Ralph Murray
Encyclopedia
Sir Francis Ralph Hay Murray KCMG
, CB
(3 March 1908 - 11 September 1983), was a British
journalist, radio broadcaster and diplomat.
headed by the Duke of Atholl
, he was the son of the Reverend Charles Murray, Rector of Kirby Knowle
, Yorkshire
, and Mabel (née Umfreville). He was the great-grandson of the Right Reverend George Murray
, Bishop of Rochester
, while the actor Stephen Murray was his younger brother. He was educated at Brentwood School
and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. His father died in 1919 in the Spanish flu pandemic.
, German
, Italian
, Spanish
, Greek
, and some Russian
. Before the Second world war he worked for the BBC
as a journalist, having previously worked for a Bristol
newspaper. In 1935 he reported the Saarland
Plebiscite - and succeeded in broadcasting live during the 9 o'clock news holding a microphone out of the window to capture the chants of the mob - a major technical feat, and possibly the first time an international live outside broadcast had been undertaken. In common with many on the periphery of Special Operations Executive
(SOE), knowledge of his wartime service is hazy. He was most closely associated with propaganda
, and from 1941 was a member of the Underground Propaganda Committee (UPC) which had been formed to fuel a whispering campaign to undermine any invasion. He was also associated with Bletchley Park
, and was involved in supporting resistance activity, notably, from 1943, of the Yugoslavian Partisans where he met Josip Broz Tito
. His wife Mauricette was involved in propaganda broadcasting to occupied Europe, notably to Sweden where she had spent several years as a child.
In 1949 he became the director of the Information Research Department
(IRD), This organisation, which had close links with SIS/MI6, was formed by Attlee in 1947 to carry on the work of the wartime "Political Warfare Executive", itself closely affiliated with SOE
. At that time the intention was to promote a socialist Britain as an international third way, although in practice its resources were mainly devoted to attacking Communism and the Soviet Union. During this time Murray coined the phrase "Communo-fascism" to emphasise the similarity between Soviet communism and the Nazis.
In a pattern that was later to be repeated, Murray was appointed Minister at the British Embassy in Cairo
in Egypt
during the tense run up to the Suez crisis
in 1956. Personally fond of, and having some admiration for, President Nasser, he found himself in the invidious situation of having considerable distaste for the policy he was required to implement.
Murray was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
(KCMG) in 1962, when he was appointed British Ambassador to Greece in 1962. He held this post until 1967 and the right wing coup of the Greek army Colonels which led to the formation of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
. He appears to have been frustrated with the passivity of the British government's actions both in the lead up to the coup of which there was some intelligence foreknowledge, and its ineffectual response. In particular he had little regard for George Brown
, the then Foreign Secretary. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1967, when he was appointed a BBC governor.
is his grandson. Murray died in 1983.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, CB
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...
(3 March 1908 - 11 September 1983), was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
journalist, radio broadcaster and diplomat.
Background and education
A member of Clan MurrayClan Murray
Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The Murrays were a great and powerful clan whose lands and cadet houses were scattered throughout Scotland.- Origins of the Clan :...
headed by the Duke of Atholl
Duke of Atholl
Duke of Atholl, alternatively Duke of Athole, named after Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray...
, he was the son of the Reverend Charles Murray, Rector of Kirby Knowle
Kirby Knowle
Kirby Knowle is a village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North Yorkshire Moors and near Upsall, about 4 miles north east of Thirsk....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and Mabel (née Umfreville). He was the great-grandson of the Right Reverend George Murray
George Murray (bishop of Rochester)
George Murray was a British churchman, Archdeacon of Man, Dean of Worcester, Bishop of Sodor and Man and Bishop of Rochester.-Background and education:...
, Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
, while the actor Stephen Murray was his younger brother. He was educated at Brentwood School
Brentwood School (England)
Brentwood School is an independent school in Brentwood, Essex, England. Educating boys and girls in a British public school tradition. Brentwood School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. His father died in 1919 in the Spanish flu pandemic.
Career
Murray was a talented linguist, he spoke many languages fluently including FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and some Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Before the Second world war he worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a journalist, having previously worked for a Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
newspaper. In 1935 he reported the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
Plebiscite - and succeeded in broadcasting live during the 9 o'clock news holding a microphone out of the window to capture the chants of the mob - a major technical feat, and possibly the first time an international live outside broadcast had been undertaken. In common with many on the periphery of Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE), knowledge of his wartime service is hazy. He was most closely associated with propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, and from 1941 was a member of the Underground Propaganda Committee (UPC) which had been formed to fuel a whispering campaign to undermine any invasion. He was also associated with Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, and was involved in supporting resistance activity, notably, from 1943, of the Yugoslavian Partisans where he met Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
. His wife Mauricette was involved in propaganda broadcasting to occupied Europe, notably to Sweden where she had spent several years as a child.
In 1949 he became the director of the Information Research Department
Information Research Department
The Information Research Department, founded in 1948 by Christopher Mayhew MP, was a department of the British Foreign Office set up to counter Russian propaganda and infiltration, particularly amongst the western labour movement....
(IRD), This organisation, which had close links with SIS/MI6, was formed by Attlee in 1947 to carry on the work of the wartime "Political Warfare Executive", itself closely affiliated with SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
. At that time the intention was to promote a socialist Britain as an international third way, although in practice its resources were mainly devoted to attacking Communism and the Soviet Union. During this time Murray coined the phrase "Communo-fascism" to emphasise the similarity between Soviet communism and the Nazis.
In a pattern that was later to be repeated, Murray was appointed Minister at the British Embassy in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
during the tense run up to the Suez crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
in 1956. Personally fond of, and having some admiration for, President Nasser, he found himself in the invidious situation of having considerable distaste for the policy he was required to implement.
Murray was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(KCMG) in 1962, when he was appointed British Ambassador to Greece in 1962. He held this post until 1967 and the right wing coup of the Greek army Colonels which led to the formation of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
Greek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
. He appears to have been frustrated with the passivity of the British government's actions both in the lead up to the coup of which there was some intelligence foreknowledge, and its ineffectual response. In particular he had little regard for George Brown
George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
, the then Foreign Secretary. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1967, when he was appointed a BBC governor.
Family
Murray married Mauricette Vladimira Marie Reichsgräfin von Kuenburg, an Austrian aristocrat, in 1935. They had four children; Ingram, Nicholas, Georgina and Simon. Comedian Al MurrayAl Murray
Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray , is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy...
is his grandson. Murray died in 1983.