01:26 GMT 14 Aug 2021. The strange post-Courier life of Greville Wynne", "Travelling salesman prevented WW3 in incredible true story behind new Cumberbatch film", "Nonfiction Book Review: The Spy Who Saved the World: How a Soviet Colonel Changed the Course of the Cold War by Jerrold L. Schecter, Author, Peter S. Deriabin, With Scribner Book Company $25 (0p) ISBN 978-0-684-19068-6", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greville_Wynne&oldid=1141334696, He was portrayed by Peter Lindford in the 2007, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 15:01. Me and him have a really good relationship were really lucky, Keir said. Greville Maynard Wynne was a British spy famous for his involvement with, and imprisonment as a result of, the espionage activities of Oleg Penkovsky. Wynne agreed, and during his visit to Moscow the following month he wound up connecting with Oleg Penkovsky, a lieutenant colonel in the GRU (the Soviet Unions foreign-intelligence agency) who was eager to leak high-level military information to Western powers. The two then visited the White House where President John F. Kennedy personally thanked them for their servicethen the two returned to the U.K. just 18 hours later. Mr Andrew Greville Wynne. "Greville Wynne was anordinary mandoing an extraordinary thing," Cumberbatch says. Khruschev later backed off and ordered the Soviet missiles returned to the Soviet Union after President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba. Greville Wynne's son is Andrew Wynne. The article also reveals other information about what happened on the day of sentencing and is well worth a read. [6] Wynne later became an intermediary and courier for Penkovsky, smuggling top-secret Soviet intelligence to London on return from his frequent trips to the USSR. Not only was this account widely denied shortly after publication by members of the CIA and Kennedys staff, but it would have been against the way espionage is runkeeping heads of state a safe distance from the details of intelligence work. In honour of the Queen's eldest son, our new king, we have put together this collection of highlights from Charles' earlier years. 'The Courier' is currently lived by his son, Andrew as he had already passed away in 1990 at the age of 70. He later appeared as himself on the May 23, 1967 episode of the American game show To Tell the Truth. He later died of throat cancer in London. US based Meghan and Harry.. FameChain has their amazing trees. Wynne was a middle-class British businessman whose frequent travel to Eastern Europe attracted recruitment by MI-6 to serve as a liaison to high-ranking Soviet official Penkovsky. This provided a near-perfect cover for spying. His name was Konon Molody, but was known in the West as Gordon Lonsdale. Wynne was then hit over the head and knocked out, bundled into a car and taken to prison where interrogators played out a guessing game to establish the links between him and Penkovsky. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? Advertising Notice However, that claim seems unlikely to be true. After months of negotiations, the British government was eventually able to arrange a trade of Wynne for the Soviet spy Gordon Lonsdale, whod been arrested the year before and was serving a 25-year sentence in England. During a business trip, he made contact with Oleg Penkovsky in Moscow, a high-ranking Soviet Intelligence colonel. On 22nd April 1964, Wynne was officially exchanged for a Soviet spy, who was being held in Britain. We hope you have enjoyed our insight into the story of British spy Greville Wynne and that you have learned about this Cold War story. An NSA employee-turned-Soviet Spy named Jack Dunlap revealed Penkovsky's treasonous activities to the KGB, despite the KGB having already known about the betrayal. Geographic restrictions may apply. He described Penkovsky as possibly the Wests most valuable agent. The Ruislip Home That Contained A Soviet Spy Ring, Spy Histories: North Vietnams Defence Against America. Ideal for gathering evidence and remote monitoring. Including spy phone software, fully functioning spy phones and more. He also wrote two books about his experiences as a British spy, The Man from Moscow (1967) and The Man from Odessa (1981). Meanwhile, 43-year-old Oleg Penkovsky was sentenced to death for his role in the spy activity. Penkovskys dynamism and enthusiasm, his wide-ranging and passionate denunciations of the Soviet system and its leaders illustrated with anecdotes, fascinated and captivated the American and British teams, write Schecter and Deriabin. Other unconfirmed claims reckoned he committed suicide in a Soviet labour camp. The MI6 specialist experienced post-arrest sadness and torment. Speaking about the moment he realised the game was up, Wynne recalled: Four men had appeared as if by magic. However, in real life, IRONBARK was the codename for the documents that Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky had been passing to the CIA. Greville Wynne was born on March 19 1919. While Angus Wright's character, MI6 agent Dickie Franks, was indeed a real person who worked for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, according to his 2008 obituary in The Independent, he had nothing to do with the recruitment of civilian Greville Wynne and the claim that he did is based on incorrect reports in the press. British spy Greville Wynne owned house in Chelsea during the 1960s He and Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky asked MI6 and KGB for a bar Given 500 each but spent most the money on alcohol. Terms of Use No question.. He also held the view that leaking this information would bring him a great deal of recognition and a sense of honour. His son Andrew, now in his sixties, politely declined to comment when contacted by the Sunday Mirror about his fathers colourful past. In 1985 he was portrayed by actor David Calder in the BBC series Wynne and Penkovsky, and in 2007 by Peter Lindford for BBC drama Nuclear Secrets. He was 71. The pair went on trial in Moscow in 1963 and Wynne was sentenced to eight years five in a labour camp and three in the citys chilling Lubyanka Prison after pleading guilty to espionage. He passed away from throat cancer in London in 1990 at age 70. MI6 took a liking to the engineer-turned-businessman Greville Wynne (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) due to the fact that he often traveled to Eastern Europe on business trips. He is the author of The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York. Among the smuggled photographs and documents was evidence of what became the chilling Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962, with secret Soviet rocket sites on communist leader Fidel Castros island bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Therefore, the lives of Andrew and Sheila remained quite private whilst Grevilles activity was broadcasted all around the world. Under the guise of a sales trip, he made his first contact with high-ranking Soviet intelligence colonel Oleg Penkovsky in Moscow.The Courier true story reveals that Wynne met Penkovsky eight months after the Soviet double agent had first tried to get in touch with the CIA by handing a bulky envelope of documents to two wary American students in Moscow. Penkovsky either was shot or killed himself in prisonthere are disputing accounts. Keir has appeared as a shepherd in Cadburys 2015 Christmas advert and as a flight attendant in a Vodafone commercial. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Greville Wynne Interview & Related Videos, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. He was senior enough that you could sit down with the agents for hours and explain the entire context of how Soviet intelligence worked.. Wynne died of throat cancer in Londons Cromwell Hospital on Wednesday, the British domestic news agency Press Association reported. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. The man sitting across the table from him revealed he worked for MI6 and that 41-year-old Wynnes frequent trips to Eastern Europe selling British electrical engineering parts to industrial companies would be the perfect cover for a job the secret service needed doing. Despite having no previous experience in intelligence work, Wynne was being recruited to serve as an MI6 agent. As weve established, Greville Wynne spent the majority of his professional life as an engineer and a businessman, so how did he actually become a spy? Donald asks the courts to let him tweet. A British businessman accused of spying for the West has been sentenced to eight years' detention by a Moscow tribunal. Andrew Wynne born 1952, age 69 (approx.) Explore how the celebrity world connects. British officials also never confirmed or denied Wynnes spying claims, and he didnt receive any official recognition for his work. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. Greville Wynne's former in laws: Greville Wynne's former father in law was Gordon Beaton Greville Wynne's former mother in law was Elsie Beaton. ", Benedict Cumberbatch on 'The Courier' and update on 'Dr. Never formally acknowledged by the British government, Wynnewrote about his experiences in two self-aggrandizingbooks, "The Man From Moscow" (1967) and "The Man From Odessa" (1981). He then worked at a telephone factory as an apprentice. A new spy thriller draws on the fascinating lifeand whopping liesof one of the U.K.s most famous intelligence agents. Also, see Wynne in his appearance on the American game show To Tell the Truth. The loosely allied forces that made up the White Army favored capitalism and social democracy, which stood in contrast to the communist ideologies of the Red Army. No question. Penkovsky felt stunted in his career with GRU and expected that by helping the West for a year or two, he and his family could be relocated and build a better life, and that he would personally be showered with recognition and honor. He loves his mum too. Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter Palma 03/12/2018 09:38. Thus began their fruitful relationship, one that involved Wynne hosting Penkovsky in London, who was visiting under the pretense of cultivate new opportunities in the West. They were alone in the world with this incredible burden except for the other man.. Strange' sequel, Benedict Cumberbatchs latest film, The Courier, which he also executive produced, tells the true story of an ordinary, British businessman who was recruited to become a hero spy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Oleg Penkovsky had his sights set on moving to the West and building a better life with his family and, therefore, he was keen to expose some of the Soviets most valuable military secrets. And he certainly didn't want to become one himself. Among the explanations are a desire for money or fame, a ruinous case of alcoholism, or perhaps even psychological scars left by his time in Soviet prison or the shame he felt for publicly turning against British intelligence during the trial. In real life, Wynne's wife Sheila divorced him after he was released from the Moscow prison and returned to Britain. An on this day article from the BBC reveals that Wynne joked to his wife after the sentencing, stating that he didnt expect his time in prison to be a Butlins holiday camp. There, he was reportedly subjected to severe beatings, malnourishment, and spent a great deal of his time locked up in solitary confinement. It seems likely that Wynne did have an affair in the years prior to becoming a spy for MI6, though we found little evidence to verify this. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a10a13b9bbf427a Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. He was married twice. Computer monitoring devices to help you and your loved ones stay protected online. At the time of Wynnes death, Labour Party MP Ted Leadbitter was quoted as saying: How many secrets has this man taken to his grave?, Celeb obsessed? However, he was freed in 1964 in exchange for Soviet spy Conon Molody, or Gordon Lonsdale as he called himself in Britain. He just was an ordinary man who got thrust into this just extraordinary, life-altering situation that was going to define his existence forever, says OConnor. The U.S. was then able to use U-2 spy planes to take photographs and identify the missile sites (see image below). The almost universally accepted version of events is that Oleg Penkovsky was executed in 1963 for providing top-secret information to the United Kingdom. He got married again in 1970, to his secretary Herma van Buren, who also worked as an interpreter and spoke eight languages. 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