Who would have thought she was a spy? In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Unions longest-serving British spy. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. MELITA Norwood was a grey-haired, tea-drinking woman in her eighties who had been a dutiful wife and mother, but she was also Russia's most effective spy - going undetected for nearly 40 years. It was a show of compassion Russian wouldn't have shown if the tables were turned. In many other countries, the grey-haired great-grandmother would have ended her days in prison, or even been shot. Despite her odd hobby no one really thought much of it but if they had perhaps her past wouldn't have come as so much of a shock as reporters clambered for a shot of her on her drive. Her daughter, Anita Ferguson, said she died on June 2. The KGBs man on the inside was in fact Melita Norwood, a grey-haired, tea-drinking woman in her eighties who enjoyed tending the roses at her semi-detached home in suburban South East London. She declined it her spying was, after all, a matter of principle. But Cambridge Universitys Dr David Burke, who interviewed Norwood for a book about her life, The Spy Who Came In From The Co-Op, insisted last night: She was a crucial spy. When the spy was eventually unmasked half a century later in 1999, the identity came as a huge shock. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. [10] [9] It premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. She thought he was the best. ''I would not have liked to have kept such a secret.''. In 1967, she recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt' who passed on secrets about arms sales for nearly 15 years. But, her activities never made her rich, and she continued to live in the rather basic London house she bought with her husband in the 1950s. "But I didnt immediately think of pinching it. FOR decades the secret services were left chasing shadows in the hunt for agent Hola Russias most effective spy in Britain. ''I'm sorry to get you all out like this on a Sunday,'' she told the waiting journalists. He suspected she had been meeting KGB agents when she arrived back late from work, but did not know the extent of her crimes. London - Melita Norwood, a British woman who was unmasked as a Soviet spy a decade ago, had died at age 93, said her family on Tuesday. Shed then pass the camera off to her contact in the KGB, who knew her by her code name Hola.. Born in 1912 she was brought up with Communists, Socialists and Leninists. Joan Staley, the film, TV and stage actress died 24 November at the age of 79. In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union's longest-serving British spy. The how is known, the what is mostly conjecture, which makes Judi Dench's film a controversial adaptation - it opts for a more romantic take on the tale that has been called everything from "preposterous" to "inaccurate". "When she became politically active in the 1930s, Russia was seen by many people as the only nation capable of defeating the Nazis. They had been married for 50 years when he died in 1986. Asisten pribadi, mata-mata. The Soviet Union's bomb coincided with the onset of The Cold War, and threatened humankind with extinction. Also known as Anita L Goertz, A L Ferguson. All of this is shown in Red Joan, but what's missing is the other work Norwood did - she was also a recruiter. Her motivations weren't as pure as the film suggests either. 2023 Getty Images. But this was just a token attempt.The main story is a standard spy . The media were all gathered to hear what she had to say after revelations in the newspaper that day - Norwood had been a Soviet spy for nearly 40 years. Melita Norwood passed secrets to the Russians for decades after being recruited in 1935 by a former correspondent for the Soviet news agency TASS. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Her mother, too, was a suffragette with far-Left sympathies. Along with the geraniums in her windows there are anti-war and nuclear disarmament stickers, and on a cupboard shelf visible through the kitchen window is a mug with Che Guevara's bearded face on it. Year old great-grandmother Melita Norwood stands outside her home in Bexleyheath, where she reads a statement to the press concerning her involment. This traitor in our midst had handed over nuclear bomb-related documents so highly classified that most of the Cabinet did not know they existed. The government decided against prosecuting her. Husband (m. 19351986). She retired in 1972, and remained in her Bexleyheath home until her death in 2005. Had she seen for herself her KGB handlers description of her as loyal and trustworthy, it would have come as no surprise, for this is precisely how she saw herself in doing her bit to prevent the defeat of the Communist creed. MI5 worked out who Hola was in 1992, soon after Soviet defector Mitrokhin arrived in Britain with his KGB file. Her confession that sunny Saturday came as a surprise to everyone but none more than her