Draft:Alan Pemberton

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  • Comment: Unclear if Pemberton is notable - is there significant coverage about him (rather than his associates) in reliable independent secondary sources with reputations for accuracy and fact-checking? Might be helpful to add the NS articles by Duncan Campbell. Ancestry is not a reliable source, nor are other wikis (Wikitree and Everipedia). Paul W (talk) 21:12, 8 September 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: Could you please provide URLs (links) for all online citations? jlwoodwa (talk) 03:46, 22 August 2025 (UTC)



Alan Brooke Pemberton CVO MBE (11 September 1923 – 1 April 2010) was a British Army officer and intelligence executive. In his latter role, he controlled a covert entity named Diversified Corporate Services Ltd (DCS), and founded a covert intelligence network, referred to informally as "Pemberton's People", which operated under the aegis of MI6 and MI5 between the late 1960s and late 1980s.

Early life and military career

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Alan Pemberton was born in Peshawar, British India (now Pakistan), to Eric Harry Pemberton and Phyllis Edith Brooke-Alder.[1] He was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He served with distinction during the Second World War, in North Africa, Italy (including the Battle of Monte Ornito[2] in 1944, where he was severely wounded), and later in North West Europe during the Allied advance into Germany. After the war, he served in British-controlled Palestine (1946–1947) and during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1953), he was Aide-de-Camp to General Sir Gerald Templer. From 1956 to 1963, Pemberton held various postings in the Caribbean, notably in the Bahamas, Jamaica and British Guiana.[3]

In the 1961 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE).[4] In November 1967, he was appointed as one of the two commanding officers in the Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard in recognition of his military service.[5][6]

Intelligence career

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After retiring from the military in 1967, Pemberton began working with British Intelligence from 1968 until the 1980s.[7][8][9][10]

According to New Statesman journalist Duncan Campbell and Spanish broadcaster RTVE, Pemberton served in MI6 and MI5 and was involved in collaborations with the CIA and other states’ agencies.[10][11][12][13] Furthermore, he controlled and owned the majority of the shares in a covert entity named Diversified Corporate Services Ltd (DCS), which acted as a private intelligence contractor and front for British operations abroad.[10] Campbell reported that the role of DCS was unconventional, high risk, unorthodox and controversial; DCS operated globally, training foreign intelligence agencies and conducting high-risk operations unsuitable for official involvement. Operational reports were reportedly passed directly to MI5 and MI6.[10] Despite secrecy, company records were accessible via Companies House, and DCS's existence became a subject of debate within government circles[7] and many years later the subject of two RTVE programmes.[11][12][13]

Also according to Campbell and RTVE, plus former intelligence agent Bill Fairclough, Pemberton assembled a group of elite operatives and former army officers later referred to in intelligence circles as "Pemberton’s People".[10][11][12][13][14] The group included Major General Sir John Evelyn Anderson,[13][14] Brigadier Peter Stewart-Richardson,[13][14][15][16] Colonel Peter Goss (SAS & Joint Intelligence Committee),[8][10][13][14][17] Major Freddy Mace,[8][10][13] Roy Astley Richards,[10][13][14] John William Percy Fairclough (aka Bill Fairclough),[13][18][19] Barrie Parkes,[13][14] and John Richard Pilkington.[8][10][13]

On 11 June 1988, Pemberton was appointed as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).[20]

References

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  1. ^ "eric-harry-pemberton-1883-1971". Family Search. Retrieved 17 September 2025.[unreliable source?]
  2. ^ Boscawen, Robert (2010). Armoured Guardsman: A War Diary, June 1944-April 1945. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 159, 167, 169-170, 179. ISBN 978-1-78337-472-4. OCLC 903967020 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Interview with Alan Brooke Pemberton, Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  4. ^ "No. 42231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1960. pp. 8889–8922., p.8895.
  5. ^ State Intelligence, London Gazette, 14 November 1967. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  6. ^ Paget, Julian (1984). "Appendix D: Roll of the Body Guard in 1984". The Yeomen of the Guard: Five Hundred Years of Service, 1485-1985. Poole, Dorset, New York, N.Y.: Blandford Press ; Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7137-1157-8. OCLC 903860550 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Jonathan; Fitzgerald, Patrick (1983) British Intelligence and Covert Action - Africa, Middle East and Europe since 1945 (PDF). Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d UK Intelligence and Security Report. Army Rumour Service. Retrieved 9 September 2025. [unreliable source?]
  9. ^ Dorril, Stephen (1993). The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s. London: Heinemann. pp. 266–267. ISBN 978-0-434-20162-4. OCLC 623809061 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Campbell, Duncan "Salesmen of the secret world", New Statesman (22 February 1980). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Alami, Sasi, "El hombre de Pemberton – MI6" (Bill Fairclough interview) for Código Crystal Espionage, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), broadcast 22 March 2025.
  12. ^ a b c Alami, Sasi, "El Archivo Burlington" for Código Crystal Espionage, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), broadcast 26 April 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Transcript of two Código Crystal Espionage programmes, The Burlington Files. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Fairclough, Bill "Pemberton's People: Ungentlemenly Officer and Rogue Heroes", The Burlington Files. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Brigadier Peter 'Scrubber' Stewart-Richardson - obituary". The Telegraph. 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  16. ^ Boscowen, H G R (2016). "Brigadier Peter ('Scrubber') Stewart-Richardson OBE Croix De Guerre". Guards Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  17. ^ "SOE – Goss, Peter John". Special Forces Roll of Honour. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  18. ^ The Author, The Burlington Files. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  19. ^ Bill Fairclough, Wikitree. Retrieved 9 September 2025. [unreliable source?]
  20. ^ Royal Victoria Order, London Gazette, 11 June 1988. Retrieved 17 September 2025.


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