The Secret Service Bureau was split into Home and Foreign Sections and Mansfield Cumming, a 50-year-old Royal Navy officer, was chosen to lead the latter.

He was an unusual choice, having neither intelligence experience nor linguistic skills. But he was recommended for the role due to ‘special qualifications’. He was, however, a workaholic and commenced his duties in October 1909, a week early. So it is no surprise that his diary entry for that first day stated that he 'went to the office and remained all day, but saw no one, nor was there anything to do there.'