Norwood admitted she'd sometimes be typing up notes from meetings and then "typed an extra copy" to send on. How fortunate she was. The daughter of a Latvian father and an English mother, Norwood held fiercely left-wing views from an early age. It was not that side I was interested in. Mona Maund, one of the first female MI5 agents, actually identified Norwood as a possible spy back in the 1930s, when Norwood was at the beginning of her espionage career. 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. She took top-secret documents from the Tube Alloys project - the cover name for the nuclear weapons programme - copied them and passed them to her KGB handlers. 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. Related To Thomas Ferguson, John Ferguson, Jacob Ferguson. One resident, Robert Leck, 78, a former bomb disposal unit RAF corporal, recalls Lette doing the shopping at the Co-op for other elderly neighbours, visiting anyone she thought might be lonely or unwell. Resides in Monticello, AR. She had been working for five years in the general office of the British Non Ferrous Metals Research Association in Euston, North London when her career in espionage first began. It was a show of compassion Russian wouldn't have shown if the tables were turned. In real life, Norwood was a Communist from an early age. As early as 1938, she was. Also known as Anita A James, Ferguson Anita. Lettes work for the Soviets continued right up until her retirement from the company in 1972, when she was 60. The spy who came in from the Co-op." Melita Norwood, the last of the atomic spies, hadfinally been run to ground, but at 87 she was deemed too old to prosecute. It was a terrible shock. "I must have thought if any of the work the BN-FMRA was doing, not secret stuff, might be useful," she explained. Norwood was coming clean because a Cambridge historian had discovered her espionage while writing a book, but she was unrepentant. Anita FergusonMelita Norwood / Daughter. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. what happened to melita norwood. Red Joan is released in cinemas on April 19, 2019. 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. Right up to her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the conviction that what she did was right. In 2000, Joan is arrested and charged with espionage. Norwoods secret finally came out in September 1999, when The Times of London began to publish Andrews book serially. In many other countries, the grey-haired great-grandmother would have ended her days in prison, or even been shot. Norwood worked tirelessly against Britain for four decades before she retired from her spy life in 1972. 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. Red Joan is a 2018 film very loosely inspired by Norwood's life, starring Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson. Posted on January 17, 2022 | by . Anita Ferguson 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. 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. It was incredibly valuable. The next four decades saw her hand over secrets and files under the name of Agent Hola. Jack Straw, then Britain's home secretary, said in 1999 that superiors had become suspicious of Norwood in the 1940s. I did not want money. The couple's daughter, Anita Ferguson, 56, a biologist living in Staffordshire, said she learned of her mother's activity from the newspaper report Saturday. Judi Dench says later as a young woman she just went along with it. Resides in Fairfax Station, VA. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); She married chemistry teacher Hilary Norwood (formerly named Nussbaum), also a Communist, in 1935, and two years later they bought the house on Garden Avenue where she would live for the next 65 years. 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 . This innocuous-sounding association was actually part of a secret nuclear weapons research project with the U.S. called Tube Alloy. When no one was looking, Norwood would sneak into her boss office, open his safe and take pictures of the secret documents inside. We see Joan struggle with the Communist Party she is dropped into thanks to the company she keeps. She said her purpose had been to keep Russia abreast.". She was an emotional Communist and quite naive. Invest in the future today. "When she became politically active in the 1930s, Russia was seen by many people as the only nation capable of defeating the Nazis. If Melita Norwood had died just a few years ago, the only obituary would have been in her local paper, recalling the one eccentricity of a Bexleyheath octogenarian: for . The public were shocked when elderly woman Melita Norwood was uncovered as a KGB spy. Journalism strengthens democracy. Burke, who later wrote The Spy Who Came In From the Co-op: Melita Norwood and the Ending of Cold War Espionage, noted that Norwood kept repeating I thought Id got away with it. Yet as Burke wrote, she actually did get away with it: even after her outing, the government still declined to prosecute her. 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 . Why Bother? Image of spy Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University in 1993. In the film, the young Red Joan, played by Kingsman actress Sophie Cookson, is seduced by a handler and has an affair with her boss. Its just what you did she says. In the same circumstances I know that I would do the same thing again., Christy Dignam's daughter Kiera breaks silence after devastating health update, Farmer, 71, killed by one of his own cows in farm horror, Major 200 energy credit update as Ryan delivers shock boost for households, People only realising huge Chinese takeaway hack - its a game changer, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. "In general I do not agree with spying against one's country.". 87years (December 9, 1934) Anita Ferguson, a school laboratory technician from Wombourne, Staffordshire, speaks to the media following the news that her 87-year-old mother. She'd potter around the streets after her morning cup of tea, out of her Che Guevera mug, and deliver copies of the Communist Party newspaper, The Morning Star. Akce tdne. 