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. She claims failing memory as a reason for not being able to recall the names of any of the people she dealt with. MI5 worked out who Hola was in 1992, soon after Soviet defector Mitrokhin arrived in Britain with his KGB file. The Russians had been struggling to find a solution to an issue they were having with creating the atomic bomb when Norwood found the answer. All Rights Reserved. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Melita Stedman Norwood (ne Sirnis; 25 March 1912 - 2 June 2005) was a British civil servant, Communist Party of Great Britain member and KGB spy. 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. It came as a massive shock to her daughter and to Dr Burke, who already knew Norwood. Where in Bexleyheath did Melita Norwood live? She began spying for the Soviet Union four years after Josef Stalin took power, working under the code name "Hola". This was a woman who was seen pottering around tending to her vegetables and flowers. Filming of Red Joan in Cambridge City Centre (Image: Keith Jones) Red Joan is a film based, although highly romanticised, on the true story of spy Melita Norwood who stole . Everyone liked her. She told The Times of London that in the same circumstances, I know that I would do the same thing again.. Melitamarried Hilary Norwood. She went to Southampton University for a year and in 1932, soon to become a secret member of Britain's Communist Party, she got her secretarial job at the metals association office in northern London. The Great-Grandmother Comes In From the Cold, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/13/world/the-great-grandmother-comes-in-from-the-cold.html. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Only in 1965 did MI5 get wise to the risk she posed. Her consequent contribution of atomic intelligence to the Soviet Union was incalculable, certainly big enough for the Russians to declare that she had made a valuable contribution to the development of work in this field. In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Unions longest-serving British spy. Judi Dench says later as a young woman she just went along with it. Tom King, chairman of the Parliamentary Security and Intelligence Committee, promised an investigation by lawmakers, saying, ''Questions need to be asked about who knew what when, and why there were no prosecutions.''. Find the perfect melita norwood stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. For the KGB, this was an unbelievable piece of good fortune, because Bailey happened to be a member of the advisory committee on the atom bomb project. "Granny spy" Melita Norwood has died at the age of 93, her daughter has confirmed. Though Norwoods employers were suspicious of her ties to the Communist Party, over decades of work they never pinpointed her as a mole. A . Includes Address (9) Phone (3) Email (1) See Results. She says she was working for the ideology not the financial reward. She retired in 1972, and remained in her Bexleyheath home until her death in 2005. Melita Stedman Norwood (ne Sirnis) (25 March 1912 - 2 June 2005) was a British civil servant and KGB intelligence source who, for a period of about 40 years following her recruitment in 1937, supplied the KGB (and its predecessor agencies) with state secrets from her job at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association . We all knew where her politics lay. Judi Dench 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. But while Norwood's intentions are still up for debate, what she did is not. Posted on January 17, 2022 | by . She was only a secretary.. Anita Lynn Ferguson, 75. The film portrays Norwood as a doddering old woman that when unmasked struggles to understand what she did wrong and what is happening to her. She'd leave them somewhere to be picked up or handed them over at a meet-up. 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. In 2000, a parliamentary committee that oversaw intelligence agencies criticised the government for failing to prosecute Norwood. 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. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Pada tahun 2013, penulis Jennie Rooney telah menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul Red Joan, berdasarkan kisah kehidupan Norwood. Resides in Monticello, AR. 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. She was born in Bournemouth to Alexander Sirnis, a Latvian immigrant with strong Communist ties. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Melita Norwood made her unrepentant confession Saturday in the well-tended garden of freesia and daisies in front of her two-story stucco home in Bexleyheath, southeast London. And the sleepy South Staffordshire . 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. 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. The next four decades saw her hand over secrets and files under the name of Agent Hola. ''When I first saw all the details, I just felt complete disbelief,'' she said. "In general I do not agree with spying against one's country.". For her part, Lette Norwood didnt allow exposure of her treachery to ruin her Morning Star delivery routine, which continued uninterrupted. Related To Kenneth Ferguson, Cameron Ferguson, Curtis Ferguson, Separate Ferguson, Monica Ferguson. 2023 Getty Images. When her activities became publicly known in 1999, Norwood had said: "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. Until her death in 2005 . Image of spy Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University in 1993. I did not want money. Why Bother? handlers, she said, she would blame it on traffic tie-ups -- an excuse he accepted though he knew it to be sham. Following in her fathers footsteps, Norwood joined the Communist Party. Her occupation was occupation. Year old great-grandmother Melita Norwood stands outside her home in Bexleyheath, where she reads a statement to the press concerning her involment. In 1958 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which is given for heroism in combat or long service in the armed forces. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. She has one daughter who works in a school laboratory, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. And she had her gardening: flowers at the front, vegetables at the back. How did Norwood get away with it for so long? Right up to her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the conviction that what she did was right. These usually ended so late that she stayed overnight. In real life, Norwood was a Communist from an early age. Norwood wasn't a physicist she was a drop out from Southampton University, where she only studied Latin and Logic for a year. She was dressed in a wide-collared lavender floral print blouse and gray tweed skirt and clutched a handwritten piece of paper with slightly trembling fingers. All of this is shown in Red Joan, but what's missing is the other work Norwood did - she was also a recruiter. / Norwood never revealed to anyone what she was up to, not even to her Left-leaning husband Hilary, a maths teacher. The reality is that Norwood was devoted to her husband, who she nursed through liver cancer up to his death in 1986. , updated Experts still debate how much she actually ended up helping the Soviet nuclear program. "She thought of Stalin in those early days as a sort of Clement Attlee figure. pink house() 8226 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. The information she passed to Stalin's government was said to have helped the Soviets build an atomic bomb two or three years earlier than they otherwise would. Asisten pribadi, mata-mata. 