Basil Thomson
Encyclopedia
Sir Basil Home Thomson, KCB
(21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British
intelligence officer
, police
officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer.
, where his father, William Thomson (who would later become Archbishop of York
), was provost
of The Queen's College
. Thomson was educated at Worsley's School in Hendon
and Eton College
, and then attended New College, Oxford
. Thomson ended his university studies after two terms, after suffering bouts of depression, and spent some time from 1881 to 1882 in the United States
, working as a farmer in Iowa
.
, where he assisted Sir William Des Vœux
, then Governor of Fiji
. Arriving in Fiji
in early 1884, and set about learning the Fijian
and Tongan
languages while appointed as a stipendiary magistrate
throughout the islands. When Sir William MacGregor
was appointed administrator of British New Guinea, Thomson joined his staff until he was invalided back to England after contracting malaria
.
Back in England, Thomson married Grace Webber in 1890, returning to Fiji with his wife in the middle of that year to serve as commissioner of native lands. When Sir John Thurston
, the Governor of Fiji
, dismissed the Premier of Tonga
(Shirley Waldemar Baker
) in his capacity as High Commissioner
of the Western Pacific
, Thomson was moved to Tonga
, where he became assistant premier to Siaosi U. Tuku'aho, the pro-British chief appointed as Baker's replacement.
, Thomson resigned from colonial service, and returned to England in 1893, due in no small part to the deteriorating health of his wife. There he embarked on a career as a writer, drawing on his experiences in the South Sea Islands to produce South Sea Yarns (1894; written in Fiji), The Diversions of a Prime Minister (1894, about his government work in Tonga), and The Indiscretions of Lady Asenath (1898).
examinations at the Inner Temple
, and was admitted to the bar in 1896. Instead of becoming a barrister
, Thomson accepted the position of deputy governor
at HM Prison Liverpool
, after his name was suggested for the post due to a personal acquaintance with Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise
, a fellow Old Etonian who had stayed with Thomson in Tonga. Over the next twelve years, he served as governor of Northampton, Cardiff
, Dartmoor
, and Wormwood Scrubs
prisons.
From 1908 to 1913, he served as secretary of the Prison Commission
.
In 1899, the United Kingdom and Germany
signed an agreement formalising each country's rights and claims over Tonga and Samoa
respectively. Given his inside knowledge of Tongan politics, Thomson was tasked with expediting the establishment of a British protectorate over Tonga, which was established on 18 May 1900 despite Tongan resistance.
of London
's Metropolitan Police
, which made him the head of the Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) at New Scotland Yard. When World War I
broke out in 1914, the CID found itself acting as the enforcement arm for Britain's military intelligence apparatus: while the newly-formed Secret Service Bureau (later known as MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service
), and the intelligence arms of the War Office
and the Admiralty
, collected intelligence on suspected spies in Britain, they had no arrest powers. As head of CID, Thomson was involved in the arrests in several high-profile espionage cases, including Lieutenant Carl Hans Lody
and establishing himself a reputation as a "spycatcher". Thomson worked closely with the MI5, especially the MI5(g) headed by Vernon Kell and his works at the was key in dealing with the Indian nationalist movement in Europe. However, since the existence of the latter organisation was not acknowledged at the time, Thomson controversially claimed a large proportion of the credit in the successful British counter-espionage operations. In his memoirs, The Scene Changes, Thomson acknowledges only the works of Robert Nathan
, who worked closely with him, and was involved in the interrogation of a number of Indian revolutionaries who worked with German Intelligence during the war. Thomson and Nathan's work at the time was key in identifying the plans by Ghadar Party
and the Indian Independence Committee to assassinate Lord Kitchener
in 1915 through an associate of Har Dayal
, Gobind Behari Lal, as well as identifying the outlines of the Indian revolutionary conspiracy. Their efforts at the time also resulted in the capture of Harish Chandra (who was associated with the Berlin committee
), and he was successfully turned into a double agent
. Thomson's efforts were also key in uncovering the first concrete evidence of Turco-German agents operating in the middle east
and attempting to destabillise Afghanistan
and British India.
