Conrad O'Brien-ffrench

Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench, 2nd Marquis de Castelthomond (19 November 1893 – 23 October 1986) was a distinguished British Secret Intelligence Officer, Captain in the Tipperary Rangers of the Royal Irish Regiment and 16th The Queen's Lancers in World War I, and Mountie for the Royal North-West Mounted Police. He was also an accomplished artist, linguist, mountaineer, skier, and author.

Early life and education

Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench was born in London, England, the second son of Henry Albert De Vreque O'Brien-ffrench, 1st Marquis de Castelthomond, and his wife Winifred ''née'' Thursby, heiress and daughter of Major James Legh Thursby, of Ormerod House Lancashire..

He and his elder brother Rollo (Rollo Adrien Vladimir Thursby Marie Altieri O'Brien-ffrench) spent their early childhood in Italy at Villa Torlonia (Frascati) in the Alban Hills, east of Rome, and then at Piazza dell'Indipendenza in Florence, where they received private tutoring in English, French and Italian. Returning to England, Conrad joined Rollo at the Wick, a preparatory school at Hove in Sussex. After Rollo left the Wick, Conrad completed his preparatory schooling at St. Aubyns School in Rottingdean, and then attended Bradley Court Agricultural College in the Forest of Dean, where he developed his lifelong interest in horsemanship, fox hunting and other country pursuits, and became a junior member of the Ledbury Hunt. During these years his other siblings, Yvonne (Yvonne Castelthomond O'Brien-ffrench) and Alexis (Alexis Evelyn Henry O'Brien-ffrench), were born.

Royal North-West Mounted Police

When he was 16, Conrad's life took an abrupt turn when Rollo died in an accident playing football. Conrad left school at this time to study farming in the Evesham Valley, and while there he met a Justice of the Peace from Buffalo Lake Ranch in Saskatchewan, who told him of life on the wild frontier and of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. In April 1910, at age 17, Conrad sailed on the ''Empress of Britain'' for Quebec and continued west to join the Royal North-West Mounted Police in Saskatchewan.

After basic training Conrad was posted to Cypress Hills, a remote and untamed area. He was later posted to Willow Creek and then Battle Creek, but mid-1912 received word that his mother was dying from cancer. He purchased his release and returned to Esher in Surrey to be by her side. She died the following summer.

During this time Conrad and friends took weekend trips to the Brooklands race track, where he was introduced to motor racing. Subsequently he purchased a 1909 Mercedes Simplex and developed a taste for fast cars.

Military service

Battle of Mons

Following his mother's death, Conrad travelled to his ancestral homeland in Ireland and joined The Tipperary Militia, a special reserve unit of the Royal Irish Regiment. In August 1914 he was promoted to captain and engaged in the Battle of Mons with his regiment as part of the British Expeditionary Force. On the first day of battle he was severely wounded, captured and taken prisoner. He was held first at Torgau, a Bismarckian fortress, and then at Burg de Magdeburg POW camp.

After numerous failed escape attempts, he was transferred to what was considered an escape-proof camp at Augustabad. Here Conrad began an exchange of letters with his friend Cathleen Mann, and through the use of invisible ink, transmitted details of troop movements and other strategic information gathered from incoming prisoners. One communication included information about a prototype German Bomber that he obtained from a captured British pilot. Her job as secretary to Stewart Menzies of British counterintelligence, allowed a speedy relay of information through Menzies to Field Marshal Douglas Haig. Attempts were made to extract Conrad and the pilot to London, but these failed and Conrad remained in Augustabad.

MI6

Following World War I, Conrad was summoned to Whitehall in December 1918 to meet then Colonel Stewart Menzies, who recruited Conrad into MI6. At the time, Menzies reported to Captain Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first head of the British Secret Service, who was called "C", a designation that remains to the present day. He was posted to the British Legation in Stockholm as Assistant Military Attaché under the command of Major Dymoke Scale. While a POW, Conrad had learned fluent Russian, and was now tasked with gathering information from Russian refugees fleeing the aftermath of the 1917 revolution.

In 1920, Conrad was assigned to escort Russian diplomat Leonid Krasin through countries hostile to the new Communist government to meet with Prime Minister Lloyd George in London for secret talks about the restoration of trade with the West. Dispatches from Lord Acton, British Minister Plenipotentiary to the newly independent Finland, confirmed arrangements for a special train to meet the delegation and under heavy guard they traveled to Turku, Finland, then Sweden to reunite with Krasin's family, en route for England. This event, the first face-to-face meeting between Russian Communist leadership and the outside world, led to the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement of March 1921.

Subsequently, the postwar depression and easing Soviet-British relations caused cutbacks to the Secret Service, and Conrad resigned from the service and returned to England.

India

Upon his return, Conrad was assigned as an Aide-de-camp to one of the British Governors for the upcoming Royal tour of India. Edward VIII, then the Prince of Wales, arrived in India on 21 December 1921, and stayed until April 1922. During this time the Indian National Congress of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru was in full swing, and the Royal tour was dogged by passive demonstrations and riots. The heavy handed response of the British to this resistance played a part in the end of the British Raj.

In February 1922, Conrad witnessed a meeting requested by the Viceroy of India, Lord Reading ( Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading), with the Prince to discuss the possible arrest of Mohandas K. Gandhi. On 1 February 1922, Gandhi had written a letter to the Viceroy informing him of the Bardoli district's decision to commence mass civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes, unless the Viceroy declared a policy of non-interference with non-violent activities.

On 4 February 1922, upon learning that the sub inspector of Chauri Chaura police station assaulted Congress volunteers at Mundera Bazar, an angry mob gathered at the station, demanding explanation from the guilty official. While the crowd marched on, shouting anti-government slogans, police fired warning shots agitating the crowds further. In response the crowd began throwing stones at the police, who were then ordered to open fire, killing three and wounding several others. The police retreated, some believe due to lack of ammunition while others attribute it to fear of the angry and courageous crowd. Chaos ensued and the heavily outnumbered police returned to the shelter of Thana (City Hall). The enraged crowd challenged the police to come out of their den, and on paying no heed, took revenge by setting the Thana on fire, killing 22 officers (including the station officer) who were trapped inside.

Gandhi did not support the violent actions, and consequently suspended the Non-cooperation movement

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