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|upright = |upright =
|alt = |alt =
|caption = The only known picture of Norman Darbyshire, first published in 2019 documentary '']'' |caption = Norman Darbyshire, picture first published in 2019 documentary '']''
|birth_name = Norman Matthew Darbyshire |birth_name = Norman Matthew Darbyshire
|birth_date = {{birth date|1924|10|1|df=y}}<ref name="FO">{{harvnb|Foreign Office|1963}}</ref> |birth_date = {{birth date|1924|10|1|df=y}}<ref name="FO">{{harvnb|Foreign Office|1963}}</ref>
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|criminal_penalty = |criminal_penalty =
|criminal_status = |criminal_status =
|spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Manon Eiryd Arvor|1948}}<ref name="FO"/>|{{marriage|Fell|1963}}<ref name="MABR">{{cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68FG-FFHX |url-access=registration |title=United Kingdom, British Armed Forces and Overseas Vital Records, 1761-2005|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1966 |website=FamilySearch |publisher= |access-date=2021-08-06|quote=Possible Spouse's Name: Virginia C Fell}}</ref>}} |spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Manon Eiryd Arvor|1948}}<ref name="FO"/>|{{marriage|Virginia C. Fell|1963}}<ref name="MABR">{{cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68FG-FFHX |url-access=registration |title=United Kingdom, British Armed Forces and Overseas Vital Records, 1761-2005|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1966 |website=FamilySearch |publisher= |access-date=2021-08-06|quote=Possible Spouse's Name: Virginia C Fell}}</ref>}}
|children = 6; 3 daughters and 3 sons<ref name="FO"/> |children = 6; 3 daughters and 3 sons<ref name="FO"/>
|parents = |parents =
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'''Norman Darbyshire''' (1924–1993) was a British ] who worked for the ] and the ]. He played a key role in the ] that overthrew ], the democratically-elected prime minister of ]. '''Norman Darbyshire''' (1924–1993) was a British ] who worked for the ] and the ]. He played a key role in the ] that overthrew ], the democratically-elected prime minister of ].<ref name="Grdn2023">{{cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |title='Written out the history books': the British spy who planned the Iranian coup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/15/written-out-the-history-books-the-british-spy-who-planned-the-iranian-coup |access-date=15 August 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=15 August 2023}}</ref>


== Espionage career == == Espionage career ==
Darbyshire was recruited into the ] and then joined the ] following its dissolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=537}}</ref> He spent much of his career in the Middle East, in ], ], ] and ].<ref name="D851">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=851}}</ref> Darbyshire was recruited into the ] and then joined the ] following its dissolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=537}}</ref> He spent much of his career in the Middle East, in ], ], ] and ].<ref name="D851">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=851}}</ref><ref name="Grdn2023"/>


Darbyshire was fluent in ] and spent three spells in Iran, being first sent to the ] ] country in late 1943, age 19, for a mission lasting until the middle of 1947. During this period, he shared a house with ] and was in touch with ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=564}}</ref> Darbyshire and Zaehner traveled to ], ] in 1947 and set up a radio aimed at Iranian audience using the ] facilities.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=537}}</ref> Darbyshire was fluent in the ] and spent three spells in Iran, being first sent to the ] ] country in late 1943, age 19, for a mission lasting until the middle of 1947. During this period, he shared a house with ]<ref name="Grdn2023"/> and was in touch with ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=564}}</ref> Darbyshire and Zaehner traveled to ], ] in 1947 and set up a radio aimed at Iranian audience using the ] facilities.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=537}}</ref>


He was posted to Iran again in late 1949 and continued to conduct covert operations with ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=561}}</ref> On 11 June 1950, he became the vice-consul in ]<ref name="FO"/> before being transferred to Tehran and officially appointed as the Third Secretary at the ] on 1 April 1951,<ref name="FO"/> in fact a promotion as the deputy to ] in MI6 Tehran station.<ref>{{harvnb|de Moraes Ruehsen|1993}}</ref> Aside from controlling the Rashidian network through ] as intermediary, during the second spell in Iran he was directly in touch with ], "more on a social basis", and influencing him indirectly via figures like ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=563}}</ref> Darbyshire ] dozens of agents, both for ] and ]s. He had a number of deputies in the ] on the payroll who voted and spoke as they were instructed, as well as ]s in the communist ], the Lankarani brothers, who organized mobs attacking mosques and public places in the name of the party.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=571}}</ref> He was posted to Iran again in late 1949 and continued to conduct covert operations with ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=561}}</ref> On 11 June 1950, he became the vice-consul in ]<ref name="FO"/> before being transferred to Tehran and officially appointed as the Third Secretary at the ] on 1 April 1951,<ref name="FO"/> in fact a promotion as the deputy to ] in MI6 Tehran station.<ref>{{harvnb|de Moraes Ruehsen|1993}}</ref> Aside from controlling the Rashidian network through ] as intermediary, during the second spell in Iran he was directly in touch with ], "more on a social basis", and influencing him indirectly via figures like ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=563}}</ref> Darbyshire ] dozens of agents, both for ] and ]s. He had a number of deputies in the ] on the payroll who voted and spoke as they were instructed, as well as ]s in the communist ], the Lankarani brothers, who organized mobs attacking mosques and public places in the name of the party.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=571}}</ref>


