Vernon George Waldegrave Kell - MI5

Does anyone know who Kell's father was.

100 years ago this Vernon George Waldegrave Kell founded the Secret Service Bureau and later on it was called MI5.
When you saw him in public there was nothing outstanding about Kell. He did not look like a dashing James Bond. But he could smell a spy like a terrier the rat. He practically invented the spy catching.

A former British Army captain he had a sharp mind and spoke fluent English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Russian. His father was a wealthy Zulu War Veteran. Kell went through the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in 1892 and was involved in defeated the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900.
At the age of 36 he was asked to head the first British counter-espionage department since Kell's ordinary appearances did not make him look suspicious. When he started he had a tiny office and a staff of 10 and all he had his instinct, observation and word-of-mouth. Kell started off with contacting chief constables and asked for information on anyone looking suspicious. Then he started a card-index system.
By 1914 he gathered 16,000 information which were type up, filed, indexed and cross-referenced. Before the First World War Kell managed to uncover an entire German spy ring of 22 agents in Britain meeting in a barber's shop in north London . Kell had 21 arrested. A year after that he caught another seven spies of which some were executed.

As the war progressed he needed more agents. Some worked in British ports and their stories could have fitted in any spy novel. One day Kell intercepted a telegram saying 'Father dead. Await instructions.' Kell changed the telegram 'Father Deceased. What action?' The message came back 'Father Deceased or dead? Please explain' that convinced Kell it wasn't genuine. It was a report on the death of a senior fellow spy.

His successes earned Kell an acknowledgement to be the best counter-espionage experts in the world. He was quietly promoted to Major-General.
Before the Second World War there were people who weren't impressed of his skills. Churchill was one of them. When a British battleship the Royal Oak was sunk with 834 men it was due to being undetected by Kell's agents. Churchill told Kell to go.

Kell resigned after 30 years of dedication and determination. He moved to a small cottage in Buckingham. His wife wrote later that he never coped with the humiliation. While his beloved country was fighting to survive, he was still determined to do his bit. He became a special constable but it wasn't enough for a man like that. He died of pneumonia in 1942.

Hi Dave

I believe his father was:-

NAME Waldegrave Charles Fearn Kell
RANK Lieutenant
REGIMENT 88th (Connaught Rangers) Regiment of Foot

Lieutenant Kell served in Natal during the operations of the Regiment in the Zulu War. He held a staff appointment at Durban.

Major-General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, KCMG was the founder and first Director General (DG) of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Kell was the son of Major Waldegrave Kell of the 38th Foot and his wife, Georgiana Augusta Konarska. She was daughter of a Polish émigré, Aleksander Konarski, a surgeon with the 1st Podhalian Rifle Regiment who had fought in the November Uprising and had been awarded the V.M. (Gold, 4th class) and his English wife.


Death:
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"Lt.Colonel W. C. F. Kell served with the 88th Connaught Rangers throughout the Kafir war of 1877-78, and was present in the engagements at Nemarke and at Quintana Mountain (mentioned in despatches, promoted Captain). Served throughout the Zulu War of 1879, and was employed on the Staff at the Port of disembarkation, Durban, from i6th April to 26th August 1879 (Medal with Clasp)."

According to the Forsyth Roll , Capt Fell was awarded the Medal with Clasp 1877-78-79 , it was also returned to Woolwich Mint , seems he never bothered to lodge the form to receive it ! ? .
90th

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Major-General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell KCMG KBE CB

Major Waldegrave C. F. Kell was born in 1850 at London, England. He was the son of Robert J. Kell and Amelia Fearn. He married, firstly, Georgina Augusta Konarska, daughter of Samuel Alexander Ernest Konarski and Harriet Fraser Lucas, in 1873 at St. George Hanover Square, London, England. He and Georgina Augusta Konarska were divorced in 1892. He married, secondly, Lilla Girard Mitchell in 1894 at St. George Hanover Square, London, England. He married, thirdly, Kathleen Sophie Lett, daughter of Charles Lett and Sarah Towns, in 1913 at St. George Hanover Square, London, England. He died in 1915 at St. George Hanover Square, London, England.

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Morning Post 13 October 1892

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Kensal Green Cemetery