Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, KBE, CB (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5.

Major-General Vernon George Waldegrave Kell (1873–1942) was the co-founder and first Director of the Security Service. As an officer of the South Staffordshire Regiment of the British Army, he...

On May 25, 1940, Churchill fired Vernon Kell, removing him from his position as the head of MI5. Crushed shocked and devastated by his dismissal, Kell, having dedicated his life to serving his country was heartbroken and retired to a small cottage in Buckinghamshire where he died on March 27, 1942.

…1909 under the leadership of Vernon Kell, then a captain in the British army, to identify and counteract German spies then working in Britain, which it did with great effect. Kell retired as a major general in 1924 and was later knighted but remained in charge of the agency until…

Major-General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, KBE, CB (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was the founder and first Director General (DG) of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in Who's Who as …

Mar 16, 2025 · Kell, Sir, Vernon George Waldergrave, 1873-1942, Knight, Major General. Physical description: 1 Microfilm Access conditions: Unrestricted. Subjects: China; State security; Second World War,...

Major-General Vernon Kell died at his rented cottage, Stonepits, Emberton, Olney, in Buckinghamshire, on 27th March 1942.

In almost a semi-state occasion, at Emberton church in March 1942 the funeral took place of Sir Vernon Kell, who, by his almost singular efforts, was responsible for the creation of the counter espionage and intelligence organisation of Britain.

May 8, 2001 · Apart from providing an account of Kell's work and private life, the biography includes references to the arrest of suspect German sympathisers after the outbreak of war in August 1914, the experiences of Lady Constance's sister as a VAD nurse who treated survivors of the RMS LUSITANIA in Queenstown, Ireland, and the relaxed atmosphere ...

Wikipedia entry for Major-General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, KBE, CB (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942): founder and first Director General (DG) of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in Who's Who as "Commandant, War Department Constabulary".