He
was born into a middle-class family. His father was the great grandson of John
Smith (a director of both the South Sea Company and the East
India Company), the second son of Abel Smith (d.1756) the Nottingham
banker. Smith joined the Royal Navy and underwent training in Britannia at Dartmouth
Royal Naval College from the age of twelve and was appointed acting
sub-lieutenant in 1878. He was posted to HMS Bellerophon in 1877, and
for the next seven years served in operations against Malay pirates
(during 1875–6) and in Egypt in 1883. However, he increasingly
suffered from severe seasickness, and in 1885 was placed on the retired
list as "unfit for service". Prior to being appointed to run the
Secret Service Bureau (SSB), he was working on boom defenses in Bursledon on
the River Hamble.
He
added the surname Cumming after his marriage in 1889 to Leslie Marian
Valiant-Cumming, heiress of Logie near Forres in Moray.
In 1909, Major (later Colonel Sir) Vernon Kell became director of the newly formed Secret Intelligence Bureau (SIB), created as a response to growing public opinion that all Germans living in England were spies. In 1911, the various security organizations were re-organised under the SIB, Kell's division becoming the Home Section, and Smith-Cumming's becoming the new Foreign Section (Secret Service Bureau), responsible for all operations outside Britain.
In 1914, he was involved in a serious road accident in France, in which his son was killed. Legend has it that in order to escape the car wreck he was forced to amputate his own leg using a pen knife. Hospital records have shown however that while both his legs were broken, his left foot was only amputated the day after the accident. Later he often told all sorts of fantastic stories as to how he lost his leg, and would shock people by interrupting meetings in his office by suddenly stabbing his artificial leg with a knife, letter opener or fountain pen.
Budgets were severely limited prior to World War I, and Smith-Cumming came to rely heavily on Sidney Reilly (aka the Ace of Spies), a secret agent of dubious veracity based in Saint Petersburg.
In 1909, Major (later Colonel Sir) Vernon Kell became director of the newly formed Secret Intelligence Bureau (SIB), created as a response to growing public opinion that all Germans living in England were spies. In 1911, the various security organizations were re-organised under the SIB, Kell's division becoming the Home Section, and Smith-Cumming's becoming the new Foreign Section (Secret Service Bureau), responsible for all operations outside Britain.
In 1914, he was involved in a serious road accident in France, in which his son was killed. Legend has it that in order to escape the car wreck he was forced to amputate his own leg using a pen knife. Hospital records have shown however that while both his legs were broken, his left foot was only amputated the day after the accident. Later he often told all sorts of fantastic stories as to how he lost his leg, and would shock people by interrupting meetings in his office by suddenly stabbing his artificial leg with a knife, letter opener or fountain pen.
Budgets were severely limited prior to World War I, and Smith-Cumming came to rely heavily on Sidney Reilly (aka the Ace of Spies), a secret agent of dubious veracity based in Saint Petersburg.
At
the outbreak of war he was able to work with Vernon Kell and Sir Basil
Thomson of the Special Branch to arrest twenty-two German spies
in England. Eleven were executed, as was Sir Roger Casement, found guilty
of treason in 1916. During the war, the offices were renamed. The
Home Section became MI5 or Security Service, while
Smith-Cumming's Foreign Section became MI6 or the Secret Intelligence Service.
Agents who worked for MI6 during the war included Augustus Agar, Paul
Dukes, John Buchan, Compton Mackenzie and W. Somerset
Maugham
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts
d10, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Investigation d8, Knowledge
(Spycraft) d10, Knowledge (Battle) d6, Notice d10, Shooting d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Edges & Hindrances: Lame,
Curious, Linguist, Investigator, Connections, Strong willed.
Gear: none
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