A Suspicion
of Spies

Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale.

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A Suspicion of Spies
5 Stars

With trained assassins, aliases, secret rendezvous, booby-trapped safes, messenger-pigeons, clandestine air-drops, brothels, and Gestapo raids at dawn, this book reads like a terrific movie script, but every word of it is true.

— Andrew Roberts
5 Stars

This daring story of espionage, of courage and betrayal, is a gripping read, brilliantly told and impossible to put down.

— Don McCullin
5 Stars

A gripping account of the life and dramatic times of one of Britain’s foremost secret agents – the inimitable Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale.

— Damien Lewis

The best-selling biography of the greatest spy you've never heard of.

'Biffy' Dunderdale
The Real-Life Spy Who Inspired Bond

A Suspicion of Spies is the first biography of 'Biffy' Dunderdale and tells the intriguing story
of an extraordinary man - suave, sophisticated, genial and rich but also a ruthless and effective spymaster.

Following his career, that spanned the Russian Revolution to the Cold War and beyond, A Suspicion of Spies is awash with stories of adventure, bravery, glamour and exoticism. 1916, Russia. A 17-year-old Wilfred 'Biffy' Dunderdale is working for his father, taking submarines from Vladivostok to St Petersburg for the Russian Imperial Navy. He takes a submarine out for sea trials along with a naval dockyard crew he'd never met before. Spotting a group of German ships, he gives the order to attack and sinks four of them.

On returning to Kronstadt, breaking free from an anti-submarine net with just 30 minutes of oxygen left, he opens the hatch to find every gun in the port facing him and his crew. Fluent in Russian, he quickly defuses the situation. For this action he is awarded by Tsar Nicholas II the Order of St. Stanislav and the Order of St. Anne, imperial Russia's highest knighthood for military valour and 'bravery in battle'. Biffy, born and raised in Odessa, soon learnt to operate at all levels of Odessan society. Clearly highly intelligent, by 16 he was studying Naval Architecture and Naval Engineering in St Petersburg - broadening his education further in the waterfront bars of both Odessa and St. Petersburg.

Aged 18 he was engaged by Naval Intelligence as an interpreter on account of his language skills, English, Russian, French, Polish and German. He would soon grow into a buccaneering member of the British Secret Intelligence Service in a career spanning forty years which Biffy described as '40 years of licensed thuggery.'

Biffy appears in over 60 books and websites and yet no one has ever written the story of his life. 'He was rather like a ghost one knew was there but the apparition never stood still long enough for a clear view.' A Suspicion of Spies is the first ever biography of Biffy and tells the intriguing story of an extraordinary man - suave, sophisticated, genial and rich but also a ruthless and effective spymaster. Following his career, that spanned the Russian Revolution to the Cold War and beyond, A Suspicion of Spies is awash with stories of adventure, bravery, glamour and exoticism.

Biffy was a lifelong friend of Ian Fleming and many have considered him to be the blueprint for Bond. There is likely some truth in this. The tales of action and intrigue found in this comprehensive biography could be taken straight from the pages of From Russia with Love, which Biffy acted as 'consultant' for.

This biography is the story of the complicated intrigues of the world of intelligence. It is what the British are good at and Biffy was one of the best.

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1899-1918

Early Life & World War I

1899:
24 Dec: Wilfred 'Biffy' Dunderdale born in Odessa.

1909:
4 Jul: Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) founded; Mansfield Cumming becomes first 'C' in October.

1914: Outbreak of World War I.

1915: Biffy attends St. Petersburg Military Engineering Technical University.

1916/17: Works for his father, navigating submarines for the Russian Imperial Navy. Engages in naval combat, sinking four German trawlers and escaping an anti-submarine net under fire.

1917: Russian Revolution. Biffy awarded the Order of St. Stanislav and the Order of St. Anne by Tsar Nicholas II for military valor.

1918:
4 Mar: Civilian employment terminated.
Mar-Jul: Attends Sokolov investigation into Tsar’s murder.
3 Jul: Granted 'Temporary Commission' in RNVR, awarded 2 Mentioned in Dispatches (MID).

Early Life & World War I

1899-1918

1920-1933

Early Intelligence Career & SIS Involvement

1920: Quells mutiny on submarine OUTKA, awarded MBE. Moves to Constantinople.

1921: Joins SIS.

1923: Mansfield Cumming dies, replaced as 'C' by Hugh Sinclair.

1926: Biffy appointed Head of Station, Paris. SIS headquarters moves to Broadway Buildings.

1928:
19 Dec: Marries June Woodbridge-Ament in Paris.

1929: Wall Street Crash.

1933:
30 Jan: Hitler appointed Chancellor.

Early Intelligence Career & SIS Involvement

1920-1933

1934-1939

Rise of Global Conflict & WWII Preparations

1934: Kim Philby recruited by Russians.

1935: Italy invades Abyssinia.

1936:
Mar: Hitler invades Rhineland.
17 Jul: Spanish Civil War begins.

1937:
5 Nov: Hitler outlines secret plans for European invasion.

1938: Hugh Sinclair buys Bletchley Park. Section 'D' (Destruction) established.

1939:
1 Apr: Spanish Civil War ends.
16 Aug: Biffy delivers ENIGMA machine to London.
1 Sep: Hitler invades Poland.
3 Sep: Britain declares war on Germany & Italy.
4 Nov: Hugh Sinclair dies, replaced by Stewart Menzies as 'C'.

Rise of Global Conflict & WWII Preparations

1934-1939

1940-1945

World War II & Intelligence Operations

1940:
10 May: Germany attacks Holland, Belgium, and France.
14 Jun: Germans enter Paris.
20 Jun: SIS Station evacuated; Biffy flies back.

1940-1944: Runs SIS sections: 'A4', 'P5', Special Liaison Controllerate.

1944:
6 Jun: D-Day.

1945: Biffy serves as Controller, Special Liaison.
8 May: War in Europe ends.
6 Aug: Atomic bomb dropped on Japan.
2 Sep: Japan surrenders.

World War II & Intelligence Operations

1940-1945

1947-1959

Post-War Espionage & Career Conclusion

1947: Marriage to June annulled.

1951: Burgess & Maclean defect; Philby resigns from SIS under suspicion.

1952: Marries Dorothy Hyde.

1953: John Sinclair replaces Menzies as 'C'. Berlin Tunnel project begins.

1956: Dick White becomes 'C'. Suez Crisis and Buster Crabb incident occur.

1959: Biffy retires.

Post-War Espionage & Career Conclusion

1947-1959

1978-1991

Later Years & Death

1978: Dorothy dies.

1980: Marries Deborah McCloud.

1990: First Gulf War.

1991:
13 Nov: Biffy dies in New York.

Later Years & Death

1978-1991

1899-1918
1920-1933
1934-1939
1940-1945
1947-1959
1978-1991

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A Suspicion of Spies

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