LORD SEMPHILL-JAPANESE SPY ????

[aurora]

William Francis Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill AFC , AFRAeS, (30 September 1893 – 30 December 1965) was a British air pioneer and traitor.[ He began as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and then the Royal Naval Air Service. Post war he set several records in aviation. He aided the Japanese in developing their naval aviation both in leading an official mission to Japan and later supplying them with military secrets. His activities were discovered but knowledge suppressed to conceal British success with intercepting Japanese communications and he was not forced to retire from a position in the Navy until 1941.
Before succeeding his father to the titles of Lord Sempill and Baronet of Craigevar in 1934, he was known by the title Master of Sempill.
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Early and family life
Born at the family seat of Craigievar Castle in Aberdeenshire, Sempill was educated at Eton, and then apprenticed to Rolls-Royce in 1910.[4] He married Eileen Marion Lavery, the daughter of the Irish painter Sir John Lavery, in 1919, and their daughter Ann Moira was born in 1920.

Military and civil aviation
At the outbreak of World War I, Sempill joined Royal Flying Corps, being granted a probationary commission as a second lieutenant on 15 August 1914, which was confirmed less than four months later. In the meantime Sempill was appointed to flying duties. The following year, in February, Sempill took up a position as an "experimental officer" at the Central Flying School[ and he received a promotion to lieutenant in April. Less than four months later he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. In August 1915, he was apointed to instructional duties. Sempill's time at the Central Flying School was not to last as he relinquished his Army commission at the end of the year on being accepted for temporary service in the Royal Naval Air Service. Sempill's rapid rise through the ranks continued in the Navy and at the close of 1916 he was promoted to squadron commander. On 1 April 1918, with the amalgamation of both flying services into the Royal Air Force, Sempill was transferred and appointed one of several deputy directors in the RAF's personnel department with the temporary rank of colonel. In June Sempill's award of the Air Force Cross was gazetted. Sempill stayed at the Air Ministry until 8 October 1918 when he seconded on loan service to the Ministry of Munitions. On the cessation of hostilities, he became a test pilot and he retired from military service in 1919.
On 4 September 1930, he set a new record by flying a de Havilland DH.60 Moth seaplane (G-AAVB) 1,040 miles non-stop from Welsh Harp to Stockholm in 12 hours. On 26 March 1936 he made a record-breaking flight in a BAC Drone ultra-light aircraft (G-ADPJ) 570 miles from Croydon Airport direct to Berlin Tempelhof Airport in 11 hours. He flew back a day or so later in 9 hours though he interrupted the flight with a stop at Canterbury.

Diplomatic career
In 1921 he led a British deputation to Japan, to assist the Japanese navy in setting up its new air base, after the Japanese had bought three Supermarine Channel flying boats. Sempill was well respected within Japanese circles, and received a personal letter from Prime Minister Tomosaburo Kato (1922-1923), thanking him for his work with the Japanese navy, which he described as "almost epoch-making."
On his return to the UK in 1923, he kept in contact with the Japanese Foreign Ministry. In 1925 Sempill led a mission of foreign air officials to the Blackburn Aircraft factory at Brough, Lancashire. The Japanese had previously asked questions about aircraft being developed. Sempill later asked the same questions, in his official position, of the then secret Blackburn Iris.
The Directorate of Military Intelligence had kept Sempill's communication with the Japanese Naval attache in London, Captain Teijirō Toyoda, under surveillance from 1922. This lead to the knowledge of Sempill passing classified secret information to the Japanese, which Toyoda indicated in his communication had been paid for.
In March 1926, Sempill was proposed by the Aviation Ministry be appointed Greece's aeronautical adviser. At this point the Directorate of Military Intelligence advised the Foreign Office and the British Embassy in Athens, that Britain could not be seen to endorse Sempill's appointment because of his past activities.
Sempill was resultantly called into the Foreign Office for an interview. The questions directed to him were to assess his loyalty to the British Goverment, his attachments to the Japanese, and the amount of information that he had passed to the Japanese. However, during the meeting, the investigating officer could not reveal that the British had broken Japanese codes and were monitoring the Japanese communications systems. However, on the trip to Brough, Sempill had openly talked about the Blackburn Iris on the upward train trip from London with the foreign air officials. This was witnessed by a British Air Ministry civil servant who reported the incident to his management. Using this information, Sempill admitted that he had broken the Official Secrets Act
Taking this admitted breach to a subsequent meeting with Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Austen Chamberlain, it was decided not to prosecute Sempill. This was in part due to the fact that his father was then aide-du-camp to King George V, and in part because a prosecution would have led to the revelation that the British had cracked the Japanese diplomatic codes.

