Background
Beesly was the son of Gerald Beesly and his wife Helen (née Chamberlain) who was a cousin of Neville Chamberlain.
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Patrick Beesly
Edit ProfileEducation
Beasley attended Oundle School following which he read history at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Career
He received further education at Bonn, Vienna, and Brussels. Just before World World War II, he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) in June 1939, became a Sub-Lieutenant (Special Branch), and was appointed to the Naval Intelligence Division (NID 2), in the section concentrating on France, Spain, and the Benelux countries. Subsequently he became assistant to Lieutenant Commander (later Vice Admiral) Sir Norman Denning in the Operations Intelligence Centre (July 1940).
His first assignment was with the activities of armed merchant raiders but from 1941 until the end of the war with Germany he worked on submarine tracking as Deputy to Commander Rodger Winn.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and acted as Intelligence Officer to the Commander in Chief, Germany, at Flesburg and Minden. He left the military in December 1945, receiving the American Legion of Merit (rank of Legionnaire) for his wartime services.
He then made a career in private industry with Henry Hope & Sons Limited, becoming its Managing Director in 1967 before retiring in 1974. Since by that time bans on writing about the intelligence services had been relaxed, he began writing about Intelligence operations.
His first book, Very Special Intelligence in 1977 was well received, and he proceeded to write others on related themes.
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Born
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Died
August 16, 1986 (aged 73) -
Nationality
British
Awards
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legionnaire of Legion of Merit Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.