John Bingham
John Michael Ward Bingham, born on November 3, 1908, in the United Kingdom, was a notable British author and civil servant, recognized for his contributions to the genre of crime and espionage literature. He was the son of Lord Arthur Bingham and Lady Leila Cloete Bingham and received his education at Cheltenham College before furthering his studies in France and Germany. Bingham began his career as a reporter at the Hull Daily Mail and later worked for the Sunday Dispatch, where he held various editorial roles until the Second World War. His military service included time with the Royal Engineers and the War Office, followed by a position in Germany with the Control Commission post-war.
In 1950, he transitioned to the civil service, joining the Ministry of Defense, where he served until his retirement in 1977. Bingham became the seventh baron Clanmorris in 1960 and was involved with MI5, where he rose to the rank of chief case officer. His writing, influenced by his intelligence work, includes several mystery and adventure novels, such as "My Name is Michael Sibley," which showcase his ability to create suspenseful narratives and complex characters. Bingham was also a mentor to renowned author John le Carré, influencing characters like George Smiley. He passed away in 1988, leaving behind a legacy in both literature and public service.
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John Bingham
Writer
- Born: November 3, 1908
- Died: August 6, 1988
Biography
John Michael Ward Bingham was born on November 3, 1908, in the United Kingdom. He was the son of Lord Arthur Maurice Robert Bingham, sixth baron Clanmorris of Newbrook in County Mayo, Ireland, and Lady Leila Cloete Bingham. Bingham was educated at Cheltenham College in Gloustershire and pursued further studies in France and Germany.
In 1931, Bingham became a reporter for the Hull Daily Mail newspaper. Three years later, he married playwright and novelist Madeleine Ebel, author of such works as The Man from the Ministry (1946) and Peers and Plebs (1976). The couple had two children, Simon John Ward Bingham, born in 1937, and Charlotte Bingham, born in 1942; Charlotte later became an award-winning romance novelist.
Bingham eventually went to work for the Sunday Dispatch in London, where he worked successively as reporter, picture editor, and feature writer until the outbreak of World War II. From 1939 to 1940, he served with the Royal Engineers of the British army before being transferred to the War Office, where he remained from 1940 to 1946. After the war, Bingham served in Germany with the Control Commission, which oversaw fulfillment of armistice agreements, from 1946 to 1948.
Returning to England, Bingham in 1950 entered the civil service, taking a job with the Ministry of Defense in London, where he remained until he retired in 1977. He became seventh baron Clanmorris in 1960 upon the death of his father. Early in his civil service career, Bingham was second in command to Maxwell Knight, an official of MI5, the United Kingdom’s national security service. When Knight retired in the 1950’s, Bingham became chief case officer.
Like many people employed in MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service, including Malcolm Muggeridge, Graham Greene, and Somerset Maugham, Bingham also wrote fictionalized accounts of crime and espionage based on his experiences in in the agency. His first novel, My Name is Michael Sibley, is about a policeman’s investigation into the death of a former schoolmate whom he despised. Bingham subsequently wrote numerous mystery and adventure novels, and in such works as Murder off the Record, Night’s Black Agent, Fragment of Fear, The Double Agent, Vulture in the Sun, and Brock and the Defector, he established himself as a capable and original writer. He was especially notable for his skill at drawing credible characters operating at the limits of their abilities, for maintaining a high level of suspense, for his psychological insights, and for his explorations into the aftereffects of crime.
Bingham, who was chairman of the Crime Writers Association from 1971 to 1972, also contributed to spy literature in a more indirect fashion. He served as a mentor to author John le Carré, who joined the British Foreign Service in 1959. Bingham inspired one of le Carré’s most famous creations, the character George Smiley, a British intelligence officer featured in many of le Carré’s novels. Bingham died in 1988.