Introduction
Although East and West did not come into open conflict during the Cold War, behind the scenes the covert battle to gather intelligence raged. Each side tried to gain the upper hand by obtaining important information on the ‘enemy’. This would include the latest developments in military technology, scientific advancements, possible attack plans or troop movements.
Despite the fact that intelligence gathering is supposed to be a secret activity, the media was full of headlines and stories of spies who had been exposed. The stories gave the public a glimpse into the mysterious world of espionage and fuelled both intense speculation about the activities of spies and also conspiracy theories. It was an aspect of the Cold War that truly captured the public’s imagination.
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
GCHQ had an important role to play in Britain’s intelligence gathering activities. It had developed from the Government Code & Cipher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park which became well known in the 1970s for breaking the Enigma codes during the Second World War.
In 1946, the Foreign Office took over control of GCHQ from MI6 as the focus on the Soviet Union increased. GCHQ started with two sites in Cheltenham. As the Cold War intensified, the number of sites around Britain increased. GCHQ also ran a network of listening posts scattered throughout the globe.
Much of what GCHQ was involved in during the Cold War remains classified. But there have been some revelations which began with the disappearance of a trawler called the Gaul in 1974. Since the 1950s, trawler crews from Hull had been recruited by British intelligence to observe and photograph the Soviet Northern Fleet while they were fishing in the Barents Sea. It was called Operation Hornbeam, and crews were provided with cameras and training. Occasionally radio and signals specialists, including staff from the GCHQ site based at Irton Moor near Scarborough, would accompany the trawler crews.
 |
When the Gaul disappeared, speculation began. The formal investigation, which opened in 1974, concluded that the Gaul had been overwhelmed by heavy seas, but many in the local fishing community had known about the surveillance activities and believed that the Soviets had something to do with the disappearance. The government continued to deny recruiting trawler crews until the mid 1990s, but the denial only helped to fuel the conspiracy theories.
The wreck of the Gaul was found by a television crew in 1997. The inquest into the sinking was reopened in 2004 and confirmed that the sinking of the Gaul had nothing to do with the Soviets or surveillance activities. But the intense interest generated meant that the intelligence services had to finally admit to the recruitment of trawler crews.
The British Commanders’-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS)
In September 1946, BRIXMIS was set up under the Robertson-Malinin Agreement. It was made between the commanders-in- chiefs of the British and Soviet forces based in Germany.
The agreement was intended to promote good relations between the occupying forces. It basically allowed members of the British military to travel freely (apart from restricted areas) around the Soviet Zone in East Germany. These were called liaison missions. The Soviet equivalent was called SOXMIS and they were, in turn, allowed into the British zone. The Soviets made similar agreements with the United States and France.
 |
The main objective was to maintain a relationship but the missions essentially became intelligence gathering exercises. A typical mission or tour would last three to five days. Teams would usually consist of a driver, an officer (in charge of photography and navigation) and an NCO (in charge of recognition and note taking). All tours entered East Germany via the Glienicke bridge. The tours’ main objective was to observe the activities of the Soviet and East German military on the ground. Teams would drive around East Germany photographing troops and military equipment which were either being moved by road or railway. The missions could be dangerous and teams were often questioned and intimidated by Soviet or East German military personnel.
The RAF also ran air tours which focused on Soviet and East German air activity and radars. The intelligence gathered on the missions provided valuable information on the Soviet and East German military and gave the tour teams a unique glimpse of military activities behind the Iron Curtain. The agreement stayed in place until October 1990.
Famous spy scandals
During the Cold War, Britain was rocked by a series of spy scandals. One of the most notorious was the ‘Cambridge Spy Ring’ which was known to have four members Kim (Harold Adrian Russell) Philby, who was the leader, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt. There was intense speculation over who was the fifth member and it was revealed in 1990 that it might be John Cairncross. It is believed that they were not motivated by money but ideological commitment to communism, which began while studying at Cambridge University in the 1930s.
All the men had important positions or connections with the British government or intelligence services which made their exposure as Soviet spies even more sensational. Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean defected to the Soviet Union in 1951. Kim Philby went missing while he was working in Beirut as an undercover journalist for MI6 in 1963. He resurfaced later in the Soviet Union.
Anthony Blunt was a famous art historian, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures and the Director of the Courtauld Institute. He had confessed his involvement in the ‘Cambridge Spy Ring’ in 1964 in exchange for immunity from prosecution. His role was revealed to the public in 1979 which left his reputation in tatters. He was stripped of his knighthood, lost many friends and was hounded by the press until his death from a heart attack in March 1983.
Another famous case was the death of Georgi Markov in 1978. He was a Bulgarian dissident who was very critical of the communist regime. He defected to the West in the late 1960s. He was believed to have been poisoned by ricin which was injected into him at a bus stop on Waterloo Bridge in London. There has been much speculation over the delivery method of the ricin. The most popular idea was that the poison was fired or injected using the tip of an umbrella. No one was ever charged with his murder, but it is widely believed that the KGB and the Bulgarian secret service were involved.
