Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Fitzroy Maclean
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| Member of Parliament for Bute and Northern Ayrshire |
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| In office 8 October 1959 – 8 February 1974 |
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| Preceded by | Charles McAndrew |
| Succeeded by | John Corrie |
| Member of Parliament for Lancaster |
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| In office 1941–1959 |
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| Preceded by | Herwald Ramsbotham |
| Succeeded by | Humphry Berkeley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Fitzroy Hew Royle Maclean
11 March 1911 Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt |
| Died | 15 June 1996 (aged 85) Hertford, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Other political affiliations |
Unionist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Rank | Major-general |
| Battles/wars |
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Major-General Sir Fitzroy Hew Royle Maclean, 1st Baronet (born March 11, 1911 – died June 15, 1996) was a Scottish soldier, writer, and politician. He was a Unionist MP from 1941 to 1974. During the Second World War, he was one of only two men who joined the British Army as a private soldier and rose to the rank of brigadier.
Maclean wrote several books, including Eastern Approaches. In this book, he shared amazing stories from his life. These included traveling secretly in Soviet Central Asia, fighting in the Western Desert campaign with special commando raids, and living with Josip Broz Tito and his Yugoslav Partisans during the war. Many people believe that the famous writer Ian Fleming used Maclean as an idea for his character James Bond.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Fitzroy Maclean was born in Cairo, Egypt. His father, Major Charles Wilberforce Maclean, was a soldier from a Scottish noble family. His mother was Frances Elaine Gladys Royle.
Fitzroy grew up in Italy. He went to school at Eton College and then studied Classics and History at King's College, Cambridge. After his studies, he worked in Germany before joining the British Diplomatic Service in 1933.
Adventures in the Soviet Union
In 1934, Fitzroy Maclean was sent to the British Embassy in Paris. He found the work too easy and asked to be moved to Moscow in 1937. He spent two and a half years in the Soviet Union. This time became the first part of his famous book, Eastern Approaches.
Maclean was in Moscow during a time called the Great Purge. He saw how many important Russian leaders were treated. Even though he was based in the capital, Maclean traveled a lot. He often went by train to faraway parts of the USSR that were usually closed to foreigners. The Soviet secret police, the NKVD, watched him closely during these trips.
World War II Service
When World War II started in 1939, Maclean could not join the army because he was a diplomat. So, he quit his job to join politics. He immediately went to a recruiting office and joined the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders as a private soldier. He quickly moved up in rank and became an officer in 1941. That same year, he became a Conservative MP for Lancaster.
Fighting in North Africa
In North Africa in 1942, Maclean showed great bravery with the new Special Air Service (SAS). He helped develop ways to drive vehicles across the Libyan desert. Maclean was very skilled at fighting behind enemy lines, similar to the famous T. E. Lawrence. He reported directly to Winston Churchill in Cairo.
Secret Mission in Persia and Iraq
Later in 1942, Maclean moved to the Middle East. He was given a group of soldiers and told to capture General Fazlollah Zahedi. This general was the commander of the Persian forces in the Isfahan area. Maclean successfully captured him and flew him out to another country. This event caused Hitler's government to stop supporting its network in Persia.
Working with Yugoslav Partisans
In 1943, Churchill chose Maclean to lead a special mission to Yugoslavia. Josip Broz Tito and his Partisans were becoming a big problem for German control in the Balkans. Not much was known about Tito at the time. Maclean got to know Tito very well and later wrote two books about him. Maclean's relationship with Tito's Partisans was sometimes difficult because they were Communist, and he came from a different background.
Churchill told Maclean that his job was not to worry about how Yugoslavia would be run after the war. His job was "simply to find out who was killing the most Germans and suggest means by which we could help them to kill more."
In 1944, Maclean and Tito planned and carried out Operation Ratweek. This was a major Allied bombing campaign. It worked with the local Partisan troops to stop German soldiers from retreating and making the war longer.