In October 1952, the Iranian government closed down the British embassy and evicted all its staff, including Darbyshire. As a result, he was formally transferred to the British Middle East Office in ] on 26 October 1952,<ref name="FO"/> but actually replaced Woodhouse as the MI6 spymaster responsible for Iran, taking over the MI6 Iran station-in-exile located in ], ]. He kept in touch with almost all assets inside Iran, most notably Rashidians, using ]<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=578}}</ref> and asked CIA's ] to join their coup d'état plan.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=580}}</ref> Among other things, he was involved in the kidnapping, torture, and assassination of General ], Mossadegh's chief of police,<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=585}}</ref> and bribed the Shah's twin sister Princess ] to play a key role in the coup and to eventually become a power behind his resulting dictatorship. Darbyshire, on behalf of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with his American counterpart ] who spoke for Secretary of State Foster Dulles, met with Princess Ashraf and persuaded her to return to Tehran and convince her brother to cooperate with their plan.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=588}}</ref> Therefore he directed the British side of the coup by radio contact from Cyprus, controlling the street mobs, thugs, prostitutes and military officers who were paid off by the Rashidians.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=592}}</ref> In October 1952, the Iranian government closed down the British embassy and evicted all its staff, including Darbyshire. As a result, he was formally transferred to the British Middle East Office in ] on 26 October 1952,<ref name="FO"/> but actually replaced Woodhouse as the MI6 spymaster responsible for Iran, taking over the MI6 Iran station-in-exile located in ], ]. He kept in touch with almost all assets inside Iran, most notably Rashidians, using ]<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=578}}</ref> and asked CIA's ] to join their coup d'état plan.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=580}}</ref> Among other things, he was involved in the kidnapping, torture, and assassination of General ], Mossadegh's chief of police,<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=585}}</ref> and bribed the Shah's twin sister Princess ] to play a key role in ] and to eventually become a power behind his resulting dictatorship. Darbyshire, on behalf of Prime Minister ], along with his American counterpart ] who spoke for Secretary of State ], met with Princess Ashraf and persuaded her to return to Tehran and convince her brother to cooperate with their plan.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=588}}</ref> Therefore he directed the British side of the coup by radio contact from Cyprus, controlling the street mobs, thugs, prostitutes and military officers who were paid off by the Rashidians.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=592}}</ref><ref name="Grdn2023"/>


On 3 August 1954 he was transferred to the Foreign Office.<ref name="FO"/> When the ] took place, Darbyshire was the ] in ],<ref name="D629">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=629}}</ref> under cover as the ] since 20 April 1956.<ref name="FO"/> There he made contact with members of the ] with an aim to destabilize Egypt under leadership of ].<ref name="D629"/> On 3 August 1954 he was transferred to the Foreign Office.<ref name="FO"/> When the ] took place, Darbyshire was the ] in ],<ref name="D629">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=629}}</ref> under cover as the ] since 20 April 1956.<ref name="FO"/> There he made contact with members of the ] with an aim to destabilize Egypt under leadership of ].<ref name="D629"/>


He had the same position in Bahrain,<ref name="D665"/> under cover as the First Secretary from 8 November 1958 onward.<ref name="FO"/> He was responsible for liaison with Oman's ] (mainly staffed with British officers) and coordinating between the MI6, the ] and Military Intelligence during the ].<ref name="D665">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=665}}</ref> In that capacity, he also worked closely with ] and ] against influence of ].<ref name="D670">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=670}}</ref> In July 1960, he was called back to London.<ref name="FO"/> He worked in the group vetting the information provided by Soviet defector ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=707}}</ref> He had the same position in Bahrain,<ref name="D665"/> under cover as the First Secretary from 8 November 1958 onward.<ref name="FO"/> He was responsible for liaison with Oman's ] (mainly staffed with British officers) and coordinating between the MI6, the ] and Military Intelligence during the ].<ref name="D665">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=665}}</ref> In that capacity, he also worked closely with ] and ] against influence of the ].<ref name="D670">{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=670}}</ref> In July 1960, he was called back to London.<ref name="FO"/> He worked in the group vetting the information provided by Soviet defector ].<ref>{{harvnb|Dorril|2000|page=707}}</ref>