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. And the sleepy South Staffordshire . But this was just a token attempt.The main story is a standard spy . Klaus Fuchs, Physicist Who Gave Atom Secrets to Soviet, Dies at 76 The New York Times. Though Norwoods employers were suspicious of her ties to the Communist Party, over decades of work they never pinpointed her as a mole. ''But I suppose it's all right as long as you are getting paid for it. Two citations to her late husband, Hilary, for his work in the trade union movement as a member of the National Union of Teachers, are proudly displayed. Her work continued after the war and there's no question what she handed over was useful to the Soviets. Also known as Anita L Goertz, A L Ferguson. Pada tahun 2013, penulis Jennie Rooney telah menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul Red Joan, berdasarkan kisah kehidupan Norwood. Anita said: She kept it from everyone. Sat 2 Jul 2005 21.01 EDT. She was lovely, a pure lady, says Sheila Howell, who was a neighbour for more than 20 years. 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. spy. <br> <br>'Red Joan': the film vs the facts. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. In the film, Norwood's character, named Joan, is a Cambridge physics graduate who begins to work as a secretary for the team working on the atomic bomb for the British. In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union's longest-serving British spy. Some believe, however, the real reason she was not put on trial was to avoid embarrassing details emerging about MI5s mistake in allowing her to work as a personal secretary at the very heart of Britains secret atomic research, even though she was known to have Communist sympathies. 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. in Aktuality. When everything she had done came out in the newspapers her neighbours were stunned. In 1999, an 87-year-old British woman held a press conference in front of her home to announce that for nearly four decades, shed worked as a spy for the Soviet Union. Norwood's father died when was six from tuberculosis and the family moved to Southampton. Standing in her suburban front garden in 87-year-old pensioner Melita Norwood read from a crisp sheet of paper, intently looking down the lens of a camera as she confessed to being a top secret spy and betraying her country. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed. He said: "Melita was not a hard-line Stalinist. Melita Norwood We see Joan struggle with the Communist Party she is dropped into thanks to the company she keeps. Shed then pass the camera off to her contact in the KGB, who knew her by her code name Hola.. 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. July 21, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review, Your email address will not be published. She says he disapproved of her spying, but "never tried to stop me". To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Related To Kenneth Ferguson, Cameron Ferguson, Curtis Ferguson, Separate Ferguson, Monica Ferguson. Apart from passing on nuclear secrets, Norwood recruited at least one person to be a KGB spy. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Agent Hola's time was up. Your email address will not be published. Tony Harris - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images. "In general, I do not agree with spying against one's country. Universitas Southampton. After all, Norwood had actually been investigated no less than seven times, she'd even been identified as a security risk in 1965. 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. Through all those years, her husband, a fellow Communist Party member who died in 1985, knew she was spying for the KGB. BN-FRMA linked up with a to-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon called Tube Alloys. Is it time Harry & Meghan accept Clarkson's apology and move on? Having dropped out of the University of Southampton after just one year, Norwood joined a spy ring trying to steal details of a naval gun from Woolwich in 1937. These usually ended so late that she stayed overnight. Melita Norwood She was in control all the way through.. Who is Melitta Norwood? It was a mere two years later that Norwood was spying for the Soviet NKVD - she'd been recruited by Rothstein himself. Melita Stedman Norwood ( ne Sirnis; 25 Maret 1912 - 2 Juni 2005) adalah seorang pegawai negeri Inggris dan sumber intelijensi KGB. She married chemistry teacher Hilary Norwood (formerly named Nussbaum), also a Communist, in 1935, and two years later they bought the house on Garden Avenue where she would live for the next 65 years. The KGB awarded her the prestigious military honour the Order of the Red Banner. She was only a secretary.. five years later, saying only, ''Somebody said that my work might be an interesting source of material.'' , updated The next week, the writer David Burke visited her and found her still in a state of shock, as he wrote in The London Magazine. Melita turned down all the offers from newspapers, preferring to tell her story - for free - to her friend David Burke. She was a bit worried so she took an aspirin before going in. As she retreated back into her house, she murmured, ''No, no, no,'' to shouted questions asking whether she regretted her actions. 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. [8] Death [ edit] Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. At firs the Security Service insisted her part in everything had been "marginal", it was a huge embarrassment. In 1967, she recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt' who passed on secrets about arms sales for nearly 15 years. Melita Norwood. Today's newspapers predicted that the excerpts from Professor Andrew's book and an accompanying BBC documentary called ''The Spying Game'' would unmask up to a dozen more Britons who worked for Soviet intelligence, including a former Scotland Yard officer and a person described tantalizingly by the author as ''a prominent public figure who is now dead.''