1965Awarded the Order of the Red Banner, one of the Soviet Unions highest military honours. But we visited Kim in Moscow and those holidays form some of my earliest memories, so it wasnt like he was a secret. The colourful characters of spymaster Gertrude Bell (the first female officer in the British Army), the legendary "Lawrence of Arabia," and the astute traitor St. John Philby (father of the notorious KGB double-spy Kim Philby) are all so dynamic that their heroics are hard to believe, but nevertheless true and soundly researched by a perceptive . 1940Recruited by British Secret Services and attached to the Secret Intelligence Services (SIS) under Guy Burgess. Many of the street names have changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then she drove off with the children. Why British spy Donald Maclean's wife dumped him and their three children for fellow traitor Kim Philby The Maclean's marriage was stormy, with rows, infidelity and bad bahaviour Friends. There are so many ways that Kims choices have continued to occupy my mind since my dad died in 2009, but I do feel that this book draws a line under it. Seconds later, were hurtling at break-neck speed out of the cemetery, along the motorway, the driver making various calls en route, each consisting of just a few short sentences, before turning into a different burial ground up the road, manned with armed guards. But neither was entirely impervious. Shes always cast as a bit player if shes mentioned at all, but she was a remarkable woman. If we were really lucky, sometimes and this was still the 1980s thered be a distant ringing, and from a compartment near the gear stick, our escort would pull out a telephone attached to a spiral cord, which hed talk into in a low voice, repeating the same two words, horosho and da, again and again before hanging up. I love those images of him as a real person; for me, thats where the clues as to who he really was can be found. He always knew what he was risking his family, his friends, his reputation and he made his choices accordingly. Personal life. All was reasonably well between them until Kim Philby the master-spy who recruited him back in their Cambridge days himself defected in 1963. But at the famous Secret Trial in 1952, he convinced his MI5 interrogator Buster Milmo that he was not a Soviet agent. 1925Attends Westminster School in London. ", His habit was fuelled by his sorrow over what he saw around him, she added. Kim Philbys oldest son, has penned an extensive account of her memories of her grandfather. And this was the line Melinda presented to MI5 after his defection with fellow mole Guy Burgess: she had been every bit as duped as theyd been. He didnt seem to mind that their marriage was over. But it wasnt true. The Second Woman: Best new fiction, Mail on Sunday. Two years later he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The spy who loved us: what Kim Philby's personal letters revealed about his mind The double-agent's granddaughter, Charlotte Philby, on the correspondence of a man who betrayed his country. Why do you think she has been overlooked?Partly because her files were only released to the National Archive in 2015. A retired CIA agent was once asked what he would say to Kim Philby, an MI5 agent who spied for Joseph Stalin, if he encountered the defector in Moscow. Men with erectile dysfunction who take Viagra are 25% less likely to Money saving guru Martin Lewis reveals easy FIRST step to clearing thousands of pounds in debt. The kitchen where he would ritualistically make his daily breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast (another English habit he never broke), and spent hours cooking every evening, is now rich with the smell of the savoury pancakes Rufa is preparing for our five-hour feast. By the time she left Russia, Maclean was in his final decline, in and out of hospital with cancer from his lifetime of smoking. Were you always aware that your family had this extraordinary history? Burgess predeceased him by 20 years, carried off by angina, an abused liver and hardening of the arteries. His wife Eleanor joined him in Moscow, and the Philbys and the Macleans spent a lot of time together, going to the ballet or just having dinner and playing bridge. Ive recorded a podcast with the BBC that will be announced later this year, and my husband and I have bought an old pub that we want to turn into a creative space to make available to charities and people who wouldnt otherwise have access to that, so thats an ongoing project. What are you currently reading?Im trying to reconnect with what made me fall in love with books and the process of writing so Im going back to reread some of the books that feel seminal for me: The Beach, The Child in Time, White Teeth, Disgrace, The Poisonwood Bible and The Peoples Act of Love. "Kim" Philby's oldest son, has penned an extensive account of her memories of her grandfather. They gave a lot of parties. And in 1951, as his spying activities unravelled and his Soviet masters told him to defect, she agreed the best course of action was for him to be ex-filtrated rather than try to brazen out the accusations of treachery that were soon to be levelled at him. Image: Barney Beech, A Sunday Times best book of the year, here is Edith and Kim in review - and where to find signed first editions, An interview with Stephanie Merritt about Edith and Kim, the perils of writing about family, and why female spies often get overlooked, From a compendium of stories about life at the Bauhaus to a Modernist memoir by the founder of the iconic Isokon, here are some of the books that inspired my forthcoming novel, For the Telegraph, I wrote about the woman who recruited my grandfather to the Soviets - the subject of my