Stewart Menzies

Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, ( (listen); 30 January 1890 – 29 May 1968) was Chief of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), from 1939 to 1952, during and after the Second World War. 2Early life, family Stewart Graham Menzies was born in England in 1890 into an immensely wealthy family as the second son of John Graham Menzies and Susannah West Wilson, daughter of ship-owner Arthur Wilson of Tranby Croft. His grandfather, Graham Menzies, was a whisky distiller who helped establish a cartel and made huge profits. His parents became friends of King Edward VII who at the time was rumoured to be Menzies' father, though this was probably not the case. Menzies was a nephew of Robert Stewart Menzies. But Menzies' father was dissolute, never established a worthwhile career, and wasted his share of the family fortune; he died of tuberculosis in 1911 in his early 50s, leaving only a minimal estate.Menzies was educated at Eton College, becoming president of the student society Pop, and left in 1909. He excelled in sports, hunting and cross-country running. He won prizes for his studies of languages, and was considered an all-around excellent student. 2Early military career 3Life Guards From Eton he joined the Grenadier Guards as a Second Lieutenant. After a year with this regiment, he transferred to the Second Life Guard