Godfrey was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire, in 1888. He was the son of Godfrey Henry Godfrey, he was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham; Bradfield College;[1] and HMS Britannia. In 1921 he married Bertha Margaret Hope,[2] (1901–1995), who had studied at Girton College, Cambridge, and was the daughter of Donald Hope, managing director of Henry Hope & Sons Ltd, window-frame manufacturers, of Birmingham. The couple had three daughters,[3] the eldest, Kathleen Margaret Godfrey (1922–2015) (married names Kinmonth, then Warren), became a Women’s Auxiliary Air Force officer and a Bletchley Park code breaker.[4] Mrs Margaret Godfrey Hope was very active and supportive of her husband's career, assisting the establishment of the Bletchley Park at the end of 1939, compiling maps and data for the Admiralty from 1940, and was head of the Indian Women's Voluntary Service during the time they were stationed there.[4]
After his retirement, Godfrey was Chairman of the Chelsea Hospital Management Committee from 1949 to 1960, and was a member of the Board of Governors of Queen Charlotte's Hospital and the Chelsea Hospital for Women, and of the Council of King Edward's Hospital Fund for London and Roedean School. He founded the Centre for Spastic Children, Chelsea. Ian Fleming—who served under Godfrey in Naval Intelligence during World War II—based M,[6] the fictional head of MI6 and James Bond's superior, on him; Godfrey complained that Fleming "turned me into that unsavoury character, M".[7]
In 1966 and 1967 Godfrey gave his memoirs to Churchill College, Cambridge. These contain many unpublished sources and are based in part on an official history of the Naval Intelligence Division which he had written at the end of the war. Godfrey died in Eastbourne in 1970.
^"The Ladies who Secretly won the War". Written by Margy Kinmonth, about her grandmother, mother and grandfather Admiral Godfrey, who all worked secretly at Bletchley Park during WW2. Article features never before published personal correspondence, bundles of handwritten letters, private diaries and family photos. 19 July 2011.
^"Secret Admiral". Illustrated talk about Admiral Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence 1939 to 1941, by Margy Kinmonth, at the Celebrating Bletchley Park two-day Festival, at Firle Place on March 20th 2016. The talk featured previously unseen material unearthed in the preparation of the biography film 'Secret Admiral' directed by Margy Kinmonth. Other speakers included Sir Dermot Turning (Alan Turing's nephew) and Baroness Trumpington.
^"Very Special Admiral". Illustrated talk by Margy Kinmonth, about her grandfather Admiral Godfrey, immortalised as "M" in the James Bond books written by Ian Fleming, his wartime assistant. The event was held at Wilmington, Folkington and Milton Street Village Club, Sussex on 6 March 2016, in the village where Godfrey lived from 1948 to 1980. The talk featured readings from his unpublished memoirs, previously unseen family photos, along with official wartime portraits by Cecil Beaton and society photographer Dorothy Wilding. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