forthcoming novel Edith and Kim, My tribute to the late - and truly great - master of spy fiction, for the i paper, From a celebration of the life of John le Carr at Cheltenham to an exploration of women and crime in Chiswick, please join me at one of the following events, across the country (and the internet!). Grandpas flat is almost exactly as he left it: After Kim left, I didnt want to change anything, Rufa says. In the capital, he became a magazine correspondent, then a teacher and analyst in a research institute for foreign and economic affairs. But more importantly, every decision he made was done consciously. One of Kims old KGB comrades, whom Id been in contact with during the course of my research for this article, told me that a gang of five or six of Kims former colleagues still meet up every month and raise a toast in his honour. The comments below have not been moderated. While a student at the University of Cambridge, Philby became a communist and in 1933 a Soviet agent. But I had to find the right way to approach it. How much more so when its your own family?My relationship to my grandfather is complex and constantly evolving. Which author do you most admire?I dont have favourites, but I love Helen Dunmore. After reading it briefly, my dad had simply shrugged and tossed the note in the bin. Im reminded of a brief phone conversation I had earlier this morning with one of Kims old KGB comrades, whom Id been in contact with during the course of my research for this article, who told me that a gang of five or six of Kims former colleagues still meet up every month and raise a toast in his honour. Kim Philbys granddaughter describes memories of her grandfather. Given all that Melinda had gone through, the pity she had had to accept and the dissembling she had had to practise, that first meeting overseen by Soviet officials was a strained affair. In her article, published yesterday in British daily The Independent, she describes Kim Philby as "a proud man, and one who chose to publicly stand by his actions". 1958Marries Eleanor Brewer, an American. I remember at the time feeling that something very dark was happening and that I didnt feel safe. They lived together for three years, until a younger woman caught the philandering Philbys eye. Area of responsibility extended to include North African and Italian espionage. Donald is well and happy to be with his family again. To order A Spy Among Friends or Kim Philby, each at 14.99 with free UK p&p, call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardianbookshop.co.uk. 1949Made SIS representative in Washington. Kim Philby was born on January 1, 1912 in Ambala, Punjab, British India [now Haryana, India]. Inside, however, the lift is as temperamental as it ever was, so I make the journey to his flat by foot, instantly recognising the strange studded-leather front door as I emerge from the stairwell. In 1955, Harold Macmillan, then Foreign Secretary, issued a statement confirming that there was no evidence that Kim Philby was a Soviet agent. The pair returned to England in May and, by this point already an appointed Soviet agent, Kim found work as a foreign correspondent. Was he wrong to have continued on the Communist path once so many others had stepped off? Melinda Maclean. In any case, even if an address had been known for grandpa, it may not have been much use in 2010. This is not the first time Charlotte Philby has written in defense of her grandfathers actions. Once hed gone, she rode out the public furore, the door-stepping journalists, the MI5 questioning, the abuse and insinuations, the bullying of her sons at school. In her article, published yesterday in British daily The Independent, she describes Kim Philby as a proud man, and one who chose to publicly stand by his actions. St John, who had joined the British Foreign Service in 1917, when his only son was five years old, was also a non-conformist. A Double Life: The Times & Observers Thriller of the Month. Slowly but surely, he was turning himself into one of the most cunning and treacherous double agents of all time. So, too, have I seen images of his cold body decorated with medals in an open coffin, armed guards at either side, as the lavish funeral procession made its way through Kuntsevo Cemetery to this very spot. Kims case was not helped by the fact that several of his Soviet controllers including Mar, the man who recruited him had later been executed as enemies of the people. H. A. R. (Kim) Philby, the double agent whose betrayal of his country and his social class indelibly marked British politics, has died in Moscow, officials in London said yesterday. Because hed told her from the very start. And perhaps he felt that he certainly resented having to be escorted pretty much wherever he went for his first years in Moscow, as Rufa attests. On one occasion, when dropping us off at the airport, Kim and my dad were so sloshed they were shoved into a cupboard under the stairs with a bottle of vodka by staff to keep them quiet, while the British ambassador ambled around the main terminal building waiting for the same flight to London. Charlotte Philby, 39, is a former investigative reporter and the author of three critically acclaimed spy novels. Philby had defected to the Soviet Union from Beirut in 1963, and was treated with respect, but felt isolated. Kim Philby was probably the most successful double spy in history. Required to take new names and identities, Maclean chose to be Mark Petrovich Frazer (after the Cambridge anthropologist Sir James Frazer of Golden Bough fame, a 12-volume study of mythology and religion). In fact, he had arrived in Moscow days earlier, and can be seen on film standing just back from his fathers coffin. It's Mr (coffee) Bean! They met each other socially but soon fell out. Melinda returned to Donald, but two years later moved to her own apartment. Kim Philby, British intelligence officer and member of the Cambridge Five, defected to the Soviet Union in 1963. In 1983, a month or so after my parents took me as a newborn to meet him for the first time, Kim sent a copy of Lenins On the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, with a long, beautifully written letter to my maternal grandfather, whom he was unlikely ever to meet. Best thrillers for July 2021, The Times. Later she became a journalist at the Independent. The spy who beat his wife: The tall, charming and Russian pro-war fanatic warns Britain could be 'wiped off the map'. