Melita Norwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melita Norwood |
|
|---|---|
| "Letty" | |
Norwood in later life
|
|
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Active | 1937–1972 |
| Codename(s) | Hola |
|
|
|
| Birth name | Melita Stedman Sirnis |
| Born | 25 March 1912 Bournemouth, England |
| Died | 2 June 2005 (aged 93) Wolverhampton, England |
| Spouse |
Hilary Nussbaum
(m. 1935; died 1986) |
| Children | 1 |
| Occupation | Personal assistant, spy |
Melita Stedman Norwood (born Sirnis; 25 March 1912 – 2 June 2005) was a British woman who worked as a government employee and was also a secret agent for the KGB, a Soviet intelligence agency. She was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
Norwood is best known for giving secret information about the development of atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. She worked for 40 years at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. Even though the information she shared was very important, she never took money for it. She believed her actions helped prevent a third world war between the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union.
Historian Christopher Andrew described her as "the most important British female agent in KGB history" and "the longest serving of all Soviet spies in Britain." The Communist Party of Britain called her "a real heroine" who fought for peace. She also supported the Morning Star newspaper throughout her life.
Her story loosely inspired the 2018 spy film Red Joan.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Melita Sirnis was born in Bournemouth, England, on March 25, 1912. Her mother was British, and her father was Latvian. Her father, Peter Alexander Sirnis, was connected to the Bolsheviks and the famous writer Leo Tolstoy. He published a newspaper called The Southern Worker, which shared ideas from the Russian Revolution. He also translated works by leaders like Lenin. Melita's father died when she was six years old.
In 1923, Melita won a scholarship to attend Itchen Secondary School in Southampton. She became the school captain in 1928. She then studied Latin and Logic at the University College of Southampton but left in 1931. After university, she lived in Heidelberg, Germany, for a year. There, she became involved in activities against fascism.
Joining the Communist Party
In 1932, Melita Sirnis started working as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. In late 1935, she married Hilary Nussbaum, a chemistry teacher and fellow communist. He later changed his last name to Norwood.
Melita Norwood joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the mid-1930s. She became a strong supporter of the party's newspaper, The Daily Worker. The British government did not know about her party membership until much later. In 1935, a leading member of the CPGB suggested her to the NKVD, which was the KGB's earlier name. She became a full agent in 1937. The Norwoods bought their home in Bexleyheath that same year. They lived a seemingly normal life there, and Melita stayed in that house until she was 90.
Her Secret Work
Melita Norwood's spying career began in the mid-1930s as part of a spy group in London called the Woolwich Spy ring. Some members of this group were arrested in 1938, but Melita was not caught then. Around this time, the NKVD changed its overseas spy activities. Norwood's new Soviet bosses became the GRU, which was the Soviet military intelligence service. They gave her several secret code names, with "Agent Hola" being the last one.
Norwood worked as a secretary to G.L. Bailey, who was a department head at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. Bailey was on a committee for the British atomic weapons project, which was secretly called Tube Alloys. This job allowed Norwood to pass important information about the project to her Soviet contacts. In 1958, she received an award from the Soviet Union called the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
British security services identified Norwood as a risk in 1965. However, they decided not to question her to avoid revealing how they found out. She retired from her job in 1972. Her husband died in 1986. In 1999, Norwood said that her husband did not approve of her spying activities. Her neighbours and even her daughter were very surprised when her secret life as a spy was revealed in 1999.
How She Was Discovered
Melita Norwood's spying activities became public in 1999. This happened because of a book called The Mitrokhin Archive: The K.G.B. in Europe and the West. This book was written by historian Christopher Andrew and based on files from Vasili Mitrokhin. Mitrokhin was a former KGB archivist who moved to Britain in 1992. He brought many KGB files with him.
British intelligence knew Norwood was a communist supporter. However, they only realized how important she was after Mitrokhin's files were examined. To protect other investigations, they decided not to charge her with a crime. Some people have questioned if all the evidence from the Mitrokhin archive is correct. In the end, Norwood was never charged with any offense.
Her Reasons for Spying
Norwood stated that she did not gain any money from her spying. She said she generally did not "agree with spying against one's country." However, she hoped her actions would help the Soviet Union "keep abreast of Britain, America and Germany." This meant she wanted the Soviet Union to have similar knowledge and power.
When her activities were revealed, she made a statement:
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.
This shows she believed she was helping ordinary people in the Soviet Union. Files released in 2014 suggest the KGB valued her more highly than the famous Cambridge Five spy ring.
Red Joan Film
Red Joan is a 2018 film that was loosely based on Melita Norwood's life. It stars Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson. The film was directed by Trevor Nunn and premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Later Life and Death
Melita Norwood died on June 2, 2005, at the age of 93. She passed away at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, England. Her body was cremated.
See also
- Mitrokhin Archive
- Information Research Department
