Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

Neil Loudon Desmond McLean, DSO** (28 November 1918 – 17 November 1986), known as Billy McLean, was a Scottish politician and intelligence officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he worked for the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its p ...

and was involved in clandestine missions in Ethiopia, China, and particularly Albania. In 1954 he served as a Unionist

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

Family and education

McLean was born in

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

, the elder son of Neil Gillean McLean, who had made a great deal of money trading with India and owned an estate at Glencalvie. The family called him "Billy". He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, where he excelled in

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

,"Fencing", ''The Times'', 8 April 1936. becoming Captain of the school team."Eton College", ''The Times'', 4 May 1936. He was then sent to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

to train to become an officer. Having spent his holiday periods

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

, he was a keen sportsman and won many point to point races while attending Sandhurst.

WWII and Army service

In August 1938 on leaving Sandhurst, McLean was commissioned into the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The regiment's history began in 16 ...

. The following year he was posted to Palestine and spent the first two years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

there. In 1941, he was transferred to the

, an unorthodox military unit which worked behind enemy lines on

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

and

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

. After completing his training he was sent to join Col.

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingates ...

Gideon Force Gideon Force was a small British and African special force, a with the Sudan Defence Force, Ethiopian regular forces and ( for Patriots). Gideon Force fought the Italian occupation in Ethiopia, during the East African Campaign of the Seco ...

in Ethiopia, where he commanded a mixed group of Ethiopian and Eritrean irregulars (nicknamed "McLean's Foot") against the occupying Italian army. For his efforts he was awarded the Distinguished Military Medal of

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

I in 1941. 1942 saw McLean shifted to a staff job with the

(SOE); first in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, Egypt then in Syria and back in Palestine. He also worked for MI9 in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

aiding resistance fighters in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-occupied countries.

Albanian missions

In early 1943 McLean was selected by SOE to lead a mission in occupied Albania, for which he was promoted to

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. His team was parachuted behind enemy lines in April 1943, where they made contact with the partisan National Liberation Movement (LANÇ) and the nationalist, anti-Communist, anti- Zog movement, the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The move ...

. McLean then organized them into the 1st Partisan Brigade, and arranged their training and armament. After his evacuation from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

in November 1943, McLean was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

"Army Awards", ''The Times'', 24 March 1944. and promoted to

. However, even after he left tension between the partisans and the nationalists in Albania was still causing concern to SOE at which point the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

and McLean devised a plan to unite them in a common struggle against the Axis forces there. In April 1944, exactly one year later, McLean returned to Albania with a small team known as "The Musketeers" which included Major

David Smiley Colonel David de Crespigny Smiley, (11 April 1916 – 9 January 2009) was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Syria, the Western Desert and with Special Operations Ex ...

and Captain Julian Amery. Unfortunately they could not persuade the nationalists to join with the partisans; nor could McLean get SOE-HQ in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

to support his nominee to lead the partisan fight against the Axis powers,

Abaz Kupi Abaz Kupi (6 August 1892 – 17 January 1976) or Abas Kupi. He was also known as Bazi i Canës. He was an Albanian military officer. Kupi was born in Krujë. He served as commander of the gendarmerie of the town of Kruja, and later of the tow ...

. Meanwhile, the partisans grew suspicious of this outside interference, and eventually McLean and his team had to be withdrawn. Ironically, British strategy was subsequently altered to recognize only the LANÇ who went on to convert Albania into a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

state.

Post-war

Early in 1945 McLean volunteered to work for SOE against the Japanese forces in China and was appointed

military advisor Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...

to Sir Clarmont Skrine, the British consul in

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...

. He was still working undercover there when the war ended. After some years traveling in the late 1940s, McLean resigned his commission and returned to Albania one last time, joining a clandestine organization operated by the United States and British intelligence agencies to undermine

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...

and the Communist government there. In 1949 he married Daška Ivanović, from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

in Croatia. Coincidentally his new brother-in-law, diplomat Vane Ivanovic, had been a member of the Yugoslav section of the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), the propaganda arm of SOE, during the war.

Entry to politics

At the 1950 general election, McLean ran as the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate for Preston South, a newly created constituency which was expected to be marginal. He was defeated by 149 votes. He stood again in the 1951 general election, but was again defeated by the extremely narrow margin of 16 votes. This was the smallest majority in any constituency in that election."Polls Apart", ''The Times'', 27 October 1951. In the summer of 1952, McLean was chosen as the Unionist Party candidate for

, where the sitting Member of Parliament

Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton Wing Commander Lord Malcolm Avondale Douglas-Hamilton, (12 November 1909 – 21 July 1964) was a Scottish aristocrat, aviator and politician. Marriage and family Douglas-Hamilton was third son of Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton, ...

