316 • MACDONOUGH, SIR GEORGE
MACDONOUGH, SIR GEORGE. Born in March 1865, George
Macdonough entered the army at the age of 19, qualified as a barris-
ter, and in 1916, with the rank of major general, was appointeddirec-
tor of military intelligence. After his retirement in 1925 he was
elected president of the British Federation of Industry.
MACKENZIE, SIR COMPTON.In October 1932 Compton Macken-
zie attempted to publish the third volume of his war memoirs, entitled
Greek Memories, in which he gave a detailed account of his work for
theSecret Intelligence Service(SIS) in the Aegean in 1917. Not
only did Mackenzie reveal that Mansfield Smith-Cumming was
known within Whitehall by the initial ‘‘C’’ but he also identified doz-
ens of officers with whom he had served during the war, including a
few that had remained active in the region after the conclusion of
hostilities. Mackenzie had earlier publishedExtremes Meet, in which
he described his experiences in fictional terms, without experiencing
any difficulties, but the new book was instantly the subject of a ban
and a short time later the author appeared at the Old Bailey charged
with breaching theOfficial Secrets Act. What made the prosecu-
tion’s case so awkward was the fact that Mackenzie had received in-
formal consent to publish fromSir Eric Holt-Wilson, one of his
former colleagues in the Near East who subsequently had been ap-
pointeddeputy director-general of the Security Service. Holt-Wil-
son, whose name appeared in the text, sat in the well of the court
during the proceedings and saw Mackenzie plead guilty and be fined
£100.
Mackenzie was deeply resentful of his treatment and later wrote
the hugely popularWater on the Brainas a wickedly entertaining
satire on the Secret Service to pay the costs of his defense. It was not
until 1938 that a sanitized version ofGreek Memorieswas published
with SIS’s permission, and it would be nearly 50 years before Uni-
versity Publications of America acquired a rare copy of the first, un-
expurgated edition and released it with the offending passages
highlighted in bold print. The first volume of his memoirs,Gallipoli
Memories, was published without difficulty, and the sequel toGreek
Memories,First Athenian Memories, was released in March 1931.
Aegean Memorieswas published in 1940 and dedicated to brother
officer and lifelong friend,Edward Knoblock.