Marjorie Maxse
Dame Sarah Algeria Marjorie Maxse DBE, better known as Marjorie Maxse, was a British political organiser and the first female chief organization officer of the Conservative Party.
Life
Maxse was the daughter of Ernest George Berkeley Maxse and Sarah Alice Nottage-Miller. In 1940, Maxse was appointed director of the Children's Overseas Reception Board and vice-chair of the Women's Voluntary Service for Civil Defence. In addition, she was also chief of staff for Section D of MI6.Guy Burgess, the Soviet spy, worked for Section D and suggested to Maxse she should recruit his friend, Kim Philby. In his book My Secret War Philby described his first meeting with Maxse: "I found myself in the forecourt of St. Ermin's Hotel, near St James's Park station, talking to Miss Marjorie Maxse. She was an intensely likeable elderly lady. I had no idea then, as I have no idea now, what her precise position in government was. But she spoke with authority, and was evidently in a position at least to recommend me for interesting employment. At an early stage of our talk, she turned the subject to the possibilities of political work against the Germans in Europe."