How to get into Who’s Who

Michael Crick and Martin Rosenbaum reveal the lengths to which some people will go to record their names in Britain’s foremost work of biographical reference

One of Britain’s most secretive and mysterious intelligence-gathering operations is based inside a small, nondescript office block in St Anne’s Court, a short passageway in Soho. The predominantly female staff who work at the heart of the establishment try to remain entirely anonymous. There is no nameplate to indicate what is done on the second floor of this building, and those inside are deeply reluctant to talk about what they do. They collect personal data on tens of thousands of prominent individuals, but the questionnaires they distribute give only a return address, with no mention of any individual behind the operation.

These are the editorial staff of Who’s Who, the famous red book which supposedly lists the country’s movers and shakers, the great and the good.