Vernon Kell
| Sir Vernon Kell | |
|---|---|
| 'K' | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom 
|
| Service | MI5 |
| Active | 1909–1940 |
| Rank | Director of MI5 |
| Award(s) |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath |
|
|
|
| Born | 21 November 1873 Great Yarmouth |
| Died | 27 March 1942 (aged 68) |
| Nationality | British |
| Residence | 67 Evelyn Gardens, Chelsea, London, U.K. |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer, soldier |
Major-General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell KCMG KBE CB (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was the founder and first Director of MI5 of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in Who's Who as "Commandant, War Department Constabulary".
Born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1873, Kell was the son of Major Waldegrave Kell of the 38th Foot and his wife, Georgiana Augusta Konarska. She was a daughter of a Polish émigré, Alexander Konarski, a surgeon with the 1st Podhalian Rifle Regiment who had fought in the November Uprising and had been awarded the Virtuti Militari Gold Cross, by his marriage to an English wife.
After graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Kell was commissioned into the South Staffordshire Regiment on 10 October 1894. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 December 1896, was seconded in January 1900, and fought in the Boxer Rebellion later that year. He could speak German, Italian, French and Polish with equal facility, and after serving and studying in China and Russia, he learned their respective languages too. While he was on the intelligence staff in Tientsin he was also the foreign correspondent of The Daily Telegraph. He was promoted to the supernumerary (temporary) rank of captain in his regiment on 24 September 1901.
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