Nigel Richmond

Alexander Joseph Patrick Wilson, also known by several pen names, was an English writer, spy, and MI6 officer whose life encompassed significant deception. Born in 1893, his early life included extensive travel with his army officer father, leading to education in places like Hong Kong and England. He served in World War I, sustaining injuries that led to his discharge. His personal life was marked by serial polygamy; he married his first wife, Gladys Ellen Kellaway, in 1916. Later, while still married, he moved to British India, where he took a position at Islamia College in Lahore, fabricating credentials for the role. There, he met and married actress Dorothy Phyllis Wick around 1928. He began his writing career in Lahore, penning spy novels and crime thrillers, often under pseudonyms like Geoffrey Spencer, Gregory Wilson, and Michael Chesney. His works frequently featured themes of espionage and counter-terrorism, with his character Sir Leonard Wallace being compared to the first chief of MI6. After his death in 1963, the extent of his polygamist activities and his potential intelligence work came to light, with some documents remaining classified. His family's experience with his deceptions was later depicted in the BBC miniseries 'Mrs Wilson,' starring his granddaughter Ruth Wilson.

Alexander Wilson was born in Dover in 1893. His father, Alexander Wilson, served for 40 years in the British Army, rising to Lieutenant Colonel. The family's postings meant young Alec lived in various locations, including Mauritius, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Ceylon. He received his education at St. Joseph's College in Hong Kong and St Boniface's Catholic College in Plymouth. Upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Wilson enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service and later served as a second lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, escorting supplies to France. He sustained injuries that led to his being invalided out of the army in 1917, receiving the Silver War Badge.

Wilson's writing career began while he was in Lahore, where he published his first spy novel in 1927. He wrote under his own name and several pseudonyms, including Geoffrey Spencer, Gregory Wilson, and Michael Chesney. His novels often focused on espionage, intelligence operations, and the fight against terrorism and subversion, with his character Sir Leonard Wallace drawing parallels to the first chief of MI6. He also penned crime thrillers, romances, and comedies. His work was reviewed positively by major publications like The Telegraph and The Observer. In total, he published 24 novels, edited three academic books, and left behind four unpublished manuscripts. Some of his works were re-published in the 2010s.

Wilson's time in Lahore, where he served as the principal of Islamia College, has been suggested by some researchers to have been a cover for intelligence work on behalf of British agencies. His role involved recruiting and acting as an informant during a period of heightened political tension and subversion. Concurrently, Wilson engaged in significant personal deception. He left his first wife, Gladys, and their children to marry Dorothy Wick while still legally married to Gladys. This pattern of deception was further revealed after his death when it became known that he had been a serial polygamist. Documents related to his activities remain classified by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.