constabulary officers People of the Irish War of Independence London Regiment officers British Special Operations Executive personnel Military personnel from London British Army personnel of World War I Police misconduct during the Irish War of Independence