Oswald Rayner

Who was Oswald Rayner?

Oswald Rayner was a British MI6 agent in Russia during World War I. He later went on to be the Daily Telegraph correspondent in Finland.

Oswald Theodore Rayner was born in Smethwick, the son of Thomas Rayner, a draper and his wife Florence. Between the years 1907 and 1910 Rayner studied Modern Languages at Oriel College, Oxford. During his time at Oxford, Rayner formed a close relationship with Felix Yusupov who was also enrolled at the University. By the outbreak of the First World War, Rayner was highly proficient in the French, German and Russian languages, and so, was recruited to MI6 as an intelligence officer.

He is believed to have been involved in the final murder plot against Rasputin, and according to a recent investigation might be the person who fired the shot that actually killed Rasputin.

Later he compiled an English translation of Yusupov's book, Rasputin; His Malignant Influence and His Assassination He named his only son, John Felix Rayner, after Yusupov.