Difference between revisions of "Melita Norwood"

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|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melita_Norwood
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melita_Norwood
 
|spartacus=http://spartacus-educational.com/Melita_Norwood.htm
 
|spartacus=http://spartacus-educational.com/Melita_Norwood.htm
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|image=Photograph of Melita Norwood.jpg
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|birth_date=25 March 1912
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|birth_date=1912-03-25
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|death_date=2 June 2005
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|death_date=2005-06-02
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|description=British [[Civil service|civil servant]] and [[Soviet]] spy. 
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|constitutes=civil servant, spook
 
|spouses=Hilary Nussbaum
 
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|nationality=British
 
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|parents=Alexander Sirnis (1881-1918) Gertrude Stedman/Sirnis
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|parents=Alexander Sirnis, Gertrude Stedman
 
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'''Melita Stedman Norwood''' (née '''Sirnis''') was a British [[Civil service|civil servant]] and [[Soviet]] spy. 
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Born to a British mother and Latvian father, Norwood is most famous for supplying the [[Soviet Union]] with [[Classified information|state secrets]] concerning the development of [[Nuclear weapon|atomic weapons]] from her job at the [[British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association]], where she worked for 40 years.<ref name="BBC200999">https://web.archive.org/web/20090214154511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/444269.stm</ref> Despite the high strategic value of the information she passed to the Soviets, she refused to accept any financial rewards for her work. She rejected the Soviets' offer of a pension,<ref name=Spartacus>https://spartacus-educational.com/Melita_Norwood.htm</ref> and argued that her disclosures of classified work helped to avoid the possibility of a third world war involving the [[United States]], [[Britain]], and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="BBC200999" /><ref name=":1">Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism. UK: Manifesto Press Co-operative Limited. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-907464-45-4.</ref>
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==Espionage==
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Norwood’s espionage career began in the mid-1930s as a member of the [[Percy Glading|Woolwich Spy ring]] in London. Three of its members were arrested in January 1938 and sentenced to between three and six years in prison,<ref>https://archive.org/details/timeforspiestheo00duff/page/141</ref> but Melita Norwood was not then detained. Meanwhile, a wave of purges in Moscow led the NKVD to cut back on its overseas espionage activities, and Norwood's new Soviet employers became the [[GRU]], the Military Overseas Intelligence Service of the [[Soviet Union]]. Her Soviet handlers gave her a succession of different code names, the last being "Agent Hola".<ref name="Timesobit">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/melita-norwood-x2lrfkj7vm5</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080424110320/http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm47/4764/4764-02.htm</ref>
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Her position as secretary to G.L. Bailey, head of a department at the [[British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association]], enabled Norwood to pass her Soviet handlers material relating to the British atomic weapons project, known at the time by the innocuous name of [[Tube Alloys]].<ref>Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). ''Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism.'' UK: Manifesto Press Co-operative Limited. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-907464-45-4.</ref> Bailey was on an advisory committee to Tube Alloys. According to [[Jeremy Bernstein]], Bailey was "warned about Norwood’s political associations and was careful not to reveal anything to her."<ref>10 May 2019 "Incredible Untrue Events" [[Jeremy Bernstein]], ''[[London Review of Books]]''</ref>
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In 1958, she was awarded the [[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]].<ref>https://www.history.com/news/soviet-spy-melita-norwood-red-joan</ref>
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The British security services eventually identified Norwood as a security risk in [[1965]], but refrained from questioning her to avoid disclosing their methods. She retired in [[1972]].<ref name=guad/> Her husband died in 1986, and Norwood said in 1999 that he had disapproved of her activities as an agent.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/13/world/the-great-grandmother-comes-in-from-the-cold.html</ref>
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==Mitrokhin Archive==
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She was mentioned in [[MI5]]'s [[Mitrokhin Archive]]. Norwood was well known to be a [[communist]] sympathiser. A report in [[1999]] claimed that British intelligence became aware of her significance only after Mitrokhin's defection; to protect other investigations it was then decided not to prosecute her.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20071227182527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/09/99/britain_betrayed/453652.stm</ref> The validity of "evidence" from the Mitrokhin archive is of dubious reliability - it is most probably a MI5 document plant based on their existing archives and suspicions. In any event, Norwood was never charged with an offence.<ref name=guad>https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/28/guardianobituaries.past</ref>
 
