Mr Dakin

In the novel They Came to Baghdad, Mr Dakin is an executive for the "The Iraqi Iranian Oil Company" with an office on Rashid Street in Baghdad. In reality, he is the head of British intelligence operations in Baghdad, assisted by his number two Captain Crosbie.

In the novel, one of his main missions is to ensure the success of a high level summit on world peace soon to be held in Baghdad between the President of the United States and Joseph Stalin. One of Dakin's agents Henry Carmichael had secured evidence that a secret organisation is intent on creating a a new world order by formenting tension and war between the west and the east. Although most did not believe Carmichael, Dakin was one of the few who did. At the beginning of the story, Dakin is eagerly awaiting Carmichael's arrival in Baghdad with the intelligence which would be presented at the high level summit. Later, after Carmichael is murdered, Dakin focusses on recovering the evidence that Carmichael had collected. How that is done forms the main plot of the book.

As befits a senior and professional intelligence agent, Dakin cultivates the image of being an obscure and insignificant nobody, liable to be underestimated or written off. He gives the impression of a "shabby man with a tired and indecisive face--the face of one who has not got on in the world and knows it and has ceased to care." The talk in the street is that he is a "nice fellow, but never gets on. Too lethargic. They say that he drinks. He'll never get anywhere." In company, Dakin only drinks lemonade. Mrs Cardew Trench remarked that it is a bad sign when a man only drinks when he's alone. According to Mrs Cardew Trench he just "manages to keeps his job and that's all."