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. Find family history information in a whole new way. Anita Ferguson, the daughter of Melita Norwood, "has spoken of her distress at discovering the double life led by her mother throughout her childhood." His occupation was Yes. 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. 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 the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, where she . Get started There were several cries of ''traitor!'' At the age of 20, in . ''But I suppose it's all right as long as you are getting paid for it. Her confession that sunny Saturday came as a surprise to everyone but none more than her daughter, Anita, a school lab technician. Norwood was coming clean because a Cambridge historian had discovered her espionage while writing a book, but she was unrepentant. Norwoods secret finally came out in September 1999, when The Times of London began to publish Andrews book serially. Whatever she may have done, I love her, said the mother of two. She didnt draw attention to herself. . Her husband Harry, died in 1986. She was born Melita Sirnis in 1912 near Southampton, the daughter of an English mother and a Latvian father who was a follower of Leo Tolstoy. She was perusing the archives of 20th-century intelligence under the guidance of Professor Chris Andrew, MI5s official chronicler. 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. Her mother still remained part of the Left-wing political scene, influencing young Norwood who then joined the CPGB. While three of the gang were uncovered, she escaped discovery and took up a job as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association in the same year. Melita Norwood. Joan also comes up with the idea of enriching uranium in the film, which is part of the process of making atomic energy. I thought perhaps what I had access to might be useful in helping Russia to keep abreast of Britain, America and Germany. She added that, in general, I do not agree with spying against one's country.. The information helped the communist state catch up with Britain in the race to build the deadliest weapons ever seen. I made the approach.". Apart from passing on nuclear secrets, Norwood recruited at least one person to be a KGB spy. 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 was a traitor to her country and had got away with it for decades. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. He kept sensitive documents in both, sometimes holding evening meetings at home at which Lette was expected to be on hand. If you want to learn more about this . Melita Norwood akhirnya meninggal dunia pada tahun 2005 tetapi orang tetap terpesona dengan kisah hidupnya. "She once said to me she didn't agree with spying against one's country. Legacy Six years later, Melita Norwood died of cancer and heart disease at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, on June 2, 2005. Red Joan (2018) Ben Miles as Nick IMDb. She was a bit worried so she took an aspirin before going in. 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. By the time she agreed to work for the KGB, she had been promoted and was personal assistant to the director. Spy Melita Norwood (far left) pictured with her mother Gertrude, sister Gerty and half-brother Alfred Brandt. Anita Ferguson Anita L Ferguson, 52. 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). "When she became politically active in the 1930s, Russia was seen by many people as the only nation capable of defeating the Nazis. Melita Norwood was a great-grandmother when her espionage was finally revealed. They had one daughter: Anita Ferguson (born Norwood). Invest in the future today. 00:48 GMT 19 Jul 2014. It was a show of compassion Russian wouldn't have shown if the tables were turned. 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. Dame Judy Dench stars as the KGB's longest serving British spy in 'Red Joan', Melita Norwood reads a statement in her garden, which she had lovingly tended, Judi Dench plays an older Joan Stanley, who is based on Norwood, Melita Norwood aged 87 when she faced the cameras, Sophie Cookson plays Joan Stanley, who is based on Norwood, The former British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association building in central London, Norwood read her statement, surrounded by the garden that she loved so much. appaloosa management short hills; opdl teams looking for players; io nerf paladins; ottawa tribe symbols; loyola chicago sorority recruitment; an unfinished life ending; During that time she had handed over the country's secrets - willingly - to Russia, among them crucial information about the atomic bomb and its development. "Whatever she may have done, I loved her. anita ferguson daughter of melita norwood About; FAQ; Contacts; Location Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Norwood admitted she'd sometimes be typing up notes from meetings and then "typed an extra copy" to send on. 2023 Getty Images. Who would have thought she was a spy? I certainly didnt.. 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. We didnt know what to think.. Required fields are marked *. The cause of death was not disclosed. 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. Born in 1912 she was brought up with Communists, Socialists and Leninists. Paperwork about how to safely enrich uranium, which would be used in bombs, passed across his desk and was put in his safe. <br>Who would have thought she was a spy? The couple had one child, Anita, who was born in 1943. Where those men hid their activities behind their upper-class backgrounds, elite educations and urbanity, Mrs. Norwood disguised hers with her complete suburban unremarkableness. Jennie Rooneys book Red Joan is inspired by the story she found but, When Leo is away, Joan begins to fall for co-worker. Her spying career began four years after Joseph Stalin had seized power, long before his atrocities had become known to the outside world. Melita Norwood. Access the best of Getty Images and iStock with our simple subscription plan. "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.". At first she's unsure, but then we see her give in because she wants an even playing field between Russian and the USA. In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union's longest-serving British spy. Agent Hola's time was up. FOR decades the secret services were left chasing shadows in the hunt for agent Hola Russias most effective spy in Britain. '' he said. 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