One who he interrogated was ‘Mata Hari
’ the Dutch exotic dancer later to be executed by the French as a spy. In 1916 she was taken off a ship sailing from Spain
to Holland at Falmouth
as a suspicious person and brought to London where she was interrogated at length by Thomson. Eventually she claimed to be doing some work for French Intelligence. (A full transcript of this is in Britain’s National Archives and Thomson himself refers to it in his 1922 book Queer People).
Thomson's work as Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard had its darker side. His natural conservatism was given full throttle against suffragettes, then against spies from Imperial Germany and its allies, then against Irish nationalists, and finally against British Marxists. Thomson was involved with the spreading of the "Black Diaries" used against Sir Roger Casement to prevent public support for a reduction of Casement's death sentence for high treason
in 1916. He equated Bolsheviks only with Jews, and even wrote anti-Semitic articles about Jews for a newspaper, the Whitechapel Gazette, owned by the highly questionable social figure Maundy Gregory
.
Thomson was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1916 and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1919.
In 1919, while remaining Assistant Commissioner (Crime), he was appointed Director of Intelligence at the Home Office
, in overall charge of every intelligence agency in the country, but in 1921 he fell out with Lloyd George and was asked to resign. The reasons for this remain mysterious.
's Hyde Park
, and charged with "committing an act in violation of public decency" with a young woman, Miss Thelma de Lava. Thomson rejected the charges, insisting that he was engaged in conversation with the woman for the purposes of research for a book he was writing on London vice. Nonetheless, he was found guilty of public indecency, and fined £5.
In reality the story he gave the court (which his barrister, Sir Henry Curtis Bennett, probably did not support) sounded totally peculiar. Thomson apparently lied (or told a half-truth) regarding his name, calling himself "Home Thomson" when he was arrested with Miss de Lava. "Home" was one of his middle names. Unfortunately he was recognized by the police. He tried alternately to bluster or to offer a vague bribe to the constables. When he presented his version in the courtroom he said he was researching a book on the danger of left wing agitators in England and he was together with Miss de Lava awaiting for the speech to begin.
Had this been true, Thomson should have revealed in court who the orator was he was awaiting for. He kept refusing. That plus the background of Miss de Lava as a prostitute ended any real credibility that Thomson thought would save him.
To be fair to Thomson, there is a slim chance he was partly set up. That is he was legitimately arrested, but given no chance to keep the matter quiet. The reason may be that Thomson was interested in an opening for a new Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a post for which he would have felt he was properly prepared. His enemies in the police may have made sure that the entire affair became public to discredit him.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
, police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer.
Early life
Thomson was born in OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where his father, William Thomson (who would later become Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
), was provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of The Queen's College
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
. Thomson was educated at Worsley's School in Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
and Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, and then attended New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
. Thomson ended his university studies after two terms, after suffering bouts of depression, and spent some time from 1881 to 1882 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, working as a farmer in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Colonial service
In 1883, with the promise of marriage to a Grace Webber should he be financially secure, Thomson secured a cadet position at the Colonial OfficeColonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
, where he assisted Sir William Des Vœux
William Des Vœux
Sir George William Des Vœux, GCMG was a British colonial governor who served as Governor of Fiji , Newfoundland , and Hong Kong .-Early life:...
, then Governor of Fiji
Governor of Fiji
Fiji was a British Crown Colony from 1874 to 1970, and an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987. During this period, the Head of State was the British Monarch, but in practice his or her functions were normally exercised locally by the Governor prior to independence ,...
. Arriving in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
in early 1884, and set about learning the Fijian
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
and Tongan
Tongan language
Tongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...
languages while appointed as a stipendiary magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
throughout the islands. When Sir William MacGregor
William MacGregor
Sir William MacGregor GCMG, CB was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.-Early life:...
was appointed administrator of British New Guinea, Thomson joined his staff until he was invalided back to England after contracting malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
.
Back in England, Thomson married Grace Webber in 1890, returning to Fiji with his wife in the middle of that year to serve as commissioner of native lands. When Sir John Thurston
John Bates Thurston
Sir John Bates Thurston was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti and later as colonial Governor.- Early life :...
