Bertram Ede was born in 1896 and educated at Malvern.
On leaving there he went to Sandhurst and joined the 4th Hussars in 1915. He served in France with the Regiment (which was then mainly acting in the role of mounted infantry) and during this period he was recommended for the Military Cross. The casualty of a gas attack, the results of which he never entirely overcame, he was sent home and invalided out of the army.
Immediately after the Great War, he went into farming, but on the death of his father in 1925 he had to go to China to look after the family interests, and remained in the Far East, with intervals, until 1929.
In that year he was recommissioned and joined Intelligence. In 1930 he became Defence Security Officer on Malta and was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1935. For his hard and successful work in this capacity, he was awarded the O.B.E. in the New Year’s Honours list of 1936.
His responsibilities after the outbreak of war included not only internal security but also subversive operations in French North Africa and Italy. The key role that he played in Malta is remembered by all who served with him there, and the energy that he displayed, whether analyzing information or shooting at enemy aircraft with a sub-machine gun earned him well-deserved respect. In 1942 he returned to London to take up a senior post at the War Office.
A great sportsman, he was a first-class shot and a fine polo player, whilst also being a keen angler and yachtsman. Although he only served with the Regiment for a relatively short time, he was proud to always wear the uniform and maintained the closest possible links up to the time of his death.
