Cambridge Five facts for kids
The Cambridge Spy Ring was a secret group of spies in the United Kingdom. These spies shared important information with the Soviet Union. They were active during and after World War II, from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.
No one in the group was ever officially put on trial for their spying. Over time, the public slowly learned who these spies were. One of their most damaging actions was giving information about the Manhattan Project (the secret project to build atomic bombs) to the Soviet Union.
Who Were the Cambridge Five?
The group became known as the Cambridge Five. All five spies met while they were students or teachers at Cambridge University. They were:
- Donald Maclean
- Guy Burgess
- Kim Philby
- Anthony Blunt
- John Cairncross
How the Spies Were Discovered
The first public news about the spy ring came in 1951. Two of the spies, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess, suddenly fled to the Soviet Union. This made people suspicious.
In 1961, a person who had left the Soviet Union, named Anatoliy Golitsyn, gave information. This information pointed to Kim Philby as another spy. Philby then fled the country in 1963 and lived the rest of his life in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union.
After Philby left, British intelligence agencies got confessions from Anthony Blunt and then John Cairncross. These were the last two of the main five spies. Their involvement was kept secret for many years. Blunt's role became public in 1979, and Cairncross's in 1990.
Images for kids
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Kim Philby, as depicted on a Soviet Union stamp
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See also
In Spanish: Los cinco de Cambridge para niños