daughter, Anita, a school lab technician. Find family history information in a whole new way. And she had her gardening: flowers at the front, vegetables at the back. She was a traitor to her country and had got away with it for decades. Melita Norwood. That was the anodyne name given to Britain's nuclear weapons reseach program that is sometimes compared to the more famous American project conducted in Los Alamos, N.M. Mrs. Norwood regularly removed files from a safe after hours, copied them and turned them over to Soviet agents in meetings in the leafy southeastern suburbs where she has lived for more than 50 years. But for the 40 years that she worked for Moscow, her bank balance rarely reflected the spoils of her labour. Spy Melita Norwood (far left) pictured with her mother Gertrude, sister Gerty and half-brother Alfred Brandt. Anita Ferguson The extent of Norwoods betrayal only became clear in 1999 after Russian defector Vasili Mitrokhin opened up his KGB files to MI5 and British journalists. Melita Norwood was a great-grandmother when her espionage was finally revealed. Melita Norwood. The couple's daughter, Anita Ferguson, 56, a biologist living in Staffordshire, said she learned of her mother's activity from the newspaper report on Saturday. In 2000, Joan is arrested and charged with espionage. I did what I did not to make money but to help prevent the defeat of a new system which had, at great cost, given ordinary people food and fares which they could afford, a good education and a health service, she told the press in front of her home. According to new book by Cambridge University professor Christopher Andrew and a Soviet KGB defector, a woman named Melita Norwood, now 87 years old, furnished the Soviet Union with research . Sir Winston Churchills wife started sending packages to support the Russians. She connects with her former Communist lover Leo who encourages her to hand over secrets to the Russians. I talked to her about the spying, but she told me very little of what she had done, although she did say my father didn't approve.". '', Ray Simmons, 67, a retired chief technician at the University of Greenwich, who lives nearby, commented: ''I've known her for 20 years, and she never gave a hint of anything like that. Joan and Max go to Australia, but return to Britain at some point. Her memorable film roles included The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, alongside Elvis Presley in Roustabout, and on TV in series including Perry Mason and 77 Sunset Strip. Her occupation was occupation. For example, she used Che Guevara tea mugs and habitually posted copies of the Communist Morning Star through the letterboxes of 32 of her neighbours. No life could have looked more ordinary. Her husband Harry, died in 1986. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Her father died when she was six, but her mother was active in leftist causes, instilling in her children strong sentiments against all war and sympathy for countries like Germany that the family viewed as victims of warfare. The daughter of a Latvian father and an English mother, Norwood held fiercely left-wing views from an early age. Three years after being exposed, Lette sold the semi in Bexleyheath and moved to be near her daughter, renting a flat in the sheltered housing complex. Experts still debate how much she actually ended up helping the Soviet nuclear program. She had evaded detection by playing the dutiful housewife and mother. In real life, Norwood was a Communist from an early age. ''It is a longstanding policy not to confirm or deny the details of security service investigations,'' she said. ''In the war the Russians were on our side, and it was unfair to them that they shouldn't be able to develop their weaponry.''. His occupation was Yes. Melita, suffering cancer and heart disease, died at . Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. I made the approach.". As the news of Norwoods espionage broke in The Times, Norwood held a press conference to confirm that she was a spy and explain why shed done it. Mrs. Ferguson said she would stand by her mother -- a great-grandmother -- ''whatever she may have done'' and voiced relief that she had not been told before. Despite having put millions of lives at risk, Norwood, who died in 2005 aged 93, was never prosecuted for her treachery and she never expressed regret for her actions. Melita Norwood, now called Joan Stanley, is played by two actors. Kamala opts out of kneeling with Biden for Warriors photo op. On her retirement in 1972, K.G.B. Who is Melitta Norwood? It's quite a shock to be told that the sweet old lady round the corner has been a K.G.B. Except for one thing she worked at the British NonFerrous Metals Research Association offices in Euston, central London. She claims failing memory as a reason for not being able to recall the names of any of the people she dealt with. / Widowed for 13 years, she was a keen gardener - surrounded by the fruits of her labour as she gave her statement - and was seen as bit of a dotty old woman by her neighbours. Her daughter, Anita Ferguson, said she died on June 2. He kept sensitive documents in both, sometimes holding evening meetings at home at which Lette was expected to be on hand. