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sabotage and political intrigue. Besides, SOE cover was far too impenetra-
ble for any local malcontents or even Berlin to be aware of Bishop’s where-
abouts or importance, and Bishop himself was shielded by deep triple
cover-within-cover. On the surface, he was just another British visitor in
Tehran on government or army business, and not even a familiar personal-
ity at that, for he was stationed in Baghdad. The truth is that the official
British version of Bishop’s accidental death at the age of 44 is almost cer-
tainly authentic, and it goes simply like this:
Major Bishop ... fell over the fourth floor bannisters, being killed instantly.
This happened late one night, and it is presumed that he over-balanced. We
have been told that the bannisters at this hotel are dangerously low.^4Most secondary sources, too numerous to cite, more or less agree that
there was nothing mysterious or sinister about Adrian Bishop’s death. He
had come to Tehran as the newly appointed regional head of SOE Iraq
and Persia, to make recommendations on the reorganization of all regional
forces, on the possible establishment of new cover for the organization,
and on action to avenge the Harris–Griffiths murders of August.^5 After a
day of meetings, he had been relaxing and having a few drinks with some
friends in the hotel courtyard before excusing himself and going upstairs
to bed. At that point, however, the narratives diverge as if based on hear-
say rather than fact. Once upstairs, Bishop apparently realized he had left
his room key downstairs (some say his baggage), spun around to call down
to his friends, lost his balance, and plunged headlong over the bannisters
into the courtyard below. Some suggest that Bishop tripped on a loose rug
or an uneven stair; some mention possible intoxication; others his great
weight.^6 Only poor Maurice Bowra, arguably the lasting love of Bishop’s
life, inconsolable in his grief, bridled at the notion that alcoholic overin-
dulgence might have been the ‘old man’s’ nemesis, and insisted that drink
would never have affected his steadiness. While scoffing at the Nazis’
‘cock-and-bull story,’ Bowra declared flatly that Bishop must have been
murdered.^7
‘Damage control’ after Bishop’s death was handled expertly by the
local SOE field commander, John Underwood (D/N.9), who may well
have been one of Bishop’s drinking companions on the evening he died.^8
The hotel was conveniently located in Darband, not far from the British
summer-legation compound in Shemiran, which is probably where the
meetings were held that Bishop (and Underwood) had been attending