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Kim Philby in Russia in 1968, five years after defecting. Putting real historical characters into a novel is a minefield, especially those who existed within living memory. Aileen and the children also moved to America and the Philby's took a spacious, ramshackle two-storeyed place at 4100 Nebraska Avenue. But Maclean sobered up and went cold turkey in a detoxification clinic. John Philby, who has died aged 65, was the eldest son of the Russian spy Kim Philby, unmasked in 1963 as a double agent and the notorious Third Man in the Cambridge spy ring of the 1930s. Inside he wrote: Herewith a few extracts from our bible. She is also the granddaughter of, MI5missed early chance to expose Soviet agent Kim Philby, files reveal, Love and Deception: Philby in Beirut by James Hanning review the spy who loved, maybe, ASplinter of Ice review Graham Greene and Kim Philby clink glasses, Graham Greenes showdown with Soviet spy Kim Philby: A Splinter of Ice review, KimPhilby: new revelations about spy emerge in secret files, George Blake exemplified the desolation, waste and treachery of the cold war, Moscow names square after British double agent Kim Philby, Athriller of spies and betrayal: by Kim Philbys granddaughter. His father had a distinguished past as an explorer and fixer for the region's movers and shakers, and any intelligence Kim could pick up through his father's outstanding contacts would be useful to the bosses in . Kim Philby drank while Guy Burgess, who was gay, missed his friends in London, including Anthony Blunt whose spying activities, though known to the government, were kept under wraps until they. children: John David Philby Josephine F. Philby Dudley Thomas Philby Miranda Philby Harry George Philby Birth. Being one of North Korea's elite, for the nation he was the highest profile defection since No Kum-sok (above . As Kims former KGB colleague also reiterated on the phone: Kim was a Communist idealist. The shiny black 44 rumbles slowly through the graveyard. "It was winter and we were going out for a walk and I found one of my boots had disappeared. Spy Among Friends : Philby and the Great Betrayal, Paperback by MacIntyre, Ben, ISBN 1408851784, ISBN-13 9781408851784, Brand New, Free shipping in the US<br><br> At the sight of our car, the men leap from their posts, saluting and buzzing the electric gates; one jumps into the front seat and calls out instructions as we roll off again. She emphasised the strength and goodness of their fathers moral and political beliefs as a committed communist who wanted peaceful co-existence between East and West. 1942Marries Aileen Furse, with whom he has two daughters and three sons. Was that a selfish decision? I think part of the appeal of writing this book was trying to reconcile the ways in which Ive come to understand him: as a grandfather; a father; a friend; a traitor; an idealist. As I step in from the balcony, my eyes settle on a single point. She put the two boys into the International School in Geneva and finally explained to them what had happened to their father, reporting to her sister that their worst fear seems to be that I might vanish too. In 1949 Kim Philby became SIS representative in Washington, as top British Secret Service officer working in liaison with the CIA and FBI. Her mood changed, though, with Stalins death in March 1953 and the prospect that the Soviet Union might now become a more open place. Fergie is horrified that [Donald] might have done something wrong at the office and the FO will be very angry when he returns. Understandably, as a consequence, he is loathed by many. Everything has seen better days. Prince Harry drops 45 points and Meghan Markle 36 points in just over a month in US public opinion poll Sadiq Khan faces furious backlash over plans for biggest transport and council tax rises in a decade as James Martin warns This Morning viewers why they should NEVER store their eggs in the fridge. But that didnt mean the ideal itself was corrupt or not worth pursuing. The next day she notified the British Consul in Geneva. En route, I pass some of Kims old haunts, and heeding his advice to visitors If you can no longer feel your nose, go inside stop off briefly for coffee at that famous Soviet hangout the Hotel Metropole. They even had a dacha a country cottage 20 miles from Moscow where the children could swim, fish, bicycle and forage for mushrooms. 1957Aileen Furse, Philbys second wife, dies. Thanks Darryl.I live in Australia. Charlotte Philby, daughter of John Philby, H.A.R. Melinda, it turned out, had driven to Lausanne, where tickets were waiting and luggage had been left in a station locker. Just beyond the crossroads which dominates Pushkin Square the spot where its said dissidents would meet, acknowledging each other by removing their hats is the former site of the Hotel Minsk (like much of the city, now under a lengthy reconstruction process), where Kim first met the journalist Murray Sayle in 1967. 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