That Time MI6 Spymaster Captain MANsfield Cumming Ordered His Spies to Use Semen as Invisible Ink

TL;DR

Captain Mansfield Smith-Cumming ordered MI6 agents to use their own semen as invisible ink because familiar covert-writing fluids and their detection methods were widely known. The episode traces MI6 from the Secret Service Bureau founded in 1909 through its First World War rebranding, while recounting Cumming’s eccentric interviews, intelligence failures, and unusual search for secure communication. Read on for the extraordinary details of MI6’s beginnings.

Transcript

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Key Insights

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 MI6, also known as the British Secret Intelligence Service, has a long and interesting history dating back to 1909.
• 🥺 The agency was led by Mansfield Smith-Cumming, an eccentric figure known for his intelligence gathering skills and eccentricities.
• 🥳 In its early days, MI6 was more of a humorous caricature of spying, with instances of bumbling and gathering false information.
• 😉 MI6 agents used their own semen as invisible ink to communicate covertly, leading to some humorous exchanges and memorable moments within the agency.
• 😉 The use of semen as invisible ink was a result of the limited availability of other suitable fluids and the need for secrecy in communication.
• 🥳 MI6 experienced both successes and failures during its early days, but it eventually evolved into a highly effective intelligence service.
• 🤶 The James Bond character M is partially based on Mansfield Smith-Cumming, showcasing the influence of MI6 in popular culture.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did MI6 use semen as invisible ink?

Mansfield Smith-Cumming wanted a covert writing method that was less familiar than existing invisible inks. In 1915, he asked scientists at London University to find a new ink, but his diaries attributed the discovery of semen’s usefulness to one of his agents.

Q: Who was Mansfield Smith-Cumming?

Mansfield Smith-Cumming was a former Royal Navy captain and the first director of MI6. Known as “C,” he was celebrated for both his intelligence work and his eccentric behavior.

Q: Why was Mansfield Smith-Cumming chosen to lead the spy agency?

He appears to have been selected primarily because of his intelligence-gathering experience after leaving naval service. In one assignment, he reportedly posed as a German businessman in Germany and the Balkans and completed his mission without speaking German.

Q: When and why was the precursor to MI6 created?

The British government established the precursor to MI6 in 1909. Then called the Secret Service Bureau, it was created to investigate German citizens increasingly accused by the British public of being spies.

Q: How effective was MI6 in its early years?

The early organization frequently gathered false information and presented it as fact. Examples included accepting a phony document claiming German spies had extra rows of teeth and spending substantial resources searching Britain for a nonexistent cache of German weapons.

Q: What early intelligence success did Mansfield Smith-Cumming achieve?

Cumming compiled a comprehensive file on Zeppelins that his superiors hailed as a major intelligence victory. However, all of its information was publicly available, and his contribution was having it translated from German into English.

Q: How did Mansfield Smith-Cumming test prospective agents?

During interviews, Cumming would suddenly stab his covered wooden leg. Anyone who flinched was dismissed, while candidates who stayed composed were told the interview’s true purpose.

Q: How did the Secret Service Bureau become MI6?

When the First World War began, the Secret Service Bureau was overhauled and rebranded as MI6. The change was not publicly acknowledged at the time because the British government continued to deny that the agency existed.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• MI6, also known as the British Secret Intelligence Service, has a long history dating back to 1909, when it was established to investigate German citizens accused of espionage.

• The agency was led by Mansfield Smith-Cumming, an eccentric figure in British military history known for his intelligence gathering skills but also his eccentricities.

• In its early days, MI6 was more of a bumbling and humorous caricature of spying, with instances of gathering false information and presenting it as fact, and even using semen as invisible ink to communicate covertly.