Ethel Gee and her boyfriend Harry Houghton smuggled sensitive information out of a Royal Navy facility in Portland, United Kingdom and provided it to a KGB agent known to them as Gordon Lonsdale.
Lonsdale’s real name was Konon Molody. He was a highly capable agent, fluent in Russian, English and Chinese. He’d spent much of his youth growing up in California, so he was given the alias Gordon Lonsdale, and a cover story that he was a Canadian businessman selling juke boxes and vending machines in the UK.
The ring operated successfully for years until it was given up by Michal Goleniewski, a Polish intelligence officer who was one of the greatest agents-in-place to ever work for the CIA. Goleniewski himself was the subject of a previous episode of the Spycraft 101 podcast.
After Britain’s MI5 was alerted that Houghton might be under KGB control, they surveilled him when he met with Lonsdale in London and soon became aware of Gee’s involvement as well. In January 1961, the three were arrested while meeting in a public place, and two other members of the ring were arrested as well at their home. The final two members of the ring were the most shocking of all; a married American couple who were die-hard communists on the FBI’s wanted list.
All five were found guilty and sentenced to prison. Molody was eventually traded back to the Soviet Union in exchange for Greville Wynne, who was recently portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the film The Courier. Molody is celebrated as a Soviet hero and appeared on a postage stamp in 1990.
For episode 33 of the Spycraft 101 podcast I interviewed Trevor Barnes, author of Dead Doubles: The Extraordinary Worldwide Hunt for One of the Cold War’s Most Notorious Spy Rings. Trevor and I discussed the details of the case including Molody’s incredible journey from WW2 veteran to KGB operative, and the tantalizing possibility that other members of the ring were never discovered.
Get Trevor’s book here: https://amzn.to/3Vf9WG6
Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/spycraft101
Spycraft101 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spycraft101
The Ultimate Spycraft and Espionage Reading List: https://amzn.to/3XkWRNh
Find the Spycraft 101 book series here: https://shop.spycraft101.com/products/spy-shots-volume-i-101-true-tales-from-the-world-of-espionage
