Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence

HOLLIS, SIR ROGER• 243

had been ennobled as Lord Templewood, omitted all references to

SIS even though the first volume had given a fascinating description

of his first encounter with Admiral Smith-Cumming.

HOLDSWORTH, GERALD.Originally a planter in Malaya, Gerry
Holdsworth returned to London to make advertising films, mainly for
the Philips electric company, and as he was a frequent visitor to Hol-
land and Germany, he was recruited intoSection D. Shortly before
the outbreak of World War II, Holdsworth was established in a fish-
brokering business in Norway, buying brisling and slid—a good
cover for making local contacts and, as a skilled small boat sailor, for
conducting marine surveys of the fjords. When Norway was occupied
by the Nazis, he was instructed to make his way to Sweden to assist
in the section’s scheme to sabotage the docks at Oxelo ̈sund. Shortly
before he arrived, however, the operation, codenamedlumps,was
aborted when the police arrested the British saboteurs. Holdsworth
continued his journey to Finland and was able to catch a ship in Pet-
samo bound for Kirkenes and eventually to reach Barrow-in-Furness.
Upon his arrival in London, Holdsworth was posted byLaurence
Grandto Ridifarne on the Helford estuary to prepare, with the help
of his deputyBrooks Richards, the flotilla of inshore fishing boats
used to maintain clandestine sea lines toSpecial Operations Execu-
tive(SOE) andSecret Intelligence Servicenetworks in Brittany. He
was also assisted by his wife, an explosives expert, and they began
cross-Channel night operations in August 1940. In 1942 Holdsworth
sailed one of his boats, theMutin,toGibraltarin preparation for the
landings in North Africa. Later he was to conduct small boat opera-
tions in the Mediterranean for SOE, employingAdrian Gallegos,
and was based in Corsica until he was placed in command of No.1
Special Force in Malta, and then Monopoli, near SOE’s regional
headquarters at Bari.
After the war Holdsworth helped found the Special Forces Club in
Knightsbridge, a convivial meeting place for SOE veterans.

HOLLIS, SIR ROGER. Director-general of the Security Service
from 1956 to 1965, Roger Hollis had a long career withMI5, begin-
ning in 1938. During World War II, the enigmatic Hollis became
MI5’s expert on international Communism and in 1953 was ap-