Sir Frank Nelson (5 August 1883 – 11 August 1966) was a British civil servant, intelligence officer and politician.

Life

Nelson was born at Bentham, near

Brockworth Brockworth is a village and parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Barnwood. It is located southeast of central Gloucester, southwest of Cheltenh ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, to Henry Ellis Hay Nelson and Catherine Haviland. He attended

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

and Neuenheim College,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. After leaving school he travelled to India with the firm of Symons, Barlow and Co, eventually becoming a senior partner.

First World War and political career

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as an officer with the

Bombay Light Horse The Bombay Light Horse was raised in 1885 and formed part of Indian Volunteer Force, later (post 1917) the Indian Defence Force and finally (post 1920) the Auxiliary Force (India). A light horse regiment was roughly equivalent to half a battalion ...

. In 1922 he was appointed chairman of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, and was made President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India and Ceylon in 1923. Nelson served on the legislative council of Bombay from 1922 to 1924. He received a knighthood in 1924 and moved back to England, where he was elected Member of Parliament for

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

at the

1924 United Kingdom general election The 1924 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 29 October 1924, as a result of the defeat of the Labour minority government, led by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, in the House of Commons on a motion of no confidence. It was th ...

. He was reelected in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and resigned his seat in May 1931.

Second World War and the SOE

At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was the Consul to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, working in intelligence, but as Germany invaded France in 1940, he was driven by Richard Arnold-Baker, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), to the mouth of the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

where the ''Nariva'' took them back to London so that he could take over the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

or SOE. He was appointed as its chief by order of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. Nelson, despite the government's objections, urged the war ministry to allow the SOE to support resistance groups in Europe.

Personal life

He wore himself out establishing the organisation, and retired in 1942 due to ill health. He had married in 1911 Jean, daughter of Colonel Patrick Montgomerie; they had one son. She died in 1952 and he then married Dorothy Moira Carling. He died in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 11 August 1966. His second wife survived him.

References

Obituary at the Stroud History Website taken from ''The Times''

External links

* * S.O.E. CD1 - The Life and Times of Sir Frank Nelson by Mike Palmer: Date of publication 5 August 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Frank 1883 births 1966 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George British Special Operations Executive personnel UK MPs 1929–1931 Indian Army personnel of World War I People educated at Bedford School Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George