Jennie Rooneys book Red Joan is inspired by the story she found but isnt based on the true story, there are quite a few differences between the two. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. BN-FRMA linked up with a to-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon called Tube Alloys. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Born in 1912 she was brought up with Communists, Socialists and Leninists. 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). Following in her fathers footsteps, Norwood joined the Communist Party. They had one daughter: Anita Ferguson (born Norwood). Her father had fled from Russia to, Key to this was research into metallurgy and this is exactly what Melita Norwood had access to in her apparently lowly job. Judi Dench gives us the painful memories and rickety joints of the old Joan, tending a garden in the suburbs in 2000 when Special . She was in control all the way through.. Universitas Southampton. How she came to be in a position to do that is a source of great embarrassment to MI5. Norwood worked tirelessly against Britain for four decades before she retired from her spy life in 1972. Anita said: She kept it from everyone. But this was just a token attempt.The main story is a standard spy . Access the best of Getty Images and iStock with our simple subscription plan. 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. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Norwood never revealed to anyone what she was up to, not even to her Left-leaning husband Hilary, a maths teacher. 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. In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union's longest-serving British spy. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. This was a woman who was seen pottering around tending to her vegetables and flowers. How fortunate she was. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. 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. Like many nonagenarians, Melita Norwood did her best to keep her mind active. When she was unmasked, she 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 health service. 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. "'I Gave Bomb Secrets to Russia So It Could Stand Up to the West.'" . "And she had her gardening: flowers at the front, vegetables at the back. Melita Norwood. Experts still debate how much she actually ended up helping the Soviet nuclear program. Norwood, who admitted passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, was exposed by Vasili Mitrokhin, who defected to Britain with a trove of KGB documents in 1992. By It became clear later, when Pavel Sudoplatov of the Russian Ministry of State Security admitted it was 'sources' from Great Britain that helped with such problems, that it was Norwood who gave them the final puzzle piece. "I do not consider myself a spy," she told reporters. Also known as Anita L Goertz, A L Ferguson. Her lofty motivations are a far cry from Norwood's deliberate choices. There were several cries of ''traitor!'' Melita, suffering cancer and heart disease, died at . ''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.''. 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. Working so close to highly classified research, Lette had to go through a security vetting. Dr Burke says: She was a sophisticated spy. She connects with her former Communist lover Leo who encourages her to hand over secrets to the Russians. 2023 Getty Images. 's foreign intelligence section, who defected to the British in 1992. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. He said: "Melita was not a hard-line Stalinist. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. A writer, journalism and follower of Lenin - who formed the Communist Party in Great Britain - they were acquainted. Melita Norwood, codenamed Hola, was a prized spy in Moscow Passed on Britain's top nuclear secrets over a period of 35 years Her name emerged in the Mitrokhin Archive nine years after she died. ''It was a very big shock, I had no idea, no idea at all.'' She has one daughter who works in a school laboratory, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Image of spy Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University in 1993. She declined it her spying was, after all, a matter of principle. 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. Untroubled by the problems of the world, and with the added comfort of her married daughter Anita living nearby, Melita Norwood enjoyed the tranquillity of the small development ringed with flowering trees, and got on with her jam-making until her death, aged 93. 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. Is it time Harry & Meghan accept Clarkson's apology and move on? One was in his office and the other at his London home. Reuters. Melita Stedman Norwood ( ne Sirnis; 25 Maret 1912 - 2 Juni 2005) adalah seorang pegawai negeri Inggris dan sumber intelijensi KGB. 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. Red Joan (2018) Ben Miles as Nick IMDb. "Whatever she may have done, I loved her. As early as 1938, she was. Melita Norwood. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. I certainly didnt.. . We are no longer accepting comments on this article. '' he said. 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. Melitamarried Hilary Norwood. 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. Pada tahun 2013, penulis Jennie Rooney telah menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul Red Joan, berdasarkan kisah kehidupan Norwood. She thought he was the best. Norwood, who joined the Communist Party in the 1930s, had access to British atomic secrets through her office job at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, which was involved in metallurgical research associated with the atomic bomb project. Nunn swiftly takes us back in time to 1938, when Joan (a gracefully convincing Sophie Cookson) was a green but genius physics student at Cambridge, grabbing onto new inspirations and expanding her political horizon while growing into her sexuality. "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.". Also known as Anita A James, Ferguson Anita. In the BBC interview she is vague about how she came to start working for the K.G.B. Key to this was research into metallurgy and this is exactly what Melita Norwood had access to in her apparently lowly job. It was middle country, middle class, middle management and middlebrow. 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. The public were shocked when elderly woman Melita Norwood was uncovered as a KGB spy. It was directed by Trevor Nunn, [10] and produced by David Parfitt, with a screenplay by Lindsay Shapero. Lived In Garland TX, Duncanville TX, Dallas TX, Desoto TX. As a member of the Independent Labour Party, and later the Communist Party, she had already been recruited as an agent at a meeting of the Friends of the Soviet Union. Well, she was partly aided by the boys club atmosphere of MI5, the British Security Service. Intriguingly, it included profiles of 200 British KGB collaborators written by their Kremlin handlers. Melita Norwood, now called Joan Stanley, is played by two actors. She was an emotional Communist and quite naive. Year old great-grandmother Melita Norwood stands outside her home in Bexleyheath, where she reads a statement to the press concerning her involment. Today brings a fresh reminder of a national disgrace, the failure to prosecute Melita Norwood for treason. five years later, saying only, ''Somebody said that my work might be an interesting source of material.'' To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. In many other countries, the grey-haired great-grandmother would have ended her days in prison, or even been shot. And how had the mole managed to infiltrate our system? 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 . Resides in Fairfax Station, VA. Norwood died in 2005, but people have remained fascinated with her story. But for the 40 years that she worked for Moscow, her bank balance rarely reflected the spoils of her labour. Geoffrey Levy for MailOnline Anita Ferguson, the daughter of Melita Norwood, "has spoken of her distress at discovering the double life led by her mother throughout her childhood." Rose, David. Her daughter, Anita Ferguson, said she died on June 2. Norwood would make copies then deliver them to her KGB handlers. / "But I didnt immediately think of pinching it. 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. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed. "She thought of Stalin in those early days as a sort of Clement Attlee figure. Norwoods secret finally came out in September 1999, when The Times of London began to publish Andrews book serially. In real life, Norwood was a Communist from an early age. Her daughter, Anita Ferguson, said she died on June 2. I certainly didn't.". She ended her days in a cosy, third-floor rented flat in a sheltered housing complex. As early as 1938, she was nearly caught by the British. MI5 worked out who Hola was in 1992, soon after Soviet defector Mitrokhin arrived in Britain with his KGB file. 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. 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. She claims failing memory as a reason for not being able to recall the names of any of the people she dealt with. Melita Norwood: The Soviet Union's Longest-Serving British Spy 220,739 views Mar 20, 2020 7K Dislike Share Save Biographics 2.08M subscribers Check out Business Blaze:. Other countries, the failure to prosecute Melita Norwood opening Norwood Labs at Greenwich University 1993. Collaborators written by their Kremlin handlers melita norwood daughter, anita ferguson thought of Stalin in those early as. Was a very big shock, I had no idea, no,. Collaborators written by their Kremlin handlers the press concerning her involment our simple subscription plan a,! Inggris dan sumber intelijensi KGB Norwood had access to in her apparently lowly job Norwood her! 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