Sir Fitzroy Hew Royle Maclean, 1st Baronet (11 March 1911 – 15 June 1996), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, writer and politician. A Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) from 1941 to 1974 Maclean was one of only two soldiers who during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

enlisted in the

as a private and rose to the rank of

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

, the other being future fellow Conservative MP Enoch Powell. Maclean wrote several books, including '' Eastern Approaches'', in which he recounted three extraordinary series of adventures: travelling, often incognito, in Soviet

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

; fighting in the

Western Desert campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

, where he specialised in

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

raids behind enemy lines; and living rough with

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

and his

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

while commanding the Maclean Mission there. It has been widely speculated that

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

used Maclean as one of his inspirations for James Bond.

Early life

Maclean was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

to Major Charles Wilberforce Maclean (1875–1953), a member of the Scottish minor nobility serving in Egypt with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, and Frances Elaine Gladys Royle (1882–1954), the only daughter of George Royle, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and Fannie Jane Longueville Snow, who wed on 12 July 1905 at St George's Church, Hanover Square, London.

Background and education

Maclean was descended from the Macleans of Ardgour, a sept of the

Clan Maclean Clan Maclean (; Scottish Gaelic: ' ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highlands Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early Macle ...

, whose chiefs have as their historic seat Duart Castle on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

in the Inner Hebrides. Brought up in Italy, Maclean was educated at Eton before going up to King's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he read Classics and History. He then studied in Germany before joining HM Diplomatic Service in 1933.

In the Soviet Union

In 1934 Fitzroy Maclean was posted to the British Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Bored with the pleasant but undemanding routine, he requested a posting to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1937. The two and a half years he spent in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

formed the first third of his best-known book, the autobiographical '' Eastern Approaches''. Maclean was in Moscow until late 1939, and was present during the great Stalinist purges, observing the fates of Bukharin and other Russian revolutionaries. Although he was stationed in the capital, Maclean travelled extensively, primarily by train, into remote regions of the USSR which were off limits to foreigners, and was shadowed by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

as he did so.

Second World War

When the

broke out in 1939, Maclean was prevented from joining the military because of his position as a diplomat: he was

Second Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

in the Foreign Office. Therefore, he resigned from the Diplomatic Service "to go into politics". After tendering his resignation he immediately took a taxi to the nearest recruiting office and enlisted as a Private in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. He was soon promoted to

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

before being commissioned in 1941. In that year he became the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for Lancaster. In

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

in 1942, Maclean distinguished himself in the early actions of the newly-formed

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

(SAS), where, with Ralph A. Bagnold, he developed ways of driving vehicles over the

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n sand "seas". Maclean was a practitioner in the T. E. Lawrence brand of fighting, and he reported directly to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. A letter of introduction from David Stirling said of him at the end of this period: "He has done well on our raids. Don't be taken in by his rather pompous manner or his slow way of speaking – he is OK."

Persia and Iraq

Later that year Maclean transferred to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

as part of the Persia and Iraq Command. He was "allotted a platoon of

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

and instructed to kidnap" General Fazlollah Zahedi, the commander of the Persian forces in the

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

area. Maclean captured him and smuggled him out by plane to internment in mandatory Palestine. This incident soon led

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's government to withdraw support from its network in Persia.

Yugoslavia

Churchill chose Maclean to lead a liaison mission (Macmis) to central

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in 1943.

and his Partisans were emerging as a major obstacle to German control of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. Little was known at the time about Tito: some suspected this was an acronym for a committee or that he might in fact be a young woman. Maclean got to know Tito well, and later produced two biographies of him. Maclean's relationship with Tito's Partisans was not always easy, partly because they were

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, while he came from an

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

Scottish background, and had witnessed

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

in action (see above). As Churchill personally told him, Maclean's mission was not to concern himself with how Yugoslavia was to be run after the war, but "simply to find out who was killing the most Germans and suggest means by which we could help them to kill more." In 1944, together with Tito, Maclean planned and implemented Operation Ratweek. It was a major Allied bombing campaign in collaboration with the local Partisan troops in order to prevent German troops retreating back and reinforcing those in central and western Europe, thus prolonging the war. His biography of Tito reveals the admiration he held for the Yugoslav leader and the Yugoslav Communist-led anti-fascist struggle. He developed a great affection for Yugoslavia and its people and was later given permission to buy a house on the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n island of Korčula, Croatia. Having been appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1944, Maclean received the Order of Kutuzov (

) (which impressed the Soviet troops in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

), and after the war the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), and the Partisan Star (

). Promoted to the rank of

during the War, Maclean was accorded the local rank of major general on 16 June 1947.

Later life

Maclean was elected as

Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster in the 1941 by-election. He was re-elected from Lancaster in 1945, 1950, 1951, and 1955. He served briefly as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1954 to 1957.

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

regretted losing him, "but he is really so hopeless in the House that he is a passenger in office... a great pity, since he is so able." OMH Foundation Stone

On 9 July 1949, Maclean laid the foundation stone of the Overton & District Memorial Hall in his Lancaster constituency, where he was president of the committee that had raised the money to purchase the land and build it. At the 1959 general election Maclean switched constituencies to Bute and North Ayrshire, where he was elected as a Unionist. He was re-elected as a Unionist in 1964, and as a Conservative in 1966 and 1970. He retired at the February 1974 general election. In his last two years, Maclean was appointed as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...

