Back in 2015, a very exclusive address was put up for sale in historic Queen Anne’s Gate, a street right next to St James’ Park, where the former Policeman Sting has a house – for 22 million pounds.
As part of the marketing it advertised connections to the man who first led what went on to become MI6 – Mansfield Smith Cumming, the man who allegedly cut his own leg off after a car accident to try and rescue his fatally wounded son.
This all sounded very exciting and romantic – here is an example of the sort of frisson it generated, an article in Forbes magazine.
However I was not convinced – indeed I smelt a red herring (or was it a mole) and decided to investigate this claim further.
Here is its exterior, and indeed it is a lovely house.
The first source for my investigation was there – normally reliable.
All well and good as far as it goes, but then I read this biography of Mansfield Smith-Cumming by the former diplomat and Booker prize nominated novelist Alan Judd, and was surprised to see that it made no mention of him living in this address.
The first place mentioned is Ashley Mansions in Vauxhall Bridge Road, a smart block of flats that would have only been recently built by that time.
Later he moved to a flat in Whitehall Court – which in 2015 was commemorated by a Blue Plaque.
However he died in 1923, and it was only in 1924 that SIS moved into the building according to “A Spy’s London”.
How on earth could he have ever lived there?
I contacted Mr Judd through his publishers and he very kindly replied to me, confirming that my rudimentary detective powers were vindicated, here is his reply.
My agent passed me your email querying whether Mansfield Cumming occupied 21 Queen Anne’s Gate, as has apparently been alleged.
You are quite right to assume he wasn’t. He died, as you say, in 1923 and SIS moved into the then two-year old Broadway Buildings in the spring of 1926 (not 1924). Passport Control, widely used by SIS officers abroad as cover, moved into the adjoining 21 QAG in September 1926, following which an internal passageway (or tunnel – I’m not sure which) was built to link the two buildings. Initially SIS occupied only the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors of Broadway but later took over the whole building. At some time – not sure when – Sinclair took a flat in QAG and moved between the two buildings presumably via the passageway or tunnel. His Broadway office was on the 4th floor. I believe his successors did the same until SIS moved to Century House in 1964.
I do not think I have passed some sort of test to enter the Secret Services, but I’m pleased to know that I have been able to correct some public misinformation.
Charitably this was just a mistake, however this may well have been a case of Estate Agents glossing the truth to make a sale.
Here am I wearing my inconspicuous “London Spy” disguise opposite the building.
Come on my Spy tours when they are running to find out more about the other Blue Plaque that SHOULD have been on this building, about pigeons, about a mysterious source of invisible ink and the secret of the wooden leg!!
Thanks to Alan Judd for his kind contribution, I highly recommend “The Quest for C”. I have also ordered his novel “A Breed of Heroes” that is meant to be excellent.