, the Governor of Fiji
Governor of Fiji
Fiji was a British Crown Colony from 1874 to 1970, and an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987. During this period, the Head of State was the British Monarch, but in practice his or her functions were normally exercised locally by the Governor prior to independence ,...
, dismissed the Premier of Tonga
Prime Minister of Tonga
This is a list of Prime Ministers of Tonga from the establishment of that office in 1876 until the present day.-List of Premiers/Prime Ministers of Tonga :-External links:*...
(Shirley Waldemar Baker
Shirley Waldemar Baker
Shirley Waldemar Baker was a missionary and premier of Tonga.-Early life:Baker was born in London, England of a Devonshire family. He studied medicine, went to Australia in 1852 as a stowaway. He worked as a farm hand, miner and apothecary's assistant on the goldfields in Victoria...
) in his capacity as High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
of the Western Pacific
British Western Pacific Territories
The British Western Pacific Territories was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled High Commissioner, of a series of relatively minor Pacific islands in and around Oceania...
, Thomson was moved to Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, where he became assistant premier to Siaosi U. Tuku'aho, the pro-British chief appointed as Baker's replacement.
Writing career
After three years at the Native Lands Office in SuvaSuva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
, Thomson resigned from colonial service, and returned to England in 1893, due in no small part to the deteriorating health of his wife. There he embarked on a career as a writer, drawing on his experiences in the South Sea Islands to produce South Sea Yarns (1894; written in Fiji), The Diversions of a Prime Minister (1894, about his government work in Tonga), and The Indiscretions of Lady Asenath (1898).
Prison governorship
In the mid-1890s, Thomson read for the barBar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
examinations at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, and was admitted to the bar in 1896. Instead of becoming a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, Thomson accepted the position of deputy governor
Prison Governor
In the UK, a Prison Governor is responsible for the management and security of a prison, jail, remand centre and young offenders' institution. In India and Pakistan, the head of a District, Central, Women or special Prison/Jail is called Superintendent of Jail, Superintendent Jail, Senior...
at HM Prison Liverpool
Liverpool (HM Prison)
HM Prison Liverpool is a categoryB/C local men's prison, located in the Walton area of Liverpool in England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, after his name was suggested for the post due to a personal acquaintance with Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise
Evelyn Ruggles-Brise
Sir Evelyn John Ruggles-Brise KCB was a British prison administrator and reformer, and founder of the Borstal system.-Biography:...
, a fellow Old Etonian who had stayed with Thomson in Tonga. Over the next twelve years, he served as governor of Northampton, Cardiff
Cardiff (HM Prison)
HM Prison Cardiff is a Category B men's prison, located in the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, Wales. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, Dartmoor
Dartmoor (HM Prison)
HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor...
, and Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
prisons.
From 1908 to 1913, he served as secretary of the Prison Commission
Prison Commission (England and Wales)
The Prison Commission was a public body of the Government of the United Kingdom established in 1877 and responsible for overseeing the operation of HM Prison Service...
.
In 1899, the United Kingdom and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
signed an agreement formalising each country's rights and claims over Tonga and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
respectively. Given his inside knowledge of Tongan politics, Thomson was tasked with expediting the establishment of a British protectorate over Tonga, which was established on 18 May 1900 despite Tongan resistance.
Metropolitan Police
In June 1913, Thomson was appointed Assistant Commissioner "C" (Crime)Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, usually just Assistant Commissioner , is the third highest rank in London's Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner. There are usually four officers in the rank...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
, which made him the head of the Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
(CID) at New Scotland Yard. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out in 1914, the CID found itself acting as the enforcement arm for Britain's military intelligence apparatus: while the newly-formed Secret Service Bureau (later known as MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
), and the intelligence arms of the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
and the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, collected intelligence on suspected spies in Britain, they had no arrest powers. As head of CID, Thomson was involved in the arrests in several high-profile espionage cases, including Lieutenant Carl Hans Lody
Carl Hans Lody
Carl Hans Lody was executed as a German spy by Great Britain at the Tower of London soon after the outbreak of World War I....
and establishing himself a reputation as a "spycatcher". Thomson worked closely with the MI5, especially the MI5(g) headed by Vernon Kell and his works at the was key in dealing with the Indian nationalist movement in Europe. However, since the existence of the latter organisation was not acknowledged at the time, Thomson controversially claimed a large proportion of the credit in the successful British counter-espionage operations. In his memoirs, The Scene Changes, Thomson acknowledges only the works of Robert Nathan
Robert Nathan (Indian civil servant)
Sir Robert Nathan, KCSI, CIE was an Indian Police Officer notable for his works against the Indian revolutionaries in Bengal, Britain and North America.-Early career in India:...