intended to stand down. He toured the constituency continuously, familiarizing himself with its problems and speaking to local groups."Speculation In Inverness", ''The Times'', 4 December 1954. Lord Malcolm resigned in autumn 1954 and a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

was called for 21 December. The Liberal Party was strong in the constituency and campaigned against the practice of "plural farming" by which landowners farmed multiple farms with a single labour force, and which was unpopular with agricultural workers."Dilemma In The Highlands", ''The Times'', 13 December 1954. McLean's work in nursing the constituency paid off as he was elected by 1,331 votes."Inverness Stays Conservative", ''The Times'', 24 December 1954. Owing to illness, McLean did not make his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

until March 1956, and he chose to speak about Egypt and

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

whom he regarded with extreme concern."Parliament", ''The Times'', 8 March 1956. McLean was a strong supporter of the decision to invade Egypt during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, and an equally strong opponent of the decision shortly thereafter to withdraw. The Members of Parliament who took this view were known as the "Suez Group"; McLean did not join those who abandoned the Conservative

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

in 1957, but did declare that he was in sympathy with them and that "the M.P.s who have resigned have raised the flag for many of us who have not resigned"."Possible Tory Abstentions", ''The Times'', 15 May 1957. In general McLean's Parliamentary contributions were concentrated on foreign affairs. He also visited areas of concern, including

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

and Algeria to find the situation on the ground, and reported back to British newspapers. In September 1962 while visiting Algeria he was pinned down for an hour by a firefight between rival groups."No Rush To Vote In Algeria", ''The Times'', 21 September 1962. That year he also began to work with

Muhammad al-Badr , succession = King and Imam of Yemen , image = Muhammad al-Badr.jpg , image_size = , caption = Al-Badr in 1962 , reign = 19 – 26 September 1962 , predecessor = Ahmad bin Yahya , successor = ''Title abolished ...

in resisting Egyptian efforts to install an ally as President of North Yemen where he became the principal military advisor to the Royalist forces. He persuaded the Foreign Office not to recognize the Communist-backed government in the country; an accomplishment described by McLean's biographer

Xan Fielding Alexander Wallace Fielding (26 November 1918 – 19 August 1991) was a British author, translator, journalist and traveller, who served as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in Crete, France and the East Asia during World War II. The pu ...

as his "crowning achievement".Xan Fielding, "One Man in His Time - The life of Lieutenant-Colonel NLD ('Billy') McLean, DSO" (Macmillan, London, 1990), p. 156. In June 1964 McLean introduced a Private Members Bill aimed at protecting some paper mills, shipbuilding and cotton firms which had received government grants from

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 24 June 1964. During the 1964 general election he found himself under severe pressure from the Liberal Party and ended up losing his seat.

Final years

Being out of Parliament left McLean more time to travel, especially in the Middle East. He kept up his work in Yemen, and had contacts with most of the Muslim Arab states including Jordan where he had developed a close relationship with then monarch King Hussein. Fielding claimed that he was a kind of "unofficial under-secretary" of the

,Fielding ''op cit'', p. 170. and quoted a 1979 letter from

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...

which said "You are one of those people whose services to our dear country are known only to a few".Fielding ''op cit'', p. 208. In his retirement he was appointed to the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, the Queen's bodyguard in Scotland. McLean suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and died of heart failure in 1986. At his side were his family, including his step-grandson, the actor

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

. All of his diaries, notes and orders kept meticulously from all his campaigns now reside in the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Literature

* ''One Man in His Time: The life of Lieutenant-Colonel NLD ('Billy') McLean, DSO'' by

; Macmillan; 1st Edition (1 November 1990)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * "McLean, Neil Loudon Desmond" in

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

The London Gazette
* ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black
Daily Telegraph Second Book of Obituaries
* Amery, Julian,
Albania at War 1939-45
, ''The Oxford Companion to the Second World War'' (1995), pp. 24–26. * Amery, Julian, ''Sons of the Eagle. A Study in Guerilla War'' (1948) Macmillan & C° Ltd, London. SOE in Albania by the third Musketeer. * Dorril, Stephen, ''MI6 : Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service'', (2000) The Free Press, New York, * Elwes, Cary, ''As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride'' (2014) Touchstone; First edition (14 October 2014) * Fischer, Bernd J., ''Albania at War, 1939-1945'' (1999) West Lafayette, Purdue University Press * Smiley, David "Albanian Assignment" (1984) Chatto & Windus, London. SOE in Albania by the second Muskeeter, with foreword by

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's great ...

* Smiley, David, with Peter Kemp, "Arabian Assignment" (1975) Cooper, London. Oman and Yemen. * Smiley, David "Irregular Regular" (1994) Michael Russell, Norwich . Translated into French by Thierry Le Breton, ''Au cœur de l'action clandestine. Des Commandos au MI6'', L'Esprit du Livre Editions, France, 2008 (). The Memoirs of a SOE officer and MI6 agent.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Neil 1918 births 1986 deaths Scottish anti-communists British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Royal Scots Greys officers Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Special Operations Executive personnel UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Members of the Royal Company of Archers People from Sutherland