Lord Sempill
Sempill was a leading figure in the Royal Aeronautical Society, of which he was chair and then president, and advised overseas governments, including that of Australia, on the creation of their air forces.
In 1934 he succeeded his father, John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill to the titles of Lord Sempill and Baronet of Craigevar, taking his seat in the House of Lords. His wife, who had accompanied him on many of his air tours died in July 1935.
From 1932 to 1936, he was a technical and business consultant to the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
During this period Sempill developed extreme right-wing political opinions, and was active in several anti-Semitic organizations such as the Anglo-German Fellowship, The Link and Archibald Ramsay's The Right Club.

Admiralty
In 1939, on the outbreak of war, Sempill rejoined the Royal Naval. Assigned to the Admiralty, he worked in the Department of Air Material, where he had access to both sensitive and secret information about the latest British aircraft.
Six months after the Newfoundland Conference meeting between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Japanese Embassy in London passed notes on the meeting to their Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. Intercepted by the fledging Bletchley Park code breakers, the transcript was passed to Churchill, who noted they were "very accurate." Three months later, further notes on Churchill's personal agenda and inner circle were passed by the Japanese Embassy in London to their Foreign Ministry. In notes to Churchill, Anthony Eden concluded that only two men could have created the notes: Commander McGrath or the Lord Sempill.]
In early 1941, Scotland Yard arrested the Japanese businessman Makahara, a representative of a big Japanese firm on suspicion of espionage. While being held, Lord Sempill telephoned and then called at Paddington police station, to assure the police of Makahara's innocence and character.
In June 1940, MI5 intercepted messages from Mitsubishi to London and Field Marshal Yamagata's headquarters, which referred to payments being made to Sempill: "In light of the use made of Lord Sempill by our military and naval attaches in London, these payments should continue". On investigation, it was further suspected that Sempill was passing secret information about Fleet Air Arm aircraft, the matter was passed to the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions. The Attorney General advised against prosecution, and on 5 September 1941, Sempill was brought in front of the Fifth Sea Lord and given "a strict private warning".
On 9 October 1941, a signed note from Churchill says: "Clear him out while time remains." The following week the Admiralty confronted Sempill and told him he could either resign or be fired. Sempill protested, and Churchill - unhappy at the action - wrote to the Admiralty: "I had not contemplated Lord Sempill being required to resign his commission, but only to be employed elsewhere in the Admiralty." A subsequent note from Churchill's aide Desmond Morton, dated 17 October 1941 states: "The First Sea Lord ... proposes to offer him a post in the North of Scotland. I have suggested to Lord Swinton that MI5 should be informed in due course so they may take any precautions necessary."
On 13 December 1941, Sempill's office was raided, during which were found various secret documents that he should have handed over three weeks earlier. A similar raid on 15 December found Sempill making phone calls to the Japanese Embassy. After this, Sempill agreed to retire.His treachery-it has been said-brought about the Fall of Singapore and he was saved from being hanged for espionage in wartime by his ruling class connections

Post war
In 1956 the Swedish government awarded him the Order of the Polar Star. At various times he was president of the British Gliding Association and of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.
On his death, his titles were split; his daughter Ann inherited the lordship of parliament, as this title was able to be passed down the female line, but the baronetcy passed to his younger brother, Ewan.

Post death
In 2002 the Public Record Office released the records that showed Sempill had been functioning as a spy for the Japanese, selling them information on British developments.
Commentators have speculated on his motives, with some suggesting that Sempill's activities on behalf of the Japanese and Fascist contacts were motivated less by any desire to help the enemy than by his own impetuous character, obstinacy, and flawed judgement. However, in various correspondence between Churchill's office, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, it is noted that he had at this time debts in excess of £13,000 (2012 equivalent of £750,000).

