68 • BRAZILIAN EMBASSY
BRAZILIAN EMBASSY.During World War II, the Brazilian em-
bassy was a target forMI5penetration. The butler was recruited, and
he obtained good documents and the plain texts of important cipher
messages starting in 1941, remaining there even after the war. MI5
described him as ‘‘someone without any imagination, reliable and
staid; and sends us exact lists of connections and random ‘portions’
of used papers.’’
BRISSEX.The British component of a paramilitary operation con-
ducted by Allied personnel behind German lines in France immedi-
ately after the D-Day landings. Commanded by the Secret
Intelligence Service’s CommanderKenneth Cohen, the objective
was to mobilize local resistance groups and harass the enemy.
BRISTOW, DESMOND.Fluent in Spanish, Desmond Bristow joined
theSecret Intelligence Service(SIS) in 1941 and served in its Ibe-
rian section at headquarters underKim Philby, and then inGibral-
tar. In January 1943 he was transferred to Algiers, and a year later
he moved on to Lisbon for a few months before returning to North
Africa. Soon afterD-Day, Bristow was recalled to London before
being posted to liaison duties in Paris.
At the end of World War II, Bristow took over responsibility for
the Iberian desk at SIS in London and in September 1947 he was
posted to Madrid as head of station. He remained in Spain until April
1953, when he was appointed to SIS’s strategic materials section.
This lasted a year, and then instead of accepting an assignment in
Buenos Aires, he resigned to work for the de Beers diamond firm. He
later retired to the south of Spain, where he wrote his book,A Game
of Moles(1993), despite threats of legal action in London from the
treasury solicitor. Bristow died in September 2000.
BRITISH CONTROL COMMISSION FOR AUSTRIA (BCCA).
The BCCA was the official body responsible for administering the
British zone of occupation inAustriaafter World War II. It provided
convenient cover during the postwar era forSecret Intelligence Ser-
viceoperations in Austria.
BRITISH CONTROL COMMISSION FOR GERMANY (BCCG).
The BCCG was the official body responsible for administering the