The first "C" was Mansfield Cummings. He died in the early
1920s. In the government he was only refered to as "C". Later heads
of British Intelligence were also refered to as "C". Ian Fleming,
an agent for MI-6,used Cummings' first initial for his character in
the Bond novels. He is known as "M".
I don't recall any reference to MI-6 in the Sandbaggers
series. In real life, British Intelligence dropped the MI-6
designation several years ago. I think SIS was supposed to be
the real life Foreign Intelligence section. Remember SIS had no
mandate to work inside the UK or its possessions. That is why
the agent was after Willie on his "trip" to Malta.
Another reason to say that SIS was the real "MI-6" is
a minor thing. Cummings used green ink in all his correspondence.
Each of his successors followed that practice. In the series,
Sir James Greenly used green ink to sign Neil's "deal" with the
French in "Special Relationship".
Conclusive? No. Suggestive? Yes.
Ken Crist
kayuucee@cfar.umd.edu
P.S.: Another author people should check out is Len Deighton. I like
his Bernard Samson novels more than Le Carre and are a bit
more in the Sandbaggers line. Try "Mexico Game", the first
of the first trilogy. You might like it.