Darbyshire returned to Tehran as station chief in 1963, on a mission lasting until 1967.<ref name="D851"/> Darbyshire returned to Tehran as station chief in 1963, on a mission lasting until 1967.<ref name="D851"/>

In 1968, Darbyshire was transferred to Whitehall where he worked as a SIS diplomat responsible for handling Iraqi defector, Lawrence De Souza<ref>{{harvnb|Souza|2004|page=89}}</ref> before moving to the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon taking the position of First Secretary. Darbyshire returned to Whitehall in 1973 and retired from the SIS in 1978. <ref>{{harvnb|Souza|2004|page=105}}</ref> He died in Britain in June 1993 of a heart attack.<ref name="Grdn2023"/>

== Portrayal in film and television == == Portrayal in film and television ==
In the 2019 documentary '']'' by ], actor ] plays the part of Darbyshire. In the 2019 documentary '']'' by ], actor ] plays the part of Darbyshire.
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* {{cite book|author=Foreign Office|title=The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book for 1963|year=1963|publisher=Harrison and Sons|pages=179–180|ref={{harvid|Foreign Office|1963}}}} * {{cite book|author=Foreign Office|title=The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book for 1963|year=1963|publisher=Harrison and Sons|pages=179–180|ref={{harvid|Foreign Office|1963}}}}
* {{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Dorril|title=MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service|publisher=The Free Press. |location=New York|date=2000|isbn=0-7432-0379-8|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mi6insidecovertw00dorr}} * {{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Dorril|title=MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service|publisher=The Free Press. |location=New York|date=2000|isbn=0-7432-0379-8|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mi6insidecovertw00dorr}}
* {{cite book|first=Corinne|last=Souza|title=Baghdad Spy: A Personal Memoir of Espionage and Intrigue from Iraq to London|publisher=Mainstream Publishing. |location=Edinburgh|date=2004|isbn=1-84018-849-9|url-access=registration |url=https://www.monkshillbooks.co.uk/baghdads-spy-souza.htm}}
* {{cite journal|first=Moyara|last=de Moraes Ruehsen|title='Ajax' Revisited: Iran, 1953|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=29|number=3|date=July 1993|pages=467–486|doi=10.1080/00263209308700961 |jstor=4283579}} * {{cite journal|first=Moyara|last=de Moraes Ruehsen|title='Ajax' Revisited: Iran, 1953|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=29|number=3|date=July 1993|pages=467–486|doi=10.1080/00263209308700961 |jstor=4283579}}
==External links== ==External links==
* {{citation|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/20489-national-security-archive|title=Transcript of Interview with Norman Darbyshire for End of Empire, c. 1985 (uncut)|via=National Security Archive}} * {{citation|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/20489-national-security-archive|title=Transcript of Interview with Norman Darbyshire for End of Empire, c. 1985 (uncut)|via=National Security Archive}}
*

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Latest revision as of 23:10, 28 December 2024

British MI6 operative who led the 1953 coup d'état that overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh
Norman Darbyshire
Norman Darbyshire, picture first published in 2019 documentary Coup 53
BornNorman Matthew Darbyshire
(1924-10-01)1 October 1924
Died17 June 1993(1993-06-17) (aged 68)
Other namesGordon Somerset
Spouses
  • Manon Eiryd Arvor ​(m. 1948)​
  • Virginia C. Fell ​(m. 1963)​
Children6; 3 daughters and 3 sons
Espionage activity
Country United Kingdom
Agency
Operations1953 Iranian coup d'état

Norman Darbyshire (1924–1993) was a British spy who worked for the SOE and the MI6. He played a key role in the 1953 coup d'état that overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran.

Espionage career

Darbyshire was recruited into the Special Operations Executive and then joined the Secret Intelligence Service following its dissolution. He spent much of his career in the Middle East, in Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Bahrain.

Darbyshire was fluent in the Persian language and spent three spells in Iran, being first sent to the World War II Anglo-Soviet occupied country in late 1943, age 19, for a mission lasting until the middle of 1947. During this period, he shared a house with Robin Zaehner and was in touch with the Rashidian Brothers. Darbyshire and Zaehner traveled to Jerusalem, Palestine in 1947 and set up a radio aimed at Iranian audience using the Near East Broadcasting Station facilities.

