Well, Bryan, I think my first find was my best find, but I did also
uncover an Italian article confirming that Carter had close links with
Ovra, the Italian secret service, during the fascist era.
So that all the information's contained in your official answer, I'll
link again to the story arising from his surveillance of Recchioni,
the anti-Mussolini activist based in London:
The London Plot to Kill Mussolini.
History Today, April, 1999, by Alfio Bernabei
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1373/4_49/54396903/p1/article.jhtml?term=
An article in Italian says that "Colonel Philips Carrè Carter" had
been watching Recchioni for years, but was ordered by the Metropolitan
Police Commissioner, Lord Trenchard, not to testify in the Daily
Telegraph case, in which Carter's evidence might have implicated
Ramsay Macdonald as a supporter/friend of Recchioni.
Per amore della libertà
Francesco Berti
Rivista Anarchica
http://www.anarca-bolo.ch/a-rivista/268/50.htm
As well as calling Carter a zealous functionary, they say he was a spy
who probably sent information on Recchioni and other Italian
antifascists to the Ovra. This is the book they cite as evidence:
Franzinelli, I tentacoli dell'Ovra, cit., pp. 201-2.
(The tentacles of the Ovra)
The subtitle is: Agenti, collaboratori e vittime della polizia politica fascista
(Agents, collaborators and victims of the fascist political police)
Franzinelli, Mimmo
I tentacoli dell'Ovra : agenti, collaboratori e vittime della polizia
politica fascista / Mimmo Franzinelli
Series: Nuova cultura ; 69
Publisher: Torino : Bollati Boringhieri, 1999
746 p : ill ; 22 cm ISBN/ISSN: 8833911640
I'm afraid it's not obvious to me which documents in the National
Archives are the ones Bernabei was using, but you might find help with
this in a pay-to-view Times article which contains the search terms [
Mussolini AND Home Office AND Carter ]:
"A LONDON businessman's plot to kill Mussolini was covered up by the
Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police because of the man's
friendship with Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister,
documents released by the Home Office have shown. . . . "
The Times
MON 22 MAR 1999
Times archives
http://www.newsint-archive.co.uk
According to a book on the magician Aleister Crowley, Carter played a
role in arranging for him to find refuge in London and have his work
published there.
Apparently Carter bought Crowley's ticket from France to England. (1929)
(Crowley is widely believed to have been an informant for MI6 - but
perhaps you will know more?)
There is an implication of a further secret service connection, when
Lance Sieveking introduces a Vivian Burbury of the Foreign Office,
possibly an agent with a professional interest in Crowley.
"Editor's Introduction," par Hymenaeus Beta X°,
in "Magick, Liber ABA, Book Four, Parts I-IV, revised and enlarged"
première édition par Samuel Weiser, Inc. (York Beach, Maine, USA, 1994)
http://www.magick-instinct.com/introductionhymeneus2.htm
Apart from that, just snippets, I'm afraid.
Alfio Bernabei, author of the article describing Carter's role in
averting the plot to kill Mussolini, has written a book on 'Italian
Exiles and Emigrants in the United Kingdom 1920-1940'.
Bernabei, Alfio
Esuli ed emigrati italiani nel Regno Unito, 1920-1940 / Alfio Bernabei
Series: Testimonianze fra cronaca e storia. Guerre fasciste e seconda
guerra mondiale
Publisher: Milano : Mursia, 1997
261 p ; 21 cm ISBN/ISSN: 8842521299
He is also a playwright and you may find a way of contacting him
through this literary website:
http://www.doollee.com/Index1.htm
Here's Franzinelli:
http://www.silone.it/archivio_premio/11_edizione/franzinelli.htm
Carter is mentioned in this book:
http://www.christiebooks.com/html/publishersnotes/franco.html
Recchioni's son's papers are in the Netherlands.
Vero Recchioni aka Vernon Richards
http://www.iisg.nl/archives/gias/r/10767583.html
I'm sure you know this page. I'll just put it here for the record:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/Hope1.htm
Hope this gets you somewhat further forward. I always enjoy your
history questions, but they can be tough!
Best wishes - Leli
Searches with all the obvious terms on Google, Amazon.com,
Lexis-nexis, The Times, library catalogues, National Archives etc.
Different combinations of Carter's names and rank
Special Branch, Metropolitan Police, Home Office |
