Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench, 2nd Marquis de Castelthomond (19 November 1893 – 23 October 1986) was a distinguished British Secret Intelligence officer, captain in the Tipperary Rangers of the Royal Irish Regiment and 16th The Queen's Lancers in World War I, and Mountie for the Royal North-West Mounted Police. He was an accomplished artist, linguist, mountaineer, skier and author.

Early life and education

Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench was born in London, England, the second son of Henry Albert De Vreque O'Brien-ffrench, 1st Marquis de Castelthomond, and his wife Winifred née Thursby, heiress and daughter of Major James Legh Thursby, of Ormerod House Lancashire..

He and his elder brother Rollo (Rollo Adrien Vladimir Thursby Marie Altieri O'Brien-ffrench) spent their early childhood in Italy at Villa Torlonia, Frascati in the Alban Hills, east of Rome, and then at Piazza dell'Indipendenza in Florence, where they received private tutoring in English, French and Italian. Returning to England, Conrad joined Rollo at the Wick, a preparatory school at Hove in Sussex. After Rollo left the Wick, Conrad completed his preparatory schooling at St. Aubyns School in Rottingdean, and then attended Bradley Court Agricultural College in the Forest of Dean, where he developed his lifelong interest in horsemanship, fox hunting and other country pursuits, and became a junior member of the Ledbury Hunt. During these years his other siblings, Yvonne (Yvonne Castelthomond O'Brien-ffrench) and Alexis (Alexis Evelyn Henry O'Brien-ffrench), were born.

Royal North-West Mounted Police

When he was 16, Conrad's life took an abrupt turn when Rollo died in an accident playing football. Conrad left school at this time to study farming in the Evesham Valley, and while there he met a Justice of the Peace from Buffalo Lake Ranch in Saskatchewan, who told him of life on the wild frontier and of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. In April 1910, at age 17, he sailed on the Empress of Britain for Quebec and continued west to join the Royal North-West Mounted Police in Saskatchewan.

After basic training O'Brien-ffrench was posted to Cypress Hills, a remote and untamed area. He was later posted to Willow Creek and then Battle Creek, but mid-1912 received word that his mother was dying from cancer. He purchased his release and returned to Esher in Surrey to be by her side. She died the following summer.

During this time O'Brien-ffrench and friends took weekend trips to the Brooklands race track, where he was introduced to motor racing. Subsequently he purchased a 1909 Mercedes Simplex and developed a taste for fast cars.

Military service

Battle of Mons Following his mother's death, O'Brien-ffrench travelled to his ancestral homeland in Ireland and joined The Tipperary Militia, a special reserve unit of the Royal Irish Regiment. In August 1914 he was promoted to captain and engaged in the Battle of Mons with his regiment as part of the British Expeditionary Force. On the first day of battle he was severely wounded, captured and taken prisoner. He was held first at Torgau, a Bismarckian fortress, and then at Burg de Magdeburg POW camp.

After numerous failed escape attempts, O'Brien-ffrench was transferred to what was considered an escape-proof camp at Augustabad. Here he began an exchange of letters with his friend Cathleen Mann and, through the use of invisible ink, transmitted details of troop movements and other strategic information gathered from incoming prisoners. One communication included information about a prototype German Bomber that he obtained from a captured British pilot. Mann's job as secretary to Stewart Menzies of British counterintelligence allowed a speedy relay of information through Menzies to Field Marshal Douglas Haig. Attempts were made to extract O'Brien-ffrench and the pilot to London, but these failed and O'Brien-ffrench remained in Augustabad.

MI6 Following World War I, O'Brien-ffrench was summoned to Whitehall in December 1918 to meet then Colonel Stewart Menzies, who recruited him into MI6. At the time, Menzies reported to Captain Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first head of the British Secret Service, who was called "C", a designation that remains to the present day. He was posted to the British Legation in Stockholm as assistant military attaché under the command of Major Dymoke Scale. While a POW, O'Brien-ffrench had learned fluent Russian, and was now tasked with gathering information from Russian refugees fleeing the aftermath of the 1917 revolution.

In 1920, O'Brien-ffrench was assigned to escort Russian diplomat Leonid Krasin through countries hostile to the new Communist government to meet with Prime Minister Lloyd George in London for secret talks about the restoration of trade with the West. Dispatches from Lord Acton, British Minister Plenipotentiary to the newly independent Finland, confirmed arrangements for a special train to meet the delegation and under heavy guard they travelled to Turku, Finland, then Sweden to reunite with Krasin's family, en route for England. This event, the first face-to-face meeting between Russian Communist leadership and the outside world, led to the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement of March 1921.

Subsequently, the postwar depression and easing Soviet–British relations caused cutbacks to the Secret Service, and O'Brien-ffrench resigned from the service and returned to England.

India

Upon his return, O'Brien-ffrench was assigned as an aide-de-camp to one of the British Governors for the upcoming Royal tour of India. Edward VIII, then the Prince of Wales, arrived in India on 21 December 1921, and stayed until April 1922. During this time the Indian National Congress of Gandhi and Nehru was in full swing, and the royal tour was dogged by passive demonstrations and riots. The heavy handed response of the British to this resistance played a part in the end of the British Raj.

In February 1922, Nehru witnessed a meeting requested by the Viceroy of India, Lord Reading (Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading), with the Prince to discuss the possible arrest of Gandhi. On 1 February 1922, Gandhi had written a letter to the Viceroy informing him of the Bardoli district's decision to commence mass civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes, unless the Viceroy declared a policy of non-interference with non-violent activities.

