MI19 was a section of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, part 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 ...

. During 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 ...

it was responsible for obtaining information from enemy

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. It was originally created in December 1940 as MI9a, a sub-section of MI9. A year later, in December 1941, it became an independent organisation, though still closely associated with its parent. MI19 had Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centres (CSDIC) at

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

, Wilton Park, and Latimer, as well as a number overseas. Beginning in 1940, MI19 recorded conversations between German officers held comfortably at Trent Park in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

; many important secrets were learned from that effort. MI19 operated an interrogation centre in Kensington Palace Gardens, London, commanded by Lt. Col. Alexander Scotland OBE, known as the " London Cage". It was a subject of persistent reports of torture by the prisoners confined there, which included war crimes suspects from the SS and

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

held in the facility after the war. The BBC reported that MI-19 staff were sent to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

in 1945 to look for evidence of collaboration during the German occupation. The intent may have been to silence speculation.

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External links

* * * * British intelligence services of World War II 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct United Kingdom intelligence agencies Military communications of the United Kingdom War Office in World War II {{UK-poli-stub

See also

References

External links