Brigadier Sir Richard Gambier-Parry, KCMG (20 January 1894 – 19 June 1965).

Second World War – Bletchley Park.

In April 1938, prior to the onset of the Second World War, Gambier-Parry was recruited by Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Sinclair, previously the Director of British Naval Intelligence, had succeeded Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming as head of the SIS, also known as MI6. The Radio Section was established in 1938 upon Gambier-Parry’s appointment; he was to oversee a thorough modernisation of the radio capability of the Secret Intelligence Service. The Radio Section was combined in late 1938 or early 1939 with the Codes (or Cipher) Section to create the Communications Section, also referred to as Section VIII. As the head of Section VIII, Gambier-Parry, the Controller Special Communications (CSC), was charged with assembling a covert wireless network that would connect the UK with their stations on the European Continent. He was promoted to Colonel in 1939.

For Brigadier Sir Richard Gambier-Parrys’ full story, please see local-families/gambier-parry-family/brigadier-richard-gambier-parry