Walter Archer

Walter Edward Archer
Walter Archer in Norway
Born
Walter Edward Archer

(1855-07-04)4 July 1855
Died19 August 1917(1917-08-19) (aged 62)
NationalityBritish
Spouse
Alice Lima Murray
(m. 1878)
ChildrenNorman Archer (son)
Espionage activity
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service branchSIS (MI6)
Codename"Sage"
OperationsWorld War I

Walter Edward Archer C.B. F.R.S.E. (4 July 1855 – 19 August 1917) was a British civil servant, spy and specialist on "the sex life of the salmon".[1]

Walter Archer led the Fisheries Division of the UK government's Board of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1903 to 1912.[2] Between 1908 and 1912, he served as President of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the world's oldest intergovernmental science organization.[3]

His interest in salmon took him to live in Sand, Rogaland, Norway.[1]

In 1912, Archer and his son Hugh were recruited as agents by Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first director of the Secret Intelligence Service, who gave them the codenames "Sage" and "Sagette", to spy on German ships in Norwegian and Danish waters.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Michael (31 October 2011). Six: The Real James Bonds 1909-1939. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-264-7.
  2. ^ "Letters from Walter Edward Archer to DWT". collections.st-andrews.ac.uk. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Obituary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).