The Secret Service

There is no disagreement about when it began. In 1867-68, as a result of the ClerkenwellBombing^? by IrishFenians, RobertAnderson was called in to head up an intelligence force answerable to the HomeOffice for the investigation and suppression of Fenian activities. Anderson was quite successful in some respects, notably in his recruitment of the erstwhile HenriLeCaron as his chief spy among the American FenianBrotherhood^? of Ireland (FBI), IrishRepublicanBrotherhood^? (IRB), and ClanNaGael.

But at some point it closed up shop. Anderson is listed by some as still running these spies in 1886, but others consider that the SecretService shut down within a few months, because it had become clear that the ClerkenwellBombing^? was not in fact a prelude to an all-out DynamiteWar in London.

Nevertheless it is apparent that Anderson remained at the HomeOffice doing some sort of espionage and intelligence-gathering work. What we do not really know is what that work was.

Eventually the complete work of the SecretService, in whatever form, was moved to the SpecialBranch, newly formed to deal especially with the IrishFenians in 1883 as the SpecialIrishBranch, then in 1887 transformed into a somewhat more general force.

For references, see the pages on SpecialBranch and RobertAnderson.

-- ChrisLehrich^? - 29 Jan 2005