Major Malcolm Grane Ludovic Martin Munthe MC (30 January 1910 – 24 November 1995) was a British soldier, writer, and curator, and son of the Swedish doctor and writer

Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several la ...

and his English second wife Hilda Pennington-Mellor.

Early life and Second World War

Brought up between the Swedish court, Italy, and Britain, where his mother owned two houses,

Hellens Hellens Manor, also known as Hellens House or simply Hellens and located in the village of Much Marcle in Herefordshire is one of the oldest dwellings in England, primarily composed of Tudor, Jacobean and Georgian architecture, but the foundat ...

in Herefordshire and

Southside House Southside House is a historical home located on the south side of Wimbledon Common. It is Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maint ...

in Wimbledon, Malcolm Munthe became a British citizen at the outbreak of

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 opposin ...

in order to fight, since Sweden would be neutral throughout the war. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

, Wimbledon, and abroad. He was assigned to the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

for no other reason than his first name's Scottish roots. Later recruited to the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

, he worked in Scandinavia - both behind enemy lines in

occupied Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

and in neutral Sweden - as a spy and saboteur, blowing up a German munitions train some 70 miles from his own family home in Leksand,

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

. After a harrowing escape, recounted in his wartime memoir ''Sweet is War'', he was put in charge of SOE's activities in Southern Italy, where he participated in the Anzio landings. In Scandinavia, Munthe had established a network of 'Friends' which he called the "Red Horse", in imitation of the Baroness Orczy's ''Scarlet Pimpernel''. In Southern Italy, he took the mimicry further, dressing as a (large) old lady to smuggle a radio transmitter past German lines and coordinate SOE activity in the occupied zone. Munthe was also instrumental in the rescue of liberal philosopher

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...

and his family, held captive in Sorrento, and their flight to Capri where his father Axel Munthe's house

Villa San Michele The Villa San Michele was built about the end of the 19th century on the isle of Capri, Italy, by the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe. Description The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sor ...

provided shelter. Munthe was decorated with 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 i ...

for bravery.

Postwar life

After the war, Munthe continued to work in the military, and became active in social projects (described in his book ''The Bunty Boys''). In 1945, he married the Hon. Ann Felicity Rea (born 15 January 1923), whom he met through her father Philip Russell Rea, 2nd Baron Rea, who was personal staff officer to Brigadier

Colin Gubbins Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War. Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a commando ...

(the Head of SOE), and later leader of the Liberal party in the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

. They had three children, Adam John Munthe (1946 - ), Guy Sebastian Munthe (1948 - 1992) and Katriona Periwinkle Philippa Pennington Munthe-Lindgren (1955 - ). After an abortive attempt at a political career with the Conservative Party, Munthe re-directed his work towards maintaining the family homes in England, Sweden and Italy. He sold his father's remaining properties on Capri (the Villa Materita, inter alia), and bought the

Castello di Lunghezza The Castello di Lunghezza ("Lunghezza Castle") is a medieval fortification situated roughly east of Rome, Italy. It lies in Municipio VIII of Rome, and probably sits on the site of the ancient town of Collatia. History It was constructed in the ...

, a 108-room castle outside Rome. He opened Hildasholm, the property Axel Munthe had built for his wife Hilda in central Sweden, to the public, and did the same for

and

in England under the auspices of the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Charity Trust, now (2007) chaired by his eldest son Adam Munthe. Munthe dedicated his later years to running those properties, and writing, including a history of Hellens, ''Hellen's, Much Marcle, Herefordshire'' and ''Special Forces Club''. Described by Sir

Angus Ogilvy Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (14 September 1928 – 26 December 2004) was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a b ...

as 'the last true English eccentric', he died at Southside House in November 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munthe, Malcolm 1910 births 1995 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Special Operations Executive personnel Gordon Highlanders officers Recipients of the Military Cross English people of Flemish descent English people of Swedish descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom