Written by Panny Laing, June 2025
On reading about the appointment of the new head of MI6 I thought it would be interesting to write about the origin of ‘C’, and the link with Logie; and that led me on to write a bit about Gordonstoun School.
Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming KCMG CB (1859 – 1923) was a British naval officer who served as the first chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6. He was born Mansfield Smith but added the surname Cumming after his marriage in 1889 to Leslie (known as May) Valiant-Cumming, heiress of Logie.
In the early 1900’s the British had felt at risk from the growing power of Germany. A Secret Service Bureau was established in July 1909 and split into Home and Foreign Sections, now better known as MI5 and MI6. In October 1909 Mansfield Smith-Cumming was chosen to lead the latter which he did until he died in 1923; his contributions to the development of MI6 are significant and he is remembered as the founding figure of the British foreign intelligence service. He often signed his letters simply with ‘C’ which is what subsequent heads of MI6 have all been called. Another of his legacies was writing in green ink – a practice that is also continued by current MI6 leadership.
May Smith-Cumming (1860 – 1938) played a significant part in the founding of Gordonstoun school. Her only child, Alastair, became good friends with Kurt Hahn (1886 – 1974) when they were both at Oxford University. Hahn stayed with the Smith-Cummings – possibly at Logie – to recuperate from surgery and knew the family well. Alastair was killed (aged 24) in a car accident at the beginning of WWI; Mansfield was also badly injured and had his lower leg amputated.
After Mansfield died in 1923, May renewed her friendship with Hahn, helping him to escape from Germany in 1933. She took him under her wing as a surrogate son, becoming a lifelong friend and playing a pivotal role in his life. Having already founded Salem School in Germany, Hahn leased and then bought Gordonstoun Estate, starting the school there with two of his Salem students, soon to be joined by Prince Philip of Greece.
May rented a flat in Gordonstoun House and became the school’s first ‘hostess’; she used her car for pupil transport and helped financially to keep things running. When she died in 1938, and was buried at the Michael Kirk, the whole school took part in the service: the boys acted as bearers in the impressive procession which led from the house, across the lawn and up the long walk through the woods. Her legacy lives on at Gordonstoun with Cumming House; and the first school cutters (boats) were called the Mansfield and the May.