On 4 February 1922, upon learning that the sub-inspector of Chauri Chaura police station assaulted Congress volunteers at Mundera Bazar, an angry mob gathered at the station, demanding explanation from the official. While the crowd marched on, shouting anti-government slogans, police fired warning shots agitating the crowd further. In response the crowd began throwing stones at the police, who were then ordered to open fire, and killed three and wounding several others. The police retreated, some believe due to lack of ammunition, others attributing it to fear of the angry crowd. Chaos ensued and the heavily outnumbered police returned to the shelter of the thana (city hall). The crowd challenged the police to come out, and on being paid no heed, set the thana on fire, killing 22 officers, including the station officer, who were trapped inside.

Gandhi did not support the violent actions, and consequently suspended the non-cooperation movement at its peak. British officials hoped to suppress the civil disobedience by arresting Gandhi, and on 10 March 1922, Lord Reading ordered Gandhi's arrest. The initial discussion that O'Brien-ffrench witnessed was now a reality: Gandhi had been arrested, tried and jailed, but the results were not as the British intended. O'Brien-ffrench experienced firsthand the transformative influence of one man as he peacefully expressed true character, and soon the control of the British Raj gave way to India's leadership.

Mountaineering During O'Brien-ffrench's stay in India, he was introduced to mountaineering and the Himalayas. One of his more dangerous climbs was near Srinagar in the Vale of Kashmir. While climbing the Skoro La Pass, a mountain downpour created dangerous conditions, transforming the rocky cliff his party was ascending into an icy waterfall. A landslide, freezing conditions and dwindling light forced the team to rapidly forge an alternative route. O'Brien-ffrench led the team to safety, and ultimately to the summit.

O'Brien-ffrench explored the Himalayas, Austrian Alps and other ranges, meeting Sir Francis Younghusband, Frank Smythe, Sir John Hunt and Sir Edmund Hillary. In The May Mountaineer, O'Brien-ffrench describes skiing adventures among the peaks and glaciers of the Austrian Alps. When living in Banff, he often rock-climbed and skied in the Lake and Fairhome ranges. Elected to the Alpine Club in 1933, he became a lifelong member. The following are some of his earlier climbs, documented upon his nomination to the Alpine Club in London, England.

Expeditions Year Mountain Range Expeditions Notes Images 1921 Himalayas, India From Srinagar to Burzil Pass then over Burgi La to Scoro La and near Mango Gusor Guide: H. Tantari 1928 Switzerland Glacier of Arolla (Pennine Alps, canton of Valais, Switzerland) to Mont Collon (11,932 ft /3,637 m, Pennine Alps) Dent de Perroc (12,057 ft /3,675 m, Wallis, Switzerland) Aiguilles Rouges (Switzerland) Mt. Arolee (in winter) Guide: Camille Bonnisson 1930Dolomites, Italy Latimer from Col. Canon Rosengarten. Gr. Cront & Pie. Gront. Langkofel (10,436 ft / 3,181 m, Dolomites, Italy) Piz Boè (10,341 ft / 3,152 m, Dolomites, Sella group, Italy) Guide: P. Dawetz Marmolada (10,964 ft / 3,342 m, Dolomites, Italy) Corono di Putla Mt. Telegrafo (Cima Telegrafo, 7,238 ft / 2,206 m, Italy) Pusanelle 1931 Haute-Savoie, France Aiguille de Tré-la-Tête (12,894 ft / 3,930 m), to Aiguille de Beranger Col de la Seigne (glacier, Mont Blanc) Col di Sanaorlis Cirque de Gavarnie (central Pyrénées) McCauigon ind the Ridge from Pique de Rongeat to Cime de Pomerol With Mrs. ffrench 1932 Islas Canarias, Lanzarote, Spain Monte Corona (1,985 ft / 605 m, Islas Canarias, Lanzarote, Spain) Volcano on Islas Canarias Peaks from Col de Capronale towards Cap Bianco Mountains Corsica, région of France Capo al Berdato (peak in Corsica, France) Corsica, région of France Monte Cinto (8,877 ft / 2,706 m, Corsica, France) Highest mountain on Corsica Theme to Asco (Haute Asco, valley in the north) Capu di u Vitullu (4,366 ft / 1,331 m, tallest summit of Les Calenche) With Arthur Richardson Z. 1933 Vorarlberg, Austria Hoher Riffler (10,393 ft / 3,168 m, Verwallgruppe, Tyrol, Austria) Highest peak of Verwallgruppe Pitz Burn Fluchthorn (12,451 ft / 3,795 m, Pennine Alps, Valais Region, Switzerland) 2nd highest mountain in Silvretta Range Sisaptauo Zimbra (8,678 ft / 2,645 m, Rätikon, Bludenz, Austria) 1933 Hohe Tauern Range, Austria Schwarz Kopfit Herras. Fritz Peterlitner Hasn Kogel Venediger Group (Hohe Tauern Range, Tyrol, Austria) Climbed many peaks in this range

Art Returning to England and to civilian life, O'Brien-ffrench explored a career in the arts. Years earlier, a hunt secretary had commissioned him to paint a series of hunting scenes that were subsequently published in a book. Encouraged by this, he studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art in London under Professor Henry Tonks (1926–1927), at the Byam Shaw School of Art under Ernest Jackson (1928–1929), and at Andre Lhote's Academy in Montparnasse, Paris (1930–1932). Student friends included Simon Elwes, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Guy Arnoux and Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson. O'Brien-ffrench worked out of his studio in the Parc Monsouri district and gained an increasing reputation for his portraits.