Sir David Petrie (9 September 1879 – 7 August 1961) was Director General (DG) of MI5, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's internal security service, from 1941 to 1946.The Times, ''Obituary'', 8 August 1961

Biography

Petrie worked in the

Indian Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Imperial Police or simply the Indian Police or, by 1905, Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British Raj, as established by ...

between 1900 and 1936. His highest level in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

was to chair the

Union Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission ( ISO: ), commonly abbreviated as UPSC, is India's premier central recruitment agency for recruitment of all the Group 'A' officers under Government of India. It is responsible for appointments to and exam ...

. In April 1941, he was appointed Director General of MI5. His task was to reorganise the service so that it could improve its efficiency. In the spring of 1946, Petrie retired. He was awarded Order of the Yugoslav Crown and other decorations.

References

Notes

Sources

* R. Popplewell, ''Intelligence and imperial defence: British intelligence and the defence of the Indian empire, 1904–1924'', 1995, * F. H. Hinsley and C. A. G. Simkins, ''British intelligence in the Second World War, 4: Security and counter-intelligence'', 1990 * D. Petrie, ''Communism in India, 1924–27'', 1972 * T. Bower, ''The perfect English spy: Sir Dick White and the secret war, 1935–90'', 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, David 1879 births 1961 deaths Directors General of MI5 Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Indian Police Service officers in British India Intelligence Corps officers British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine People from Banffshire Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Colonial recipients of the Queen's Police Medal category:Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown