The wealthy businessman, who wrote The Man From Moscow and The Man From Odessa, worked for Britains MI6 Secret Intelligence Service. Speaking about the moment he realised the game was up, Wynne recalled: Four men had appeared as if by magic. To top it off, it would have been physically impossible at the time. Theres a fair amount of source material from all different kinds of authors, so by reading everybodynot just Wynnes books, but other historians, and the official history put out by the American side and the Soviet side I was able to try and work out what made the most sense and what seemed liked disinformation, says OConnor. Wynne and Penkovsky were both arrested by the KGB in November 1962, when some of the information their endeavours produced was of assistance to the West during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He and his wife Sheila divorced not long after his release. The operation was the most productive classic clandestine operation ever conducted by the CIA or MI6 against the Soviet target, as Schecter and Deriabin put it, and key to its success was the mustachioed courier with no prior intelligence experience. "Thistrue story is a very interesting, skewed way to tellingaticking time-bomb, spy-thriller.". She had worked as his secretary and interpreter, as she spoke eight different languages. He battled depression and alcoholism. They separated several years ago. OConnor makes clear that The Courier is not a documentary, even as he explains that he took pains to stick to the facts as much as they could be ascertaineddrawing on works such as Jerrold L. Shecter and Peter S. Deriabins The Spy Who Saved the World: How a Soviet Colonel Changed the Course of the Cold War and other accounts that could be trusted more than Wynnes own inventions. The affair developed into the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. 'The Courier' is currently lived by his son, Andrew as he had already passed away in 1990 at the age of 70. He also held the view that leaking this information would bring him a great deal of recognition and a sense of honour. 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. He later died of throat cancer in London. Quick Facts Personal Life and Family His dining . 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. Struggling with deteriorating health, he was released in 1964 in exchange for the Soviet spy Konon Molody. Our complete range of spy cameras. The Courier premiered at Sundance in January 2020 under its original title,Ironbark. Ameeting between theRussian prisoners, in which Wynne tellsPenkovsky of the import of his information, asdepicted in the film, is drama. These guys were in the foxhole togetherthey each had a secret that only the other man knew, says OConnor. Our listening devices are concealed within items that won't raise suspicion, from car keys to bear toys. Wynne went along, slightly concerned about whether Penkovsky was on the level and concerned about putting himself into a dangerous situation, kicking off what would be one of the most productive clandestine operations in Cold War history. They had one son. Including spy phone software, fully functioning spy phones and more. British Spy Greville Wynne Dead At 71. If this spy case would have emerged in the modern day, both Andrew and Sheila may have been more of a centre point for the media and their lives could have been followed closely. Cumberbatch, whose mother is actress Wanda Ventham, is best known for playing Sherlock in the BBC drama and Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. 'The Courier' is currently lived by his son, Andrew, as he died 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. They had to go through a show trial, basically, so on the stand Wynne accused MI6 of using him as a dupehe may have just been saying whatever he could say because he worried they might execute him, says Jeremy Duns, an author of several spy novels set during the Cold War as well as the history book Codename: Hero: The True Story of Oleg Penkovsky and the Cold Wars Most Dangerous Operation. [3] Rachel Brosnahan, Jessie Buckley, and Angus Wright also star. Wynne was born in Shropshire, England, and raised in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales. On 29th October 1962, Wynne travelled to Soviet-occupied Budapest just hours after the Soviets stood down during the Cuban Missile Crisis, going against the advice of MI6. The Courier director Dominic Cooke says: Think about going back to a normal life after that intense drama. Shelia Wynne Wife Of British Spy Greville Wynne Here With Son Andrew Wynne 1964. [3] His father was a foreman in an engineering workshop. After his release he said: They treated me as they thought I should be treated.. They separated several years prior to Wynne's death in 1990. The burden of that is hard to imagine.. The 12-year-old bears an uncanny resemblance to Benedict Cumberbatch, which caught the eye of the casting director on the Hollywood stars latest film. Click to reveal And he certainly didn't want to become one himself. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. Includes devices appropriate for a variety of situations and to suit all budgets. The true story behind The Courierconfirms that some of the intelligence Wynne received from his Russian contact, Soviet military intelligence colonel Oleg Penkovsky, informed the United Kingdom about the Soviet emplacement of missiles in Cuba. The Courier fact-check reveals that, like his father, Penkovsky had become disillusioned with the Soviet system. Penkovsky gave a huge amount of details about what missiles the Soviets had, how old they were, how there were queues for foodit was an extremely vivid portrait of the country and the people within intelligence, says Duns. However, he was freed in 1964 in exchange for Soviet spy Conon Molody, or Gordon Lonsdale as he called himself in Britain. [8][9] Wynne was sentenced to eight years in prison. This kind of psychological game made them easier to handle during interrogations.. 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. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Important information Editorial Use Only. Greville Wynne Greville Wynne married Sheila Wynne (born Beaton). No question." The Courier is in cinemas now In February 1990, it was announced Wynne had died of. See our devices & software. The moonlighting spy was arrested on a business trip to Budapest in November 1962 and taken to the Soviet Union. Hes such a nice character. Meanwhile, 43-year-old Oleg Penkovsky was sentenced to death for his role in the spy activity. In honour of the Queen's eldest son, our new king, we have put together this collection of highlights from Charles' earlier years. 1. Your Privacy Rights In this edition, we will be focusing on the remarkable life and story of British spy, Greville Wynne. On 11th May 1963, a Moscow tribunal ruled that Greville Wynne was to serve an eight year sentence for his role in supplying British and American intelligence officers with Soviet information. But, meanwhile, at the height of their greatest coup, Wynne and Penkovsky were facing their own downfall after British double agent George Blake told his KGB controllers that Penkovsky was also passing secrets to a British embassy workers wife. "Greville Wynne was anordinary mandoing an extraordinary thing," Cumberbatch says. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. [4], After the Second World War, he traded in electrical equipment, travelling often through Europe and India. She had worked as his secretary and interpreter, speaking eight languages. 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. However, in real life, IRONBARK was the codename for the documents that Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky had been passing to the CIA. 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. He was flown to Moscow, imprisoned, and tried alongside Penkovsky, who it would later be learned had been arrested the week before Wynne entered Hungary. 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. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? Wynne returned to his life as a businessman. But as he began researching Wynnes story, he learned that this ordinary man could also tell some extraordinary lies. But he reportedly committed suicide in a Soviet labor camp. After that divorce, Wynne took another wife, Herma van Buren. The way they put it, I felt there was no possibility and then I suddenly found myself in an aeroplane and I arrived at East Berlin.. If you have any questions for our team about our spy histories articles, the spy industry in general, or any of the spy equipment that is available through our website, please contact us today. "He came from a very humble background, but was always trying to better himself," says Cumberbatch. Greville Wynne, who spied on the Soviet Union for Britain in the cold war and who spent 18 months in a Moscow prison after being caught, died of throat cancer on Wednesday, hospital officials. But he said his training with the MI6 was even worse. Seeking ways to parlay the notoriety he received, he became what Duns calls a rent-a-spokesperson for all kinds of espionage stuff, making appearances in the media about anything related to spycraft, whether or not it was anything he had experience with. One of them said quietly, Mr Veen? and I said, Yes, that is my name.. Greville Maynard Wynne was a British spy famous for his involvement with, and imprisonment as a result of, the espionage activities of Oleg Penkovsky. He claims that Penkovsky had been questioned probably 100 times before being shot and cremated. On 23 May 1966, he appeared as himself in an episode of the American television series To Tell the Truth, receiving two of four possible votes. A broken man, he turned to alcohol on his release and told. The MI6 specialist experienced post-arrest sadness and torment. Another rumour alleged he was strapped to a stretcher and burned alive in a crematorium. -The New York Times. So we got along a lot.. The film is out now. Greville Wynne showed concern about Penkovskys slightly outlandish notions, but nonetheless went along with it. Buckley, and raised in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales the Second World War, turned. 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