He was posted to Iran again in late 1949 and continued to conduct covert operations with official cover. On 11 June 1950, he became the vice-consul in Mashhad before being transferred to Tehran and officially appointed as the Third Secretary at the British Embassy on 1 April 1951, in fact a promotion as the deputy to Monty Woodhouse in MI6 Tehran station. Aside from controlling the Rashidian network through Samuel Falle as intermediary, during the second spell in Iran he was directly in touch with Mohammad Reza Shah, "more on a social basis", and influencing him indirectly via figures like Ernest Perron. Darbyshire handled dozens of agents, both for intelligence-gathering and black operations. He had a number of deputies in the Iranian Parliament on the payroll who voted and spoke as they were instructed, as well as entryists in the communist Tudeh Party, the Lankarani brothers, who organized mobs attacking mosques and public places in the name of the party.

In October 1952, the Iranian government closed down the British embassy and evicted all its staff, including Darbyshire. As a result, he was formally transferred to the British Middle East Office in Cairo on 26 October 1952, but actually replaced Woodhouse as the MI6 spymaster responsible for Iran, taking over the MI6 Iran station-in-exile located in Nicosia, Cyprus. He kept in touch with almost all assets inside Iran, most notably Rashidians, using radio transmissions and asked CIA's Kermit Roosevelt Jr. to join their coup d'état plan. Among other things, he was involved in the kidnapping, torture, and assassination of General Mahmoud Afshartous, Mossadegh's chief of police, and bribed the Shah's twin sister Princess Ashraf Pahlavi to play a key role in the coup and to eventually become a power behind his resulting dictatorship. Darbyshire, on behalf of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with his American counterpart Stephen Meade who spoke for Secretary of State Foster Dulles, met with Princess Ashraf and persuaded her to return to Tehran and convince her brother to cooperate with their plan. Therefore he directed the British side of the coup by radio contact from Cyprus, controlling the street mobs, thugs, prostitutes and military officers who were paid off by the Rashidians.

On 3 August 1954 he was transferred to the Foreign Office. When the Suez Crisis took place, Darbyshire was the station chief in Geneva, under cover as the consul since 20 April 1956. There he made contact with members of the Muslim Brotherhood with an aim to destabilize Egypt under leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

He had the same position in Bahrain, under cover as the First Secretary from 8 November 1958 onward. He was responsible for liaison with Oman's Internal Security Service (mainly staffed with British officers) and coordinating between the MI6, the Special Air Service and Military Intelligence during the Jebel Akhdar War. In that capacity, he also worked closely with Mossad and SAVAK against influence of the Nasserite movement. In July 1960, he was called back to London. He worked in the group vetting the information provided by Soviet defector Oleg Penkovsky.

Darbyshire returned to Tehran as station chief in 1963, on a mission lasting until 1967.

In 1968, Darbyshire was transferred to Whitehall where he worked as a SIS diplomat responsible for handling Iraqi defector, Lawrence De Souza before moving to the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon taking the position of First Secretary. Darbyshire returned to Whitehall in 1973 and retired from the SIS in 1978. He died in Britain in June 1993 of a heart attack.

Portrayal in film and television

In the 2019 documentary Coup 53 by Taghi Amirani, actor Ralph Fiennes plays the part of Darbyshire.

Awards

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Foreign Office 1963
  2. ^ Dorril 2000, p. 670
  3. "United Kingdom, British Armed Forces and Overseas Vital Records, 1761-2005". FamilySearch. 1966. Retrieved 2021-08-06. Possible Spouse's Name: Virginia C Fell
  4. ^ Borger, Julian (15 August 2023). "'Written out the history books': the British spy who planned the Iranian coup". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. Dorril 2000, p. 537
  6. ^ Dorril 2000, p. 851
  7. Dorril 2000, p. 564
  8. Dorril 2000, p. 537
  9. Dorril 2000, p. 561
  10. de Moraes Ruehsen 1993
  11. Dorril 2000, p. 563
  12. Dorril 2000, p. 571
  13. Dorril 2000, p. 578
  14. Dorril 2000, p. 580
  15. Dorril 2000, p. 585
  16. Dorril 2000, p. 588
  17. Dorril 2000, p. 592
  18. ^ Dorril 2000, p. 629
  19. ^ Dorril 2000, p. 665
  20. Dorril 2000, p. 707
  21. Souza 2004, p. 89
  22. Souza 2004, p. 105

Sources

External links

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