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==References==
 
==References==
 
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Latest revision as of 23:02, 24 January 2024

Person.png Melita Norwood   SpartacusRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(civil servant, spook)
Photograph of Melita Norwood.jpg
Born25 March 1912
Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Died2 June 2005 (Age 93)
Pokesdown, Hampshire
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Southampton
Parents • Alexander Sirnis
• Gertrude Stedman
ChildrenAnita
SpouseHilary Nussbaum
British civil servant and Soviet spy.

Melita Stedman Norwood (née Sirnis) was a British civil servant and Soviet spy.

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 worked for 40 years.[1] Despite the high strategic value of the information she passed to the Soviets, she refused to accept any financial rewards for her work. She rejected the Soviets' offer of a pension,[2] and argued that her disclosures of classified work helped to avoid the possibility of a third world war involving the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union.[1][3]

Espionage

Norwood’s espionage career began in the mid-1930s as a member of the Woolwich Spy ring in London. Three of its members were arrested in January 1938 and sentenced to between three and six years in prison,[4] but Melita Norwood was not then detained. Meanwhile, a wave of purges in Moscow led the NKVD to cut back on its overseas espionage activities, and Norwood's new Soviet employers became the GRU, the Military Overseas Intelligence Service of the Soviet Union. Her Soviet handlers gave her a succession of different code names, the last being "Agent Hola".[5][6]

Her position as secretary to G.L. Bailey, head of a department at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, enabled Norwood to pass her Soviet handlers material relating to the British atomic weapons project, known at the time by the innocuous name of Tube Alloys.[7] Bailey was on an advisory committee to Tube Alloys. According to Jeremy Bernstein, Bailey was "warned about Norwood’s political associations and was careful not to reveal anything to her."[8]

In 1958, she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.[9]

The British security services eventually identified Norwood as a security risk in 1965, but refrained from questioning her to avoid disclosing their methods. She retired in 1972.[10] Her husband died in 1986, and Norwood said in 1999 that he had disapproved of her activities as an agent.[11]

Mitrokhin Archive

She was mentioned in MI5's Mitrokhin Archive. Norwood was well known to be a communist sympathiser. A report in 1999 claimed that British intelligence became aware of her significance only after Mitrokhin's defection; to protect other investigations it was then decided not to prosecute her.[12] The validity of "evidence" from the Mitrokhin archive is of dubious reliability - it is most probably a MI5 document plant based on their existing archives and suspicions. In any event, Norwood was never charged with an offence.[10]

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References

  1. ↑ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20090214154511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/444269.stm
  2. ↑ https://spartacus-educational.com/Melita_Norwood.htm
  3. ↑ Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism. UK: Manifesto Press Co-operative Limited. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-907464-45-4.
  4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/timeforspiestheo00duff/page/141
  5. ↑ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/melita-norwood-x2lrfkj7vm5
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080424110320/http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm47/4764/4764-02.htm
  7. ↑ Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism. UK: Manifesto Press Co-operative Limited. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-907464-45-4.
  8. ↑ 10 May 2019 "Incredible Untrue Events" Jeremy Bernstein, London Review of Books
  9. ↑ https://www.history.com/news/soviet-spy-melita-norwood-red-joan
  10. ↑ a b https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/28/guardianobituaries.past
  11. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/13/world/the-great-grandmother-comes-in-from-the-cold.html
  12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20071227182527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/09/99/britain_betrayed/453652.stm
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