62 Field Security Section - 1948

This may be a bit beyond the scope of this great forum, but I am looking for information regarding 62 Field Security Section who were based in Southern Austria in 1948. I have a British Officer, an ex-POW, whose Service Record shows he served with the Intelligence Corps after the war. Initially, he served with the Allied Information Service in Trieste from October 1946 to August 1947. He returned to the UK for a period and was then taken on strength of 62 Field Security Section in January 1948. The record states Carinthia Area, which is Southern Austria. In June of that year he was admitted to No.31 British General Hospital for 2 weeks, after which he retuned to the UK and was discharged in 1949 with honorary rank of Captain. The NA has a file for 62 FSS but it finishes in 1945. Given he was a POW in Bavaria, I feel he may have been involved in tracking former members of the German forces but need to find some factual data on this belief. He spoke both French and German, which would have been useful, and the AIS files for the period from October 1946 to August 1947 make no mention of him, which leads me to believe he may have been involved in some secret work, but this just could be theory. Any help/guidance appreciated. A name would be helpful - John Blomfield Dixon.

 

John Blomfield Dixon, b. December 1918
From: John Blomfield DIXON personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

From: Captain John Blomfield Dixon 29 December 1918 - 24 May 2013 in BillionGraves GPS Headstones | BillionGraves

There is an endorsed Int Corps history, text from a 2018 book catologue:

From: https://www.naval-military-press.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Booklist165.pdf

Using "62 Field Security Section" there are three non-English accounts for their work in 1945, which appear to be concerned with Italian citizens movements.

Perhaps using the Int Corps Association Casualty List can help? It does show another Captain with 62 FSS before 1948.

Visit the Int Corps Museum @ Chicksands!

I have found a little on the work of the FSS when looking at Iran / Iraq during WW2.

Good luck.

 

Thanks David. Really helpful, appreciate your time and assistance.

 

I did not look for threads on FSS, just did and this thread may help as it refers to them in Austria: The Spy Story Behind The Third Man On a quick glimpse John Le Carre is the source!

If you search using "field security section" site:ww2talk.com several threads appear, though it appears none on Austria (except above). Then used "field security section" + "austria" site:ww2talk.com and a few appear.

 

Interesting poser here. Tony Clayton's "Forearmed" lists 62 FSS, but limits information on its activity to 'North Africa, Sicily and Italy (IX Corps) 1943.'

Wiki reflects 138 Brigade undertaking occupation duties in Austria Allied-occupied Austria - Wikipedia but with the Brigade HQ disbanding in 1946. East Tyrol, Carinthia and Styria were assigned to British control, together with a sector of Vienna. Klagenfurt - location of 31 British General Hospital - is in Carinthia. Clayton notes twelve FSS as deployed in the British Zone, under the control of two Area Security Offices at Klagenfurt and Graz, plus another three FSS in Vienna.

OC Field Security in Carinthia was the redoubtable .45 toting Australian McAllister Smith, formerly OC 55 FSS and nicknamed 'McSinister Schmidt' by some. FSS roles included the tracking down and arrest of Nazi Party members, wanted individuals, including certain former SS-Polizeiregiment "Bozen," Zone demarkation, line crossers (often Jewish refugees and displaced persons) and from 1946, interviewing Austrians returning from captivity in Soviet camps ... amongst other things.

Quite a few years ago, I read something about a '622 FSS' detachment deployed on frontier control tasks at about this time in the Thörl-Maglern area:


Clayton does mention a 622 FSS, but only in India. I wonder if the British Troops Austria 622 FSS might have been the nomenclature for 2 Detachment, 62 FSS? Operating practice at the time routinely saw section detachments - 68 FSS in Villach, commanded by the memorable John Muir 'Jock' Dickson between 1945-48, had a detachment in Spital am Drau.

After July 1948, OC 62 FSS appears to have been Capt Dickie Richards, but he evidently replaced a RTR cap badged officer, rather than an INT CORPS one, which seems to chime with the 'Tanky' association details on JBD's card above.

Other Section Members in Austria at around this time included Ivan Beacham, Len Kirby, Peter Thornton and Cecil Woodiss.

One of the periodic tasks of the 68 FSS Spital detachment was keeping an eye on the goings-on in some sheds outside Millstatt, where a couple of hand made cars appeared every week or so .... that would be tea with Herr Porsche.

 

This should help: War Office: British Element Trieste Force: Quarterly Historical Reports | The National Archives

13th Infantry Brigade of 5th Infantry Division were sent to the British Element Trieste Force on 13 Sep 46 returning to BAOR 20 May 47

21st Army Group later British Army of the Rhine (under construction)

 

Another name that may provide a lead within the article here:

Hunting down Nazis

Do you have anything further back on John Dixon's family and education?

Given that he appears to have spent his five years as a POW in Eichstätt (Oflag 7B - Captured France 1940 serving with RTR, then "now not POW" in mid '45 (he was a RTR Trooper prior to being commisioned in March 1940)) he may very well have learnt both his German and French while incarcerated. Or given his middle name there may be a family connection back to Germany, possibly?

An interesting fellow.

Good luck with future searching.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.