Honors
3rd Class or Commander in the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan.
Order of the Polar Star, Sweden.

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[Thorsten Wahl]

Is not better

[aurora]

So Thorsten- can you say what precisely is wrong with this posting-I asked a question about an an individual having given all the relevant details-so what should I have done-I would be grateful for an answer.

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[RF]

This is an interesting and detailed account, though I'm not sure of the question being posed.

[aurora]

RF -the real question was whether he was wittingly or unwittingly a spy for the Japanese; or was just a foolish man???

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[aurora]

1"In June 1940, MI5 intercepted messages from Mitsubishi to London and Field Marshal Yamagata's headquarters, which referred to payments being made to Sempill: "In light of the use made of Lord Sempill by our military and naval attaches in London, these payments should continue". On investigation, it was further suspected that Sempill was passing secret information about Fleet Air Arm aircraft, the matter was passed to the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions. The Attorney General advised against prosecution, and on 5 September 1941, Sempill was brought in front of the Fifth Sea Lord and given "a strict private warning".

2 "On 13 December 1941, Sempill's office was raided, during which were found various secret documents that he should have handed over three weeks earlier. A similar raid on 15 December found Sempill making phone calls to the Japanese Embassy. After this, Sempill agreed to retire.His treachery-it has been said-brought about the Fall of Singapore and he was saved from being hanged for espionage in wartime by his ruling class connections"

3"Commentators have speculated on his motives, with some suggesting that Sempill's activities on behalf of the Japanese and Fascist contacts were motivated less by any desire to help the enemy than by his own impetuous character, obstinacy, and flawed judgement. However, in various correspondence between Churchill's office, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, it is noted that he had at this time debts in excess of £13,000 (2012 equivalent of £750,000).

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[RF]

RF -the real question was whether he was wittingly or unwittingly a spy for the Japanese; or was just a foolish man???
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The answer to that can only be conjectural. The substance of the evidence given here - being paid by the enemy (or enemy to be) would have been enough to convict in a British court on a charge of treason.

[aurora]

On 13 December 1941, Sempill's office was raided, during which were found various secret documents that he should have handed over three weeks earlier. A similar raid on 15 December found Sempill making phone calls to the Japanese Embassy. After this, Sempill agreed to retire.His treachery-it has been said-brought about the Fall of Singapore and he was saved from being hanged for espionage in wartime by his ruling class connections
I am of the opinion that he was manifestly guilty of treason; but as noted in the foregoing, he was saved from being hanged by his ruling class connections.

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[RF]

Telephone calls to the Japanese embassy on 15 December 1941?

I thought that the Jap embassy - already operating on a small staff in the absence of a formal ambassador - was closed down on 8 December 1941 when Britain declared war on Japan, actually ahead of the US declaration of war.

[aurora]

RF
I have to agree that he could not have been calling the Japanese Embassy in London,because as you say it closed on 8th December.However it may well have been the Japanese Embassy in DUBLIN-a nest of spies by all accounts.Have been caught and presumably cautioned- he agreed to desist and retire.

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[RF]

Yes, the Axis embassies in Dublin were under close observation by both the British and Americans....... especially given that the accidental bombing of Dublin in mistake for Belfast by the Luftwaffe would for most countries have caused at least the German embassy to be shut down amid demands for compensation and apology - imagine the furore if the RAF had bombed Dublin by mistake!

The Spanish kicked the Jap diplomats out of Madrid after the IJA violated international diplomatic code by entering the Spanish consulate in Manila.

[aurora]

Post death
In 2002 the Public Record Office released the records that showed Sempill had been functioning as a spy for the Japanese, selling them information on British developments.
Commentators have speculated on his motives, with some suggesting that Sempill's activities on behalf of the Japanese and Fascist contacts were motivated less by any desire to help the enemy than by his own impetuous character, obstinacy, and flawed judgement. However, in various correspondence between Churchill's office, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, it is noted that he had at this time debts in excess of £13,000 (2012 equivalent of £750,000).

RF
All done and dusted M'Lud-unless of course,you know differently.Thank you for your interest and input

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