Edward 'Jimmy' James
MI6 Director of Administration c.1974
Edward ‘Jimmy’ James (1917-2002) was an MI6 officer. After early success establishing the MI6 station in what now Myanmar, later postings saw James mopping up counterintelligence failures in Hong Kong and Berlin. He rose to Director of Administration before retiring from the service in 1974, to become deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry.
Early life and Second World War
Edward Foster James was born on 18 January 1917.1
After attending Chiswick County School in west London, he worked on the commercial side of trade publications for three years in the late 1930s.2
He served in H.M. Forces 1939-46.3 As an officer in the Royal Artillery, he was posted to India, Burma, Malaya and Indonesia, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.4 During the Burma Campaign, he gained early intelligence experience with the Fourteenth Army.5 He was twice mentioned in despatches, and was awarded the OBE in 1946.6
