Colonel White

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Colonel White is a character in the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is the Commander-in-Chief of Spectrum, the security organisation dedicated to defending Earth against the Mysterons from Mars. He is also the commander of Cloudbase.

He is British and his real name is Charles Grey (Possibly named after Earl Grey[citation needed]).

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[edit] Role

In the series, White spends much of his time at his rounded desk in the Cloudbase control room. The only episodes in which he is shown to leave the base are "White as Snow", "Spectrum Strikes Back", "Special Assignment" and "Flight to Atlantica". Lieutenant Green is his assistant.

White is dedicated to his work and expects high levels of discipline from his agents. However, he has complete faith in their abilities.

[edit] History

Very little of Colonel White's identity or biography is revealed in the original series. In the episode "White as Snow" he passes himself off under the alias Robert Snow, this being the only time he refers to any name other than his Spectrum rank in a broadcast episode. The following information is from [1].

In his teens, Charles Gray studied at King's College Canterbury, Kent (aged 17), and then at Norwich University, Norfolk (previously known as the University of East Anglia); 2038, aged 21, gaining first class honours degrees in computer control, navigation and technology. Leaving university, Gray enlisted with the British Navy, serving on destroyers and submarines, and in such trouble spots as south east Asia in 2040, the Iceland dispute of 2042, the Panama-Isthmus rebellion of 2042-2043, and in a remarkably short time had risen to the rank of Captain (2046). The British civil war erupted in December of 2046, when Charles Gray was the Captain of an un-named British Navy Destroyer in the Atlantic at the time, and presumably going against his superiors sided with the rebels against the government and headed back to Britain to join them and help overthrow the military dictatorship which ruled Britain. The rebellion was soon over, Britain joined the World Government in February of 2047 and Charles Gray was rewarded for his support, when the World Government offered him full command of a World Navy Destroyer. From that point onwards his career was one fantastic success story, gaining promotion after promotion until he became Admiral of the British Fleet. Charles Gray’s daring escapades, his coolness in tricky situations and leadership qualities gained him the respect of top military staff worldwide. Often being headline news, Charles Gray became a public hero, so his military peers and friends became dismayed when at the age of only thirty he announced his retirement from military service.

This was, however, only a carefully laid out cover-story, as Gray had in fact been selected to serve in the Universal Secret Service. Charles Gray married in 2048 (wife's name unknown), and after two years active service as a field agent (2049), in which he was very successful in his various missions, Gray was promoted to the organisation and control section of the USS, where he soon realised his true flair in leadership. And so he was chosen as head of the British section of the USS (in 2050), in command of their London, world Intelligence Network section, a division disgracing the entire USS, through infiltration by double agents. Within one year (2051), Gray had completed the seemingly impossible task of clearing the USS London HQ of all these enemy agents and infiltrators, and by his brilliant strategies, ruthlessness in command and determination he had put the USS London section "back on its feet", running smoothly and efficiently. It was also about this time that Charles Grey became a widower (date unspecified). And so, in 2065, considering his dedication to a cause, ability to obtain results and superb leadership qualities, the spectrum selection committee offered him the rank and colour code of Colonel White together with the position of supreme Commander-in-Chief of Cloudbase. Ironically, this was a job offered on the eve of Gray's succession to the post of Supreme Commander of the USS.

[edit] Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet

In the 2005 remake series, White has a wife, Diana, and a daughter, Victoria, who live on an estate in Gloucestershire, England.

He is a former Royal Marine and MI6/SIS agent. He was recruited into the SIS from the Marines and rose to the position of Director. Later he moved to the UN Security Development Committee which created Spectrum. Unlike in the original series, he is frequently seen out of his desk and moving around skybase, often doing some of the below activitied.

His interests include Chess, fishing and fencing.

[edit] References

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