Cecil Malcolm Rait

Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Malcolm Rait, MC, TD

Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Malcolm Rait, MC, TD was a British Army officer whose distinguished military career spanned both World Wars and later extended into Britain’s secret intelligence services.

Commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on 25 June 1915 during the First World War, Rait served with distinction on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Cross in the 1918 Birthday Honours for gallant and distinguished service, received the Belgian Croix de Guerre, and was Mentioned in Despatches. Evidence from later War Office records identifies him as one of the First World War’s successful “escapers,” indicating that he had escaped from enemy captivity or successfully evaded capture before returning to British lines, although the details of that remarkable episode have yet to be fully documented.

Following the war, Rait continued his military service with the Artists Rifles, one of Britain’s premier Territorial Army regiments. His long and distinguished Territorial service earned him the Territorial Decoration (TD) with two additional service clasps, reflecting many years of efficient commissioned service.

When the Second World War began, Rait’s unique wartime experience made him a natural choice for Britain’s newly formed escape and evasion organization. On 10 February 1940, as a Major serving with the Artists Rifles, he became one of the original staff officers of MI9, the secret War Office department responsible for escape, evasion, and the recovery of Allied personnel trapped behind enemy lines. Serving as a General Staff Officer, Grade 3 (GSO3), he helped develop the organization that supplied concealed escape aids, trained Allied servicemen how to evade capture, and supported resistance escape networks throughout occupied Europe.

Although he is frequently associated with MI19 and has been linked to the Special Operations Executive (SOE), surviving records have not yet conclusively established the extent of those relationships. Much of his intelligence work remains undocumented or is still protected by classified records.

Rait’s wartime service was recognised internationally. In addition to his British and Belgian decorations, he was appointed a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour, and he also received the United States Bronze Star Medal, reflecting the high regard in which his Allied colleagues held his contributions during the Second World War.

By 1950, Rait had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, concluding a military career that combined front-line gallantry, decades of Territorial service, and highly secret intelligence work. While many aspects of his career remain to be uncovered, the surviving evidence identifies him as one of the early architects of Britain’s wartime escape-and-evasion system and a decorated officer whose service extended far beyond the battlefield.