. Maclean was Executive Chairman (1959–1970) and later President (1977–1987) of the GB-USSR Association. The Association, funded by the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

CO was a semi-official organization for cultural relations with the Soviet Union. He was mooted as a secret envoy to the government of Yugoslavia following the attempted assassination of Croatian dissident Nikola Štedul in Scotland in 1988. In retirement Maclean wrote extensively. His wide range of subjects included:

Scottish history The recorded history of Scotland begins with the Scotland during the Roman Empire, arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the Roman province, province of Roman Britain, Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. No ...

, biographies (including Tito and Burgess), a Russian trilogy and assorted works of fiction. He also contributed to other books, for example writing the foreword to a 1984 biography of Joseph Wolff, the so-called "Eccentric Missionary" in whose footsteps he had travelled to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

almost half a century before. Sir Fitzroy and Lady Maclean managed a hotel at Strachur and in 1964 he commissioned his wartime friend, fellow commando and yacht designer Alfred Mylne the Younger, to build the motor yacht ''Judi of Bute'' for use around the West Coast of Scotland. Maclean was Patron of Strachur and District Shinty Club. He collected an extensive library, including a full set of early editions of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, which sold in September 2008 for £26,000. In the late 1960s, Maclean bought Palazzo Boschi, a villa on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

island of Korčula (present-day Croatia), where he spent a good part of each year. Yugoslav legislation at the time barred foreigners from buying real-estate property, but Tito intervened to allow Maclean to do so. The town of Korčula was declared a free city, and the Macleans were declared citizens; as soon as the purchase was registered with city authorities, the free city status was revoked. In 1991, during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

, Maclean and his wife delivered medical supplies to the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

, with a substantial contribution from the people of Rothesay and

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

Marriage

Maclean married the Hon. Veronica ''Nell'' Fraser-Phipps (1920–2005), a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, in 1946. She was a daughter of Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat, and widow of naval officer, Lieutenant Alan Phipps, who was killed ashore at Leros in 1943. Sir Fitzroy and Lady Maclean had two sons, and he was also stepfather to his wife's children from her first marriage: Major-General Jeremy Phipps and Suki Marlowe.

Honours

Among the many

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

s bestowed upon Sir Fitzroy Maclean were: *

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

(1957) * Knight of the Thistle (1994) * CBE (1944) ** 15th Hereditary Keeper and Captain of Dunconnel Castle (1981).

Death

Sir Fitzroy Maclean died on 15 June 1996, aged 85 in Offley, Hitchin, England. He was succeeded in the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

by his elder son,

the Much Honoured The Much Honoured (abbreviated to The Much Hon.) is an honorific Style (form of address), style applied to various nobles in Scotland, including Scots barons. Overview There were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early ...

Sir Charles Maclean, Baron of Strachur, and 16th Hereditar Keeper and Captain of Dunconnel in the Isles of The Sea.

Legacy

Maclean was posthumously awarded the Order of Prince Branimir for the humanitarian aid to Croatia, as well as contributing to international affirmation of Croatia. The decoration was presented by the Croatian President

Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatia, Croatian lawyer and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minis ...

in December 2001. Maclean may have been one of the models for Ian Fleming's character

Styles and honours

* Fitzroy Maclean, Esq (1911–41) * Fitzroy Maclean, MP (1941–44) * Fitzroy Maclean, CBE, MP (1944–57) * Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Strachur and Glensluian, Bt, CBE, MP (1957–74) * Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Strachur and Glensluian, Bt, CBE (1974–81) * Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Dunconnel, Bt, CBE (1981–94) * Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Dunconnel, Bt, KT, CBE (1994–96)

Bibliography

* '' Eastern Approaches'', 1949 * Also published as ''Disputed Barricade: the life and times of Josip Broz-Tito, Marshal of Yugoslavia'', 1957 * ''A Person from England and Other Travellers'', 1958 * ''Back to Bokhara'', 1959 * ''Yugoslavia'', 1969 * ''Concise History of Scotland'', 1970 * ''The Battle of Neretva'', 1970 * ''The Back of Beyond: an illustrated companion to Central Asia and Mongolia'', 1974 * ''To Causasus'', 1976 * ''Holy Russia'', 1978 * ''Take Nine Spies'', 1978 * ''Tito'', 1980 * ''Josip Broz Tito: A Pictorial Biography'', 1980 * ''The Isles of the Sea'', 1985 * ''Portrait of the Soviet Union'', 1988 * ''Bonnie Prince Charlie'', 1988 * ''All the Russias'', 1992 * ''Highlanders: A History of the Scottish Clans'', 1995

Biographies

* Maclean, Veronica (2002) ''Past Forgetting: a memoir of heroes, adventure, love and life with Fitzroy Maclean''. London: Review . * McLynn, Frank (1992) ''Fitzroy Maclean''. London: John Murray .

References

External links

*
Sir Fitzroy, the original James Bond, is dead

Scots adventurer was never a spy, reveals widow

Information on the latter part of his life, including running the Highland hotel.
''Times'' obituary of Veronica Lady Maclean
"Well-connected writer, traveller, restaurateur and devotee of the Scottish Highlands and Yugoslavia." On their marriage.

Allan Massie reviews ''Past Forgetting'' by Veronica Maclean.
A Guide to the Papers of Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1827–1996
Maclean's family and personal papers are held at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Fitzroy 1911 births 1996 deaths Fitzroy 201 Nobility from Argyll and Bute People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Scottish diplomats British Army brigadiers of World War II British historians of World War II Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders soldiers Special Air Service officers British Army major generals Knights of the Thistle Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) 20th-century Scottish writers Writers about the Soviet Union Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 Scottish Conservative MPs Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Scottish generals 20th-century Scottish historians