Jane Sissmore
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Kathleen Maria Margaret Archer ( Sissmore) MBE, known as Jane Sissmore, was the first female officer in Britain's Security Service, MI5, and was still their only woman officer at the time of her dismissal for insubordination in 1940. She had been responsible for investigations into Soviet intelligence and subversion. She then joined the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), but when
Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
, later to be exposed as a
double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...
, became her boss he reduced her investigative work because he feared she might uncover his treachery. In his memoirs, Philby wrote, "After Guy Liddell, Jane was perhaps the ablest professional intelligence officer ever employed by MI5". Following management changes in MI5, she returned there in 1945 or 1946.


Personal life

Jane Sissmore, the daughter of John Edmund Angelo Sissmore and Kathleen Maud Forbes-Smith was born in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
on 11 March 1898 and moved to London in her early childhood with her parents and elder brother. Sissmore became head girl at Princess Helen's College, Ealing and was recruited to MI5 in 1916 as an eighteen-year-old clerk. She has been described as "one of MI5's most remarkable wartime recruits". In her spare time she trained to be a barrister, becoming the fifth woman to be admitted to
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
, and, after obtaining first-class exam results, was called to the bar in 1924. The day before
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 ...
broke out Sissmore, still MI5's only female officer, married Wing Commander John Oliver "Joe" Archer,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, who became the liaison officer between MI5 and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. Jane Archer died in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
in September 1982.


MI5 – clerk and officer

Appointed to
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), G ...
in 1916 as typist/clerk, by 1929 Sissmore had become Controller of the Registry and of women staff. At the time, and until 1940,
Vernon Kell Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in ...
was director of MI5. Sissmore was awarded the MBE in 1923 as an "Administrative Assistant, General Staff, War Office" and in 1929 moved to B Division (investigations and inquiries) where she was in charge of investigating Soviet intelligence and subversion activity. This made her MI5's first woman officer and she was to become what Christopher Andrew has described as a "formidable interrogator". In 1937
Roger Hollis Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...
applied to join MI5 and Kell asked Sissmore to make an informal assessment of him which she did at her tennis club, also involving the then still junior
Dick White Sir Dick Goldsmith White, (20 December 1906 – 21 February 1993) was a British intelligence officer. He was Director General (DG) of MI5 from 1953 to 1956, and Head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 1956 to 1968. Early life Whi ...
. The formal interview panel rejected Hollis but he was nevertheless employed on Kell's decision provided Sissmore took responsibility for him. Thus Hollis became Sissmore's assistant (and went on to become MI5 Director-General in 1956). Jane Archer's 1940 debriefing of
Walter Krivitsky Walter Germanovich Krivitsky (Ва́льтер Ге́рманович Криви́цкий; June 28, 1899 – February 10, 1941) was a Soviet intelligence officer who revealed plans of signing the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact after he defected to ...
was done using the name "Mrs Moore" and it has been described by Christopher Andrew as "the first really professional debriefing of a Soviet Intelligence officer on either side of the Atlantic". Krivitsky had been a Soviet agent in continental Europe who had defected to the West in 1937 and whose revelations in the United States in September 1939 had created a press sensation. In particular from a British point of view he revealed that two Soviet agents were currently working in Britain – the one whose surname he was able to give was quickly identified, tried and convicted of spying. His description of the other agent ( cryptonym ) was more elusive. Archer suggested Krivitsky should be invited to Britain to be interviewed and he agreed to this. The debriefing by Archer took four weeks and, to let Krivitsky feel he was highly valued, at the start she was accompanied by Valentine Vivian, head of counter-espionage at SIS, and Jasper Harker, head of B Division and Archer's boss. Then Archer took over the lead role and elicited a great deal of information. Archer's report (a "masterly analysis" according to Nigel West) was 85 pages long and much of it subsequently became incorporated in an MI5 overall review of Soviet intelligence activity. Krivitsky's disclosures might have made it possible to work out that both Donald Maclean and
Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
were Soviet agents but this opportunity was missed. Andrew argues that the clues were too slight to have been usable. Chapman Pincher considers that Archer and Hollis were at fault but largely absolves Archer because she was almost immediately moved to completely different work. Hollis then filled her old post. Archer's debriefing completely transformed the understanding of the top echelons of MI5 about current Soviet espionage activity in Britain – they now realised it was extensive whereas only a year earlier it had wrongly been thought non-existent. In January 1941 one such Soviet agent Anthony Blunt, who was working within MI5, passed Archer's entire report to his Soviet controller. In October 1940, MI5 moved offices from unlikely temporary premises at
Wormwood Scrubs Prison HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Category B men's local prison, located opposite Hammersmith Hospital and W12 Conferences on Du Cane Road in the White City in West London, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's ...
to the even less likely Blenheim Palace. At a top-level meeting at that venue in November Archer criticised Brigadier Harker, recently appointed acting director of MI5, for incompetence. Harker, who had previously been her head of division, then dismissed her. Concerning this
Guy Liddell Guy Maynard Liddell, CB, CBE, MC (8 November 1892 – 3 December 1958) was a British intelligence officer. Biography Early life and career Liddell was born on 8 November 1892 at 64 Victoria Street, London, the son of Capt. Augustus Frederic ...
, director of counter-espionage, wrote of Harker "but for his incompetence, the situation would never have arisen" but he also thought that Archer had "unfortunately gone too far". Shortly afterwards
David Petrie Sir David Petrie (9 September 1879 – 7 August 1961) was Director General (DG) of MI5, the United Kingdom's internal security service, from 1941 to 1946.The Times, ''Obituary'', 8 August 1961 Biography Petrie worked in the Indian Imperial Po ...
was appointed as the next director general and Harker was made his deputy – indeed Andrew's view is that Harker's dismissal of Archer probably contributed to Harker being put out to grass. For the rest of the war MI5 employed no other women as officers although several did work at this level of seniority.


Secret Intelligence Service

Archer straight away took up a post in the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and was placed in charge of Irish section, within Section V, involved in analysing intelligence about suspect Irish political organisations.
Espionage was not involved but an information service was provided to
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
of "events of political or public interest in Eire" – SIS had become involved because MI5 had refused to take this on. Later during the war, in 1944, Archer transferred to Section IX which was concerned with Soviet and communist counter-intelligence with
Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
as head of section. It was unfortunate for both Archer and SIS that Philby, later to be unmasked as a Soviet "
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
", recognised her considerable abilities. In his memoirs ''My Silent War'' Philby wrote: Philby (who had himself been "the young English journalist") made efforts to guard against the threat of her uncovering his background and his current role as a Soviet agent. He later wrote "Jane would have made a very bad enemy". He therefore sidelined her and gave her the task of analysing intercepted radio traffic from Eastern Europe. Archer's step-daughter Jean Collard has said that after Archer had started expressing suspicions about Philby she was "eased out of the intelligence services". So in 1944 things were not going well for Archer. Liddell wrote in his diary


Return to MI5

Archer was encouraged to move back to MI5 and she was located in C Division which was concerned with
security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...
.Archer had certainly returned to MI5 by November 1946 and her move back was probably earlier in the same year. Andrew in his authorised history of MI5 does not mention Archer returning nor her involvement in any subsequent activities. Other sources are not clear about when she returned. Petrie and Harker retired during 1946 to be replaced by Percy Sillitoe as director general and Liddell as his deputy.
Igor Gouzenko Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (russian: Игорь Сергеевич Гузенко ; January 26, 1919 – June 25, 1982) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, and a lieutenant of the GRU (Main Intelligence Direct ...
, a cipher clerk in Soviet embassy in Ottawa, defected in 1945 with a mass of documents, one of which led to the arrest of
Alan Nunn May Alan Nunn May (sometimes Allan) (2 May 1911 – 12 January 2003) was a British physicist and a confessed and convicted Soviet spy who supplied secrets of British and American atomic research to the Soviet Union during World War II. Early li ...
for spying. Philby recommended that Hollis rather than Archer should be sent to Canada to interview Gouzenko although he knew Archer would be better able to do the job. Agreeing this, MI5 sent Hollis and yet it was Philby at SIS who was apprised of progress and who altered, delayed and omitted messages before passing them on to MI5. By these means, Philby stopped Archer from having any involvement in the case. In 1947 Klaus Fuchs was
vetted Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award, or doing fact-checking prior to making any decision. In addition, in intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine th ...
by MI5 for work at Harwell on the British post-war atomic project. MI5 had only been informed that Fuchs was to do "Atomic Energy work of extreme importance", not that Britain was starting an independent atomic bomb development programme. C Division considered he should be removed from such work but B Division (counter-espionage) supported giving security clearance because of weak evidence against him and strong scientific references. Archer wrote a memo advising that the Atomic Energy Directorate should be warned that "Fuchs is a possible Russian agent ... ho... should be divorced from all contact with atomic energy". However, B Division's view prevailed. In 1949, in the aftermath of the test explosion of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb, new United States Venona decrypts led the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