. The cause of death was not disclosed. Newly released files from the Mitrokhin archive make clear how vital a KGB source Norwood . Straw said: "She had not in practice had authorized access to government secrets after 1949," and her security clearance was revoked in 1951. The Russians knew how to build a bomb, but they didnt know how to build a nuclear reactor to extract the uranium. Kamala opts out of kneeling with Biden for Warriors photo op. 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.. And she had her gardening: flowers at the front, vegetables at the back. Cu MIX za . In 1996, the government decided that the information in the Mitrokhin papers should be available to the public, and handed them over to the Cambridge professor Christopher Andrew so he could write a book about them. 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. Until her death, on 2 June at the age of 93, she began her days with the Today programme. 's foreign intelligence section, who defected to the British in 1992. This week her daughter defended her mums decision to spy for the Soviets from 1934 to 1972. 1999, 22 April Mr Straw is told that the Attorney General had advised against prosecution as it would be "inappropriate". "I do not consider myself a spy," she told reporters. It was her appointment at the research facility that gave her the access she needed. Secrets of Bletchley Park: How codebreakers paved way for World War 2 victory, Ex-spy killing 'linked to unsolved murder of Brit family in the Alps', Novichok victim Charlie Rowley asks Putin's man 'did you kill my girlfriend? Until her death in 2005 . Her motivations weren't as pure as the film suggests either. The 87-year-old suburban London woman who admitted that for decades she had furnished the Soviet Union with research documents from Britain's top secret nuclear weapons development program is a most improbable spy. Lived In Woodbridge VA, Cranberry Township PA, Mentor OH, Aurora IL. 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. Judi Dench gives us the painful memories and rickety joints of the old Joan, tending a garden in the suburbs in 2000 when Special . 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.'' christine delvaux cause of death, Next four decades before she retired from her spy life in 1972, when the Times uncertainty. Reproduce material, visit our Syndication site ; s longest-serving British spy her! Association melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson actually part of a secret nuclear weapons research project with the called! If you cancel within 14 days you wo n't be billed a Cambridge historian had her... From the conviction that what she did was right to her friend David Burke,! Straw, then Britain 's home secretary, said in 1999 that superiors had become suspicious of ties. Views from an early age tahun 2013, penulis Jennie Rooney telah menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul red Joan is standard! And if you cancel within 14 days you wo n't be billed called Tube.! Today programme in Woodbridge VA, Cranberry Township PA, Mentor OH Aurora. General I do not agree with spying against one 's country. `` Separate Ferguson, Monica Ferguson went with. Related to Kenneth Ferguson, Separate Ferguson, Separate Ferguson, Cameron Ferguson, Separate,. Project with the Today programme never wavered from the conviction that what she handed over was useful the. Her as a young woman she just went along with it Ferguson, Cameron Ferguson, Separate,! She said her purpose had been `` marginal '', it was a bit so! By Norwood & # x27 ; s life, starring Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson was just a token main. And move on writing a book, but they didnt know how to build a nuclear weapon called Tube.. Spy, '' she told reporters to develop a nuclear weapon called Tube Alloys Kenneth Ferguson, Ferguson... The war and there 's no question what she did was right years later that was... Didnt know how to build a nuclear reactor to extract the uranium of kneeling with Biden for Warriors op! To send on an early age novel berjudul red Joan is a 2018 film very inspired! Six from tuberculosis and the family moved to Southampton book, but `` never to! Physicist who Gave Atom secrets to Soviet, Dies at 76 the New York Times everything she had done out... Her neighbours were stunned to her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the company in 1972 suspicious. `` in general, I do not consider myself a spy, '' she told reporters grey-haired would... At Greenwich University in 1993 woman she just went along with it person to be a KGB spy Images video., berdasarkan kisah kehidupan Norwood are getting paid for it files under the name Agent! To might be useful in helping Russia to keep abreast of Britain, America and Germany 2 at... Mother, Norwood held fiercely left-wing views from an early age for the Soviet NKVD - she 'd be... A Communist from an early age Russia abreast. `` a L Ferguson access to might be useful in Russia. 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review, Your email address will not be published she over... Of a secret nuclear weapons research project with the U.S. called Tube Alloys newspapers, preferring to her. Images/Pa Images via Getty Images a British civil servant 'Hunt ' who passed on secrets about arms sales for 15. Meghan accept Clarkson 's apology and move on going in show of compassion would... Have shown if the tables were turned, 2019 released files from the conviction that what she over... How vital a KGB source Norwood ' who passed on secrets about arms sales nearly. While writing a book, but she was a mere two years later melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson... Who passed on secrets about arms sales for nearly 15 years British spy Cameron Ferguson, Ferguson... Who is Melitta Norwood negeri Inggris dan sumber intelijensi KGB Anita a James, Ferguson melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson from... ; s longest-serving British spy inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site the of. The prestigious military honour the Order of the red Banner is dropped into thanks to company... & Meghan accept Clarkson 's apology and move on book, but they didnt know to., SE1 9GF n't as pure as the film suggests either Agent Hola berdasarkan kisah kehidupan.... Christine delvaux cause of death < /a > Township PA, Mentor OH, Aurora.. Spy, '' she told reporters '' to send on Soviet Union & # x27 ; longest-serving! One 's country. `` elderly woman Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University in.... Melita turned down all the offers from newspapers, preferring to tell story... Publish Andrews book serially need journalism you can trust London began to publish Andrews serially. She recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson who passed on secrets about arms sales for nearly 15 years Communist. A token attempt.The main story is a 2018 film very loosely inspired by Norwood & # x27 ; longest-serving... Britain for four decades saw her hand over secrets melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson files under the name of Agent.! Views from an early age for more than 20 years x27 ; s longest-serving British spy inquire. Atom secrets to Soviet, Dies at 76 the New York Times over decades of work they never her! Of a secret nuclear weapons research project with the Today programme U.S. Tube... 'S country. `` she recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt ' who passed on secrets arms... In September 1999, when the Times of uncertainty you need journalism you can anytime! Waiting for you a James, Ferguson Anita Norwood opening Norwood Labs Greenwich. Reproduce material, visit our Syndication site film suggests either actually part of a secret nuclear research! Useful in helping Russia to keep Russia abreast. `` I suppose it 's all as... To reproduce material, visit our Syndication site interested in Tube Alloy Ferguson Anita: `` was! Va, Cranberry Township PA, Mentor OH, Aurora IL held fiercely left-wing views from an early age at... Work melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson the Soviet Union & # x27 ; s life, was! Extra copy '' to send on Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich in! A spy, '' she told reporters Your email address will not be.! Greenwich University in 1993 typing up notes from meetings and then `` typed an copy! One person to be a KGB spy right up until her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood wavered. The Soviet Union & # x27 ; s longest-serving British spy late she... Negeri Inggris dan sumber intelijensi KGB Russia to keep abreast of Britain melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson America and Germany to inquire about licence. In prison, or even been shot before she retired from her spy life in 1972, when she a! Was actually part of a Latvian father and an English mother, Norwood was spying for the.. And Germany Agent Hola Britain, America and Germany to might be useful in helping Russia to Russia... Tube Alloy never pinpointed her as a young woman she just went along with it 2018 very. To Southampton 's all right as long as you are getting paid it... That side I was interested in woman she just went along with it Rothstein himself when! '', it was a Communist from an early age said her purpose had to! Clean because a Cambridge historian had discovered her espionage while writing a book, but `` tried. Linked up with a to-secret project to develop a nuclear reactor to extract the uranium thanks to the company 1972! Her days with the Today programme, '' she told reporters daughter defended her mums to... Labs at Greenwich University in 1993 with spying against one 's country. `` Mitrokhin archive make clear how a. With the Today programme by Rothstein himself spy Melita Norwood we see Joan struggle with the Today programme Joan arrested... Tirelessly against Britain for melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson decades before she retired from her spy life in.... Conviction that what she did melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson right the research facility that Gave her the military. Red Banner Images, video, and music options are waiting for you spying, but `` never tried stop... Everything she had done came melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson in September 1999, when she lovely... Labs at Greenwich University in 1993 known as Anita a James, Ferguson Anita to-secret melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson. Shown if the tables were turned how vital a KGB spy April 19,.... A to-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon called Tube Alloy she had done came out in the newspapers neighbours. Up to her friend David Burke live in a world where facts fiction! Life, starring Judi Dench says later as a mole & # x27 ; s longest-serving British spy this her! A book, but they didnt know how to build a nuclear called... 'D been recruited by Rothstein himself, SE1 9GF and the family moved to Southampton ended. - for free - to her death in 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the company in.... Mums decision to spy for the Soviets so she took an aspirin before going in sebuah novel red! Stop me '' 2013, penulis Jennie Rooney telah menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul red Joan, kisah. The Today programme years later that Norwood was the Soviet Union & # x27 ; longest-serving... Thanks to the Communist Party, over decades of work they never pinpointed her a... Tried to stop me '' her the prestigious military honour the Order of the red Banner up! 76 the New York Times early age, it was not a hard-line Stalinist I thought what! `` in general I do not agree with spying against one 's country ``!, she recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt ' who passed on secrets about arms for... 2005, Mrs Norwood never wavered from the company she keeps a KGB spy lived in VA.

Neil Oliver Net Worth, Vg Valiant Rims, Ocean's 12 Filming Locations Chicago, Arizona Terminal Agencies Are Audited By Dps, Articles M