Researching Ralph Cairns

Cairns was born in Greenock, Scotland. Enrolling in the Palestine Police in 1931, unusually for the time without any previous police service, he was quickly identified as a high flyer, passing his advanced Arabic exam from a standing start in two years. Cairns was also the first British Policeman to speak fluent Hebrew.

In April 1938, while serving as a sergeant in Haifa, he investigated the deaths of two Arab women and two British Police officers who were killed in a bomb blast on a train. Using his many Jewish friends and contacts he traced the planning of the attack to Avraham Stern. Stern later would break away from the Irgun. This was the first time the name of Stern had come to the attention of the Palestine Police. Following this event Cairns was promoted to the rank of Inspector and transferred to Jerusalem where he became Head of Jewish Section in the CID. His opposite number was Inspector Ronald Barker who held the parallel post in Arab Affairs.

During his service in the Palestine Police, Cairns was accused of using torture against members of Irgun, including Irgun leaders Benjamin Zerony and Mordechai Pacho. This alleged torture of Zerony between 5–8 August 1939 resulted in a Palestine-wide leaflet being distributed by the Irgun announcing he was to be assassinated. Previous attempts to assassinate Cairns had been made earlier by shooting from the pillion of a motor cycle when he was walking with his German fiancée Marianna Laur in a market. Cairns, using his service revolver pushed his fiancée aside and shot the pillion rider dead with the driver escaping on foot through the town.

The “torture” of Zerony, though it undoubtedly occurred, presents a more difficult question. Zerony had become close to Avraham Stern but became concerned when Stern ordered the death of his own Irgun operative for refusing to explode a device to kill Geoffrey Morton because there were Jewish children playing in the street. Files released by MI5 in 2017 confirm that, at that time, Zerony was complicit with British Police in providing information about Stern. Later Zerony fled to the USA and returned after an armistice was agreed. MI5 files report that the real reason for Cairns assassination was his and his sergeant’s (Tom Wilkin) success in closing the net on Avraham Stern.