Maclean's book about Tito shows how much he admired the Yugoslav leader. He also loved Yugoslavia and its people. Later, he was allowed to buy a house on the Dalmatian island of Korčula, Croatia.
Maclean received many awards for his service. These included the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1944, the Order of Kutuzov from the Soviet Union, and the Croix de Guerre from France. He reached the rank of Brigadier during the war and was promoted to Major General in 1947.
Life After the War
Maclean was elected as a Conservative MP for Lancaster in 1941. He was re-elected several times. He also served as a junior minister at the War Office from 1954 to 1957.
In 1959, he changed his constituency to Bute and North Ayrshire. He was elected there as a Unionist and later as a Conservative. He retired from politics in 1974. In his last two years, he was part of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Maclean was also involved with the GB-USSR Association. This group worked to improve cultural relations with the Soviet Union.
Family Life
In 1946, Fitzroy Maclean married Veronica Nell Fraser-Phipps. She was the daughter of the 16th Lord Lovat. Veronica was also a widow whose first husband had died in the war. Sir Fitzroy and Lady Maclean had two sons, Charles Edward and Alexander James Simon Aeneas. Charles became a well-known author.
Maclean was also a stepfather to his wife's two children from her first marriage, Susan Rose Phipps and Jeremy Julian Phipps. Jeremy later became a Major General in the Army, serving in the SAS.
Honours and Later Years
Sir Fitzroy received many honours throughout his life. He was made a baronet in 1957. In 1981, he became the 15th Hereditary Keeper and Captain of Dunconnel Castle. In 1994, he was made a knight of the Order of the Thistle, a very old and noble Scottish order.
In his retirement, Maclean wrote many books. He wrote about Scottish history, biographies of people like Tito, and fiction.
Maclean and his wife ran a hotel in Strachur, Scotland. He also had a large library, including a full set of early James Bond novels.
In the late 1960s, Maclean bought a villa on the Adriatic island of Korčula in what is now Croatia. He spent a good part of each year there. Even though Yugoslav law usually stopped foreigners from buying property, Tito personally allowed Maclean to do so. The town of Korčula was even briefly declared a "free city" so the purchase could happen.
In 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, Maclean and his wife delivered medical supplies to Korčula. This was with help from the people of Rothesay and Bute.
Death and Legacy
Sir Fitzroy Maclean passed away on June 15, 1996, at the age of 85, in Hertford, England.
After his death, Maclean was given the Order of Duke Branimir by the Croatian President Stjepan Mesić in 2001. This award was for his help to Croatia and for making Croatia better known internationally.
As mentioned earlier, Maclean is often thought to be one of the inspirations for Ian Fleming's famous character, James Bond.
Titles and Honours
- Fitzroy Maclean, Esq (1911–41)
- Fitzroy Maclean, Esq, MP (1941–44)
- Fitzroy Maclean, Esq, CBE, MP (1944–57)
- Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Strachur and Glensluain, Bt, CBE, MP (1957–74)
- Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Strachur and Glensluain, Bt, CBE (1974–81)
- Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Dunconnel, Bt, CBE (1981–94)
- Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Dunconnel, Bt, KT, CBE (1994–96)
Positions Held
- Member of Parliament for Lancaster (1941–59)
- Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for War (1954–1957)
- Member of Parliament for Bute and Northern Ayrshire (1959–74)
- President, GB-USSR Association (1977-1987)
Books About Fitzroy Maclean
- Maclean, Veronica (2002) Past Forgetting: a memoir of heroes, adventure, love and life with Fitzroy Maclean. London: Review ISBN: 0-7553-1025-X.
- McLynn, Frank (1992) Fitzroy Maclean. London: John Murray ISBN: 0-7195-4971-X.
See also
- Special Operations Executive
- Balkan Air Force
- Yugoslav Partisans
Images for kids
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Sir Fitzroy Maclean laying a foundation stone in 1949.
