Aegean Intelligence Service

[corisande]

Is there any other source on Aegean Intelligence Service other than Compton Mackenzies "Aegean Memories"

I came across this quote

For Ferris, I&NS 4.2, Mackenzie's "autobiographies are infinitely better history than are most memoirs.... They are one of best extant accounts both of British intelligence during the First World War and of covert action in general." Constantinides advises that Mackenzie's volumes be read in conjunction with Lawson's Tales of Aegean Intrigue and Thomson's The Allied Secret Service in Greece. Even then, doubt can still remain as to whether any or all represent an accurate picture.

I have Aegean Memories on order at the moment, but can anyone comment on the other two, or any other sources.

[Phil Tomaselli]

Not off the top of my head. Mackenzie loathed both Lawson and Thomson but Lawson was at least out there whereas Thomson was paid by the Greek King to write his book and, despite all his grand title as Director of Intelligence at the Home Office, actually had little knowledge of the Aegean. There is a LOT of material on the whole set up available at Kew if you're prepared to dig and it could be very rewarding.

[MaureenE]

Two earlier books by Compton Mackenzie are available online , but not Aegean Memories, together with the books by  Lawson and Thomson (click on the coloured text)

Copied from the FIBIS Fibiwiki page Salonica and the Balkans (First World War)

http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php/Salonica_and_the_Balkans_(First_World_War)

 

• First Athenian Memories by Compton Mackenzie 1931. scribd.com. Scroll past some pages in Greek. This digital file consists of the first 193 pages of the book, which are then repeated, followed by the remainder of the book (total 402 pages). 

Greek Memories by Compton Mackenzie 1939. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Also available to read online on scribd.com. This is the second edition published in 1939, with some content from the original 1932 edition deleted, due to the author's prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. 

These two volumes are the 2nd and 3rd of a series of memoirs of the World War: v.1. Gallipoli Memories, (see Gallipoli); v.4. Aegean Memories (Review) The author served with British Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean during the First World War. Compton Mackenzie Wikipedia.

 

Tales of Aegean Intrigue by J C Lawson 1921 Archive.org. The author was a Naval Intelligence Officer on Crete (Temporary Lieutenant, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve)

 

The Allied Secret Service in Greece by Sir Basil Thomson, Director of Intelligence 1919-1921. 2nd impression 1931 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Compton Makenzie, in Greek Memories, states that Thomson’s title was a civil post connected with the Police which suggested a more intimate knowledge of Greek affairs than he possessed, and refers to “the untrustworthiness of his narrative”.

 

Cheers

Maureen