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. "Granny spy" Melita Norwood has died at the age of 93, her daughter has confirmed. Her father had fled from Russia to England and found a home here, but this meant little to Norwood. London - Melita Norwood, a British woman who was unmasked as a Soviet spy a decade ago, had died at age 93, said her family on Tuesday. "I must have thought if any of the work the BN-FMRA was doing, not secret stuff, might be useful," she explained. And the sleepy South Staffordshire . Until her death, on 2 June at the age of 93, she began her days with the Today programme. Anita FergusonMelita Norwood / Daughter. Melita Norwood was a member of one of those communist spy networks in America and Britain, who by guaranteeing those weapons of mass destruction threw down a challenge to America as sole superpower in the post-Second World War era. She was an emotional Communist and quite naive. / This afternoon she strolled in her garden at the request of photographers but refused to answer any questions. When she visited Moscow with her husband in 1979, she was given an honor for her work, the Order of the Red Banner, which she accepted, and offered a financial reward, which she turned down. Baru-baru ini filem Red Joan lakonan Judi Dench sebagai Joan Stanley telah dihasilkan dan ditayangkan. The couple had one child, Anita, who was born in 1943. 87years (December 9, 1934) Norwood was survived by her daughter, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Melita Norwood. After all, Norwood had actually been investigated no less than seven times, she'd even been identified as a security risk in 1965. Image of spy Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University in 1993. Her bookbinder father was a Latvian immigrant and Left-wing activist whose slogan was Down with everything thats up, and up with everything thats down. / She did say she spied, but what? The information helped the communist state catch up with Britain in the race to build the deadliest weapons ever seen. "I thought perhaps what I had access to might be useful in helping Russia to keep abreast of Britain, America and Germany. Get started Alma mater. All Rights Reserved. When she returned to the firm in 1944, she went to work for the director, Dr G. L. Bailey, who wanted Lette because he knew she could cope with the technical jargon. Posted on January 17, 2022 | by . He said: "Melita was not a hard-line Stalinist. Norwood joined Southampton University but dropped out and moved to Germany at the time of the rise of the Nazis. She was a bit worried so she took an aspirin before going in. Sitting in front of Max, her boss, she simply suggests using a centrifuge as causally as you would suggest having a cup of tea before turning back to her notes. Explaining her motive, Mrs. Norwood said, ''I thought perhaps what I had access to might be useful in helping Russia to keep abreast of Britain, America and Germany.'' spy. But as she became head girl of Hitchin Grammar School and captained the hockey team, few could have predicted the extraordinary outcome of such an early communist indoctrination. Anyone can read what you share. appaloosa management short hills; opdl teams looking for players; io nerf paladins; ottawa tribe symbols; loyola chicago sorority recruitment; an unfinished life ending; Anita Ferguson, a school laboratory technician from Wombourne, Staffordshire, speaks to the media following the news that her 87-year-old mother Melita Norwood spied for the Russians for 40 years. ''It was a very big shock, I had no idea, no idea at all.'' She said her purpose had been to keep Russia abreast.". Where in Bexleyheath did Melita Norwood live? She began her spying career in the 1930s while working as a secretary for the Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association in London. It seemed as if she'd got away with it all - and there was a lot to get away with. She added, ''In general, I do not agree with spying against one's country.''. Melita Norwood Melita Norwood ''I thought they should somehow be adequately defended because everyone was against them, against this experiment, and they had been through such hardship from the Germans,'' she told her television interviewer. She was, in many ways, the perfect spy, living during most of her long years of treason in a pebble-dash semi in Bexleyheath, South-East London, with her maths and chemistry teacher husband Hilary, growing fresh vegetables in her back garden allotment and bringing up their daughter Anita. The great-grandmother of 87 still lives in the same, spartan south London house which she bought with her husband, a maths teacher, 50 years ago. Described as the most important female agent ever recruited by the USSR, she was considered more valuable than infamous British Reds Kim Philby or Guy Burgess. Melita (everyone called her Lette) had joined the company as a clerk in 1937. Invest in the future today. When she was unmasked publicly as Hola seven years later, no action was taken against her because by then she was 87, and Jack Straw, then Labour Home Secretary, decided that at her age, nothing was to be gained from sending her to prison. Everyone liked her. She told The Times of London that in the same circumstances, I know that I would do the same thing again.. '', At Dillons Newsagents, Peter Dodd, the assistant manager, said he had been surprised years ago when he first saw her orders for Communist publications. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), New film Red Joan tells the tale of Melita Norwood - a KGB 'man on the inside' who went undetected in Britain for almost 40 years, Melita Norwood, aka Hola, was Russia's most effective spy and wasn't unmasked until 1999, Described as 'the most important female agent ever recruited by the USSR', she is now the inspiration behind Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson's character with the pair playing her at different stages in her life, Her daughter, Anita Ferguson, defends her mother's career as a spy saying 'she did it to help the Russian people', Anita says Norwood was trying to help people and 'wasn't selfish', After joining the Communist Party, Norwood was recruited as a Russian agent by journalist Andrew Rothstein when she was just 22, The film is a glamorised version of events but there is no doubt it is based on unlikely operative Norwood, She never revealed her true identity, not even to her devoted husband Hilary (right), Despite having put millions of lives at risk, Norwood was never prosecuted for her treachery and she never expressed regret for her actions, Norwood leaked highly-classified documents that she came into contact with through her work as a secretary to the director of the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, Dr Burke says that it was only when she gave the Russians information on how to safely enrich uranium that they were able to test a bomb in 1949, Dr Burke believes Norwood enjoyed her moment of notoriety, noting the moment she dressed up to address the press outside her home, Asked if the story was true, Norwood replied 'Ive been a rather naughty little girl', Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. 00:48 GMT 19 Jul 2014. Melita would drop off her seven-year-old daughter, Anita, at the local primary school. Born to a British mother and Latvian father, Norwood is most famous for supplying the Soviet Union with state secrets concerning the development of atomic weapons from her job at . Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. From World War II through the Cold War, she stole nuclear secrets from the office where she worked as a secretary and passed them to Moscow. He said in the 1960s, the security services concluded that Norwood had been a spy, but felt they had no "usable evidence" to prosecute. She worked as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, the home of the Tube Alloys project. Something went wrong, please try again later. She was perusing the archives of 20th-century intelligence under the guidance of Professor Chris Andrew, MI5s official chronicler. She was perusing the archives of 20th-century intelligence under the guidance of Professor Chris Andrew, MI5s official chronicler. The Russians knew how to build a bomb, but they didnt know how to build a nuclear reactor to extract the uranium. BN-FRMA linked up with a to-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon called Tube Alloys. '' he said. She told me she would have been prepared to be tried as a war criminal and would have accepted a prison sentence.. She thought what she was doing was for the benefit of the entire world. She'd leave them somewhere to be picked up or handed them over at a meet-up. The newspaper will begin on Monday to serialize a book published in Britain as ''The Mitrokhin Archive: The K.G.B. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Melita Norwood was a woman in her eighties who had been a dutiful wife and mother, but she was also Russia's most effective spy - going undetected for nearly 40 years. But a male superior dismissed her tip because he didnt think women could be good spies (in 1940, he fired Maund for accusing him of incompetence). The trick is to be able to do this efficiently enough, and respond quickly enough, to take on the game's content that you would like to experience while . Right up to her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the conviction that what she did was right. As early as 1938, she was. 1998 In December, Mr Straw is informed for the first time heard about Melita Norwood's role and is told the Security Service was considering whether to prosecute. We sent soldiers there to die against Hitler. 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