to conclude that Fuchs had been a spy on the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
and, although subsequent MI5 surveillance produced little evidence of his still being a spy, Fuchs confessed to espionage in both countries and he was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment. Archer also recommended that
Rudolf Peierls Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, (; ; 5 June 1907 – 19 September 1995) was a German-born British physicist who played a major role in Tube Alloys, Britain's nuclear weapon programme, as well as the subsequent Manhattan Project, the combined Allie ...
should not be allowed to continue as a consultant to Harwell but he went on to have a highly distinguished scientific career. Archer was involved in following up further leads from the Venona decryption being carried out in the US at
Arlington Hall Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia, originally a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during Wor ...
. Early in 1951 MI5 were told that Krivitsky's was actually Donald Maclean and they investigated him to try to find evidence that could be used in court.Maclean worked in the Foreign Office. On account of his position in SIS Philby was kept apprised and so, as well as warning Moscow, he invented a pretext for requiring
Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...
, who was with Philby at the embassy in Washington, to be recalled to London so he could warn Maclean.Burgess had worked in the Foreign Office and was posted at the British embassy in Washington, D.C. when Philby arranged for his recall. A few days before Maclean was due to be arrested he and Burgess absconded to Russia. Burgess had not been under serious suspicion but the idea that the men had been warned led MI5 to suspect Philby for the first time. Archer and Arthur Martin were asked to compile a résumé of Philby's past – the coincidence with the "young English journalist" was noticed and Archer uncovered a slim MI5 file on him dating back to 1939. Presented with MI5's evidence and under pressure from Washington, the head of SIS still did not doubt Philby's loyalty but asked him to retire with a golden handshake.Philby eventually fled to Russia in 1963. In 1952, while examining the papers left in Burgess's flat, Archer found documents describing secret meetings that were then discovered to have been written by
John Cairncross John Cairncross (25 July 1913 – 8 October 1995) was a British civil servant who became an intelligence officer and spy during the Second World War. As a Soviet double agent, he passed to the Soviet Union the raw Tunny decryptions that influ ...
.Cairncross had worked at
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years followin ...
.
Cairncross was tailed going to a meeting with his controller, Yuri Modin, but the actual meeting did not take place when the controller spotted the surveillance. Although Cairncross would not fully admit he was a spy, he was forced to resign and he moved to the United States. In the 1960s Peter Wright and Arthur Martin conducted their own private enquiry into whether Hollis, director of MI5 or Graham Mitchell, deputy director, were traitors.This was quite separate from an official investigation () going on at the same time about MI5 penetration. In ''Spycatcher'', Wright says that Martin interviewed Archer and that later when Wright spoke to her she said she considered both men unreliable but suggested Hollis was more likely to be a spy. However, Christopher Andrew comments on an anecdote about Anthony Blunt


Notes


References


Citations


Works cited

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Further reading


History of MI5 on its own website
at the National Archives.
Security Service records at the National Archives
*
Krivitsky debriefing records
at the National Archives
Secret Intelligence Service records
at National Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sissmore, Jane MI5 personnel Secret Intelligence Service personnel Members of the Order of the British Empire 1898 births 1982 deaths