, who worked closely with him, and was involved in the interrogation of a number of Indian revolutionaries who worked with German Intelligence during the war. Thomson and Nathan's work at the time was key in identifying the plans by Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
and the Indian Independence Committee to assassinate Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
in 1915 through an associate of Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
, Gobind Behari Lal, as well as identifying the outlines of the Indian revolutionary conspiracy. Their efforts at the time also resulted in the capture of Harish Chandra (who was associated with the Berlin committee
Berlin Committee
The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in the country. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the cause of Indian Independence...
), and he was successfully turned into a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
. Thomson's efforts were also key in uncovering the first concrete evidence of Turco-German agents operating in the middle east
Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
The Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition was a diplomatic mission sent by the Central Powers to Afghanistan in 1915-1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack India. The expedition was...
and attempting to destabillise Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and British India.
One who he interrogated was ‘Mata Hari
Mata Hari
Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...
’ the Dutch exotic dancer later to be executed by the French as a spy. In 1916 she was taken off a ship sailing from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to Holland at Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
as a suspicious person and brought to London where she was interrogated at length by Thomson. Eventually she claimed to be doing some work for French Intelligence. (A full transcript of this is in Britain’s National Archives and Thomson himself refers to it in his 1922 book Queer People).
Thomson's work as Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard had its darker side. His natural conservatism was given full throttle against suffragettes, then against spies from Imperial Germany and its allies, then against Irish nationalists, and finally against British Marxists. Thomson was involved with the spreading of the "Black Diaries" used against Sir Roger Casement to prevent public support for a reduction of Casement's death sentence for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in 1916. He equated Bolsheviks only with Jews, and even wrote anti-Semitic articles about Jews for a newspaper, the Whitechapel Gazette, owned by the highly questionable social figure Maundy Gregory
Maundy Gregory
Arthur Maundy Gregory was a British theatre producer and political fixer who is best remembered for selling honours for Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He may also have been involved with the Zinoviev Letter, the disappearance of Victor Grayson, and the suspicious death of his platonic...
.
Thomson was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1916 and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1919.
In 1919, while remaining Assistant Commissioner (Crime), he was appointed Director of Intelligence at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, in overall charge of every intelligence agency in the country, but in 1921 he fell out with Lloyd George and was asked to resign. The reasons for this remain mysterious.
The Hyde Park incident
In December 1925, Thomson was arrested in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, and charged with "committing an act in violation of public decency" with a young woman, Miss Thelma de Lava. Thomson rejected the charges, insisting that he was engaged in conversation with the woman for the purposes of research for a book he was writing on London vice. Nonetheless, he was found guilty of public indecency, and fined £5.
In reality the story he gave the court (which his barrister, Sir Henry Curtis Bennett, probably did not support) sounded totally peculiar. Thomson apparently lied (or told a half-truth) regarding his name, calling himself "Home Thomson" when he was arrested with Miss de Lava. "Home" was one of his middle names. Unfortunately he was recognized by the police. He tried alternately to bluster or to offer a vague bribe to the constables. When he presented his version in the courtroom he said he was researching a book on the danger of left wing agitators in England and he was together with Miss de Lava awaiting for the speech to begin.
Had this been true, Thomson should have revealed in court who the orator was he was awaiting for. He kept refusing. That plus the background of Miss de Lava as a prostitute ended any real credibility that Thomson thought would save him.
To be fair to Thomson, there is a slim chance he was partly set up. That is he was legitimately arrested, but given no chance to keep the matter quiet. The reason may be that Thomson was interested in an opening for a new Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a post for which he would have felt he was properly prepared. His enemies in the police may have made sure that the entire affair became public to discredit him.