Maclean's unorthodox methods, his refusal to go through channels, and the fact that he was known to have Churchill's ear, infuriated Special Operations Executive, who felt that he vas meddling in areas that were properly theirs. Maclean's task was to find out, in Churchill's words, 'who was killing the most Germans', regardless of political ideology or affiliation. But there was another faction in Yugoslavia: the royalists and their military arm, the Chetniks, led by General Draza Mihailovic. Since 1941 Tito had been pinning down more and more German divisions in a highly successful guerrilla war. More importantly, they convinced Winston Churchill that Maclean was the right man to head a military mission to Tito and the partisans in Yugoslavia. But his success in these missions later led his friend Ian Fleming to base aspects of the character of James Bond on Maclean. His rapid promotion, from lieutenant to brigadier in two years, provoked envy among his critics. On recovery, Maclean took part in another raid on Benghazi and was then employed by General 'Jumbo' Wilson in Persia (Iran) on a further mission, to arrest the pro-Nazi governor-general of Isfahan, General Zahidi. He was unconscious for four days after the crash and later remarked: 'David Stirling's driving was the most dangerous thing in World War Two!' Seemingly a man oblivious to danger and with nine lives, Maclean had his only near brush with death after a car crash resulting from Stirling's reckless style at the wheel. On one occasion, while trying to mine Benghazi harbour, Maclean posed as an Italian officer and, in fluent Italian, roundly berated the sentries for inattention while mounting sentry duty. He then immediately enlisted as a private in the Cameron Highlanders.

Using his charm and considerable diplomatic skills, he got himself adopted as the Conservative candidate at the 1941 by-election in Lancaster. Poring through service regulations, Maclean discovered the loophole he was looking for: on election as an MP, a Foreign Office man was obliged to resign. But the Foreign Office counted as a reserved occupation, and two dull years elapsed. He had always wanted to emulate his father and be a soldier, so when war broke out in September he was eager to sign up with a combat regiment. In 1939 he was transferred to London, to the Russian desk of the Foreign Office's Northern Department. But he was adamant that he made these journeys for his own self- realisation and was never himself a secret agent.

He led the Russian secret service agents, who dogged his steps, a merry dance, travelling on trucks and second-class trains. His two years in the Soviet Union were also memorable for the many unauthorised journeys be made to the eastern Soviet Union, principally Samarkand, Bokhara, Tashkent, Batum, Tiflis.

Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy Maclean