Melita Norwood was exposed as a spy by The Times newspaper on 11 September 1999, shortly before the publication of the The Mitrokhin Archive (1999). Norwood, it was reported, had been a Soviet spy for nearly 40 years, and had handed over to the Russians some of Britain’s most sensitive secrets, including vital intelligence about the development of the atomic bomb.In short, Norwood was a traitor, who until then, had, in her own words, ‘got away with it’. Two years later, Norwood started to spy for the Soviet NKVD — the forerunner of the KGB.The man who recruited her? Melita Norwood reads a statement in her garden, which she had lovingly tended (Image: PA) Read More Related Articles. "It's just what you did" she says.In real life, Norwood was a Communist from an early age. She was the most important spy in KGB history and was a devout Communist. I certainly didn't. "But while Norwood's intentions are still up for debate, what she did is not.She removed items from her boss' safe, photographing details and sending them on to the Soviets, as is seen in the film.Norwood admitted she'd sometimes be typing up notes from meetings and then "typed an extra copy" to send on.She'd leave them somewhere to be picked up or handed them over at a meet-up.Her work continued after the war and there's no question what she handed over was useful to the Soviets.The Russians had been struggling to find a solution to an issue they were having with creating the atomic bomb when Norwood found the answer.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.In 1949 they detonated their first atomic bomb four years earlier than expected.All of this is shown in Red Joan, but what's missing is the other work Norwood did - she was also a recruiter.In 1967, she recruited a British civil servant 'Hunt' who passed on secrets about arms sales for nearly 15 years.While his identity still remains unknown to the public, Norwood confessed later: "I am not going to deny it...I take complete responsibility and blame. Her father, Alexander Sirnis, was a revolutionary socialist who, despite settling in the safety of the United Kingdom in 1903, wanted to overthrow British capitalismMelita Stedman Norwood, was brought up in a circle of Communists, Socialists and Leninists. For standing on her drive and spilling onto the road was a huge bustle of reporters, photographers and television crews.The world’s media had descended on Garden Avenue because of an explosive revelation about Norwood made in one newspaper that morning.
Her mother then moved her two daughters and son to Bitterne near Southampton to live with Melita’s aunt.Gertrude remained very involved in Left-wing politics, which of course strongly influenced her daughter, who joined the CPGB.After leaving school, Norwood won a place at Southampton University, but dropped out and spent some time in Germany, where she witnessed the rise of the Nazis at first hand.In 1932, Norwood, aged 20, began working in the clerical department of a metallurgy research group — the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association (BN-FMRA) — where she remained until her retirement in 1972.Her appointment had fateful consequences during the forthcoming nuclear age, as BN-FMRA soon developed close links with the British top-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon codenamed ‘Tube Alloys’. Who would have thought she was a spy? ‘She was a committed, reliable and disciplined agent, striving to be of the utmost assistance,’ it stated.‘She handed over a very large number of documents of a scientific and technical nature, and these found practical application.’While spies such as art historian Anthony Blunt later claimed they gave Stalin secrets only when he was on Britain’s side, Norwood had no such qualms. Click here to resize this module On September 11, 1999, Melita Stedman Norwood, 87, gave a statement to the media at her home in Bexleyheath, South-East London after they discovered the shocking facts about her past. And she continued to pass material to Moscow after the war.There can be little doubt the information provided by her was vital to the Soviets.Building nuclear reactors to refine bomb-grade plutonium is not easy.
I take complete responsibility and blame.’Hunt’s true identity still remains unknown, at least to the public.In 1972, Agent Hola eventually retired, both from her job as a secretary and as a Soviet spy. It developed close links with the British top-secret project to develop a nuclear weaponAgent Hola, as Norwood was called by her Soviet handlers, did not retire until 1972. She had got away with it, despite the astonishing fact that she had been investigated seven times from 1938 to 1965 by the British Security Service. Judi Dench says later as a young woman she just went along with it.