In 1939 Andrew Klinghardt joined the Royal Artillery, transferring into the Intelligence Corps in 1942. He served in Glasgow and in Iran, Syria and Iraq as a Russian interpreter and, later, as a liaison officer with Soviet intelligence. On 5th March 1945 he was given an Emergency Commission and, as Lieutenant Klinghardt, he continued to work as an Intelligence Officer in the Middle East.

In 1946 he was stationed in the British Military Mission in Bucharest, Romania as Security Officer and Russian interpreter. Rumania, having been an ally of Germany during the war, was heavily garrisoned by Soviet forces at this time. Here he met and married Virginia Thomas, a Romanian citizen.

Major Klinghardt MBE BEM retired in 1963 but died suddenly in 1967 whilst on holiday with his wife, aged just 51. He is buried in the British Cemetery, Lisbon, Portugal.

His medals are, from left to right: the MBE, BEM, 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and the General Service Medal with Clasps for Malaya and Arabian Peninsula.