Abstract

Lord Sempill (1893–1965) was the subject of extended investigation by the British Security Service (MI5) between World War I and II. A distinguished aviator, he was suspected of disclosing classified information to the Japanese over the years 1923 to 1925 and 1939 to 1941. MI5’s investigation was inconclusive. But with the progressive release of agency materials from the late 1990s, Sempill attracted high-profile interest from historians and media alike. In 2012, he was labeled “the traitor of Pearl Harbor,” a canard with implications for the integrity of the early Atlantic alliance. This fresh study of a major early-modern counterespionage case reassesses Sempill in relation to his professional and political milieu and explores his Japanese connections as Tokyo moved from guarded friendship to challenge and aggression in the climacteric year 1941. Notwithstanding his admission of a technical breach of the Official Secrets Act in 1925, the evidence overall does not support the prevailing view of Sempill as a spy who betrayed British and American interests.

摘要

第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战期间，森皮尔勋爵（Lord Sempill，1893-1965 年）是英国安全局 (MI5) 长期调查的对象。作为一名杰出的飞行员，他被怀疑在 1923 年至 1925 年以及 1939 年至 1941 年期间向日本人泄露了机密信息。军情五处的调查尚无定论。但随着 20 世纪 90 年代末机构材料的逐步发布，森皮尔引起了历史学家和媒体的高度关注。2012年，他被贴上“珍珠港叛徒”的标签，这一谣言对早期大西洋联盟的完整性产生了影响。这部对早期现代重大反间谍案件的全新研究重新评估了森皮尔与其职业和政治环境的关系，并探讨了他在 1941 年巅峰之年东京从谨慎的友谊转向挑